About this course: This two-part course is designed to help students with very little or no computing background learn the basics of building simple interactive applications. Our language of choice, Python, is an easy-to learn, high-level computer language that is used in many of the computational courses offered on Coursera. To make learning Python easy, we have developed a new browser-based programming environment that makes developing interactive applications in Python simple. These applications will involve windows whose contents are graphical and respond to buttons, the keyboard and the mouse. In part 1 of this course, we will introduce the basic elements of programming (such as expressions, conditionals, and functions) and then use these elements to create simple interactive applications such as a digital stopwatch. Part 1 of this class will culminate in building a version of the classic arcade game "Pong". Recommended Background - A knowledge of high school mathematics is required. While the class is designed for students with no prior programming experience, some beginning programmers have viewed the class as being fast-paced. For students interested in some light preparation prior to the start of class, we recommend a self-paced Python learning site such as codecademy.com.










MT
Really nice and friendly introduction to Python. There are plenty of intro courses to get into programming, but one of the challenges is engaging the person taking the course and making them feel like the instructors care about what they're teaching. This course does a great job at this.
It also gives enough direction and support that most people who commit the time to it can complete it. The forum is also active throughout the class session, which can help troubleshoot more specific bugs.