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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Python for Genomic Data Science by Johns Hopkins University

4.3
stars
1,679 ratings

About the Course

This class provides an introduction to the Python programming language and the iPython notebook. This is the third course in the Genomic Big Data Science Specialization from Johns Hopkins University....

Top reviews

KR

Jul 16, 2018

A very good course for its length and the amount of time it requires. It improved my python skills and knowledge of Genomics. I'm more engaged in my pursuits than before taking the course.

AN

Jul 14, 2022

It was easy in the beginning but gets hard and changing at the end.

It was such an honor th have a course with Professor Salzburg.

I would recommend it to all bioinformatics lovers.

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26 - 50 of 331 Reviews for Python for Genomic Data Science

By ZIHAN X

Mar 30, 2021

For me, this course is wonderful! It introduces almost all basic knowledge about python and combines it with biology and DNA sequencing. And for Biopython, this course gives us more space to explore on our own. The quizzes and the final project are of high quality and somewhat challenging for new-learners, but it feels really satisfying and I did learn a lot after going through all of them!

By Mr. M K S E

May 17, 2020

Good to learn the new paradigm of science in my life. Biology and the advanced scripting with Biopython are really interesting. I hope to learn more about the subject in detail.

I love to spend my hours on this course. Learn developed a new way of thinking. Overall great learning from the Professors.Thanks for creating wonderful content.

By Lauriane

Nov 13, 2017

This course was really excellent! Basic enough for starters and with challenges to put the learned skills into action! The only way to improve this course would be to share the slides to make it easier to browse through the course. THank you very much for this course.

By Pankaj D

Jan 8, 2022

This course teaches some of the bioinformatics stuff but it is equally good for programming practice too. The final test was a good challenge and even some other tests were challenging and i enjoyed a lot.

By Shubiksha k V K

Nov 23, 2020

4th week sessions towards the end seemed tougher for me since I am new to python other than that good course for beginners.

By Дубів О В

Nov 11, 2022

Pros: in general - pretty valuable course

Cons: Python-related material can be extended; I'm sure the lady on videos is a highly skilled professional, but she seems not comfortable on a video and probably needs more engagement (we know how to read from slides); some tests were WRONG and I reported it

Exam: the worst part and almost vanished my desire to proceed with the course:

1) it's way too complex compared to the material given in lectures - I have professional experience in programming (PHP, MySQL, JS) but this Python exam took me about 6-8 hours to complete. It's not only because of Python I haven't got experience with - it's  also about other stuff I should know before submitting answers. I can't even imagine how students without programming skills can fulfill this exam sucessfully. It's like they teach you 2+2, and on exam they require to compute integrals....

2) exam questions (especially 3rd task) are vague. Samples given are very basic and don't show all the variety of edge cases and how to deal with them (i.e. nested ORF, what to do if we see one more Opened Codon etc) - it took most of exam's time to find some external learning resources and to know more theory. I used this resource also as a benchmark to know if what I get is correct: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/orffinder/ and it saved me.

3) PLEASE add at least couple of correct answers for sample data (dna.example.fasta file) for students to test their data against something before going on exam. Also add some more description and proper sample cases about codones: i.e. how to trean multiple ORF sequences if inside are some open or closed codons - how to determine the longest etc.

By Helen E

May 1, 2021

Thanks to the instructors for the content of the course. I have some recommendations for improving the quality to make it more comprehensible for newcomers to the field. I think the gap between what is instructed in the class and the exams are massive and the student may find him/herself overwhelmed. I do appreciate it if the forum for each week is more active. There are so many questions unanswered in each week's forum. I think if the moderators guide the students more actively, forums are also a very good chance for us (students) to learn new prospects.

I like to learn the bioinformatic and I think this course was a good start. Thank you very much for giving me this chance to learn something new.

By Miglė Š

Nov 16, 2020

I give 3 stars because I did learn a lot, however it should be known that this course is abandoned by the staff, the quizzes have errors in them and difficulty is very high if you don't have any prior Python experience. However it is a good way to see how you can apply your Python knowledge for biology.

By Wanwan L

Mar 27, 2023

The final exam is far more beyond what is covered

By Abhinav M

Dec 6, 2023

I went through this course while doing the genomics specialisation. Though I know Python, I went through it just to complete the certification. I understand that the lectures are beginner level, but they are quite dull and tedious to go through. In some of the lectures, it seemed like university professors were just recording lectures for the sake of recording them without trying to make them interactive and interesting. In contrast, the final exam requires a decent amount of effort. It would have been nice if some of the problems asked in the final exam were covered in the lectures - it is better to build on concepts and reach the end goal instead of having basic boring lectures and then suddenly a reasonably difficult final exam. I don't mind the difficult final exam - it was in fact refreshing, what I mind is the tedious hours of pointless lectures I had to go through which had nothing to do with the final exam. My guess is that people who're new to programming would have found it difficult to transition from such an average course content to a reasonably elaborate final exam.

By Maria S

Aug 7, 2022

The instructors told this course is not made for people with a programming background. In my opinion - as a software engineer (without much python experience) - this course is not made for beginners. The lectures are starting with basic programming knowledge but this is not enough to pass to quizes at all. You need much more exercise to understand the basic concepts.

The course and the quizes have more potential. I wish they would care more about highlighting, formatting,readability and also correctness of the provided code snippets. The final exam was totally confusing - a sample file is provided for implementing the algorithms, but no solution is available for the asked questions. Also the explanations are not always clear, so you need to guess what could be another possible solution

By Manuela L

Mar 16, 2021

This is the second specialization I take in Coursera (I took Statistics with Python from Michigan University). I am really disappointed with this course. It was clearly made years ago and dropped on line but is not really an online course. There is no interaction between the teachers and the students, questions in the forum remain years unsolved and there are no actualizations. The videos are very basic and the level of final exam is extremely high. What I can say is that almost all that I learnt was by myself on the internet trying to solve the final exam.

By Nicolás F F M

Nov 4, 2022

This is not a course for beginners, and further explanation is needed if the course is targeted as an introduction to Python for genomic data. Furthermore, one of the instructors may want to improve her teaching skills.

Unfortunately, this is the worst course I have taken in Coursera (and the only one which I rate below 3 stars).

By Carmen B

Aug 22, 2021

A very large portion of the code in this course material does not work, even when copied directly. Moderators don't post the discussion forums where students are trying to help each other due to lack of guidance. Some of the moderators have never posted in the forums at all - 1 of them has only posted 3 times.

People who have used Python have commented in the forums that the code formatting in the quizzes is terrible, and that they have to use their existing understanding of Python to be able to get to correct answers. This course is marketed to people who have no prior knowledge of Python. Many are just completing quizzes by repeating them over and over until they get the right answers.

In short - don't do this course if you are looking to learn. It has been abandoned by Johns Hopkins University. If you just want the certificate, just keep trying till you get the right answers and youll be fine.

By Ahmed F

Jul 28, 2016

Poor lectures by one of the instructors makes it hard to listen.

By Nur A A P

Apr 20, 2020

Nothing about genomics is taught.pretty much disappointe.

By Mahmoud m M

Oct 2, 2016

Very poorly organised material and illustration

By Dr K R

Apr 24, 2017

terrible course

By Andrés H P C

Jul 12, 2021

I recomend this course to any person interested in bioinformatics. Amazing teachers all along the specialization!. My conclusion is the following: I have lots of experience working in java development, and I know very well what is about to construct a software solution. But this course is not about that, this course at the end is about understand some main problems in genomics, like mainly the analysis of Open Reading Frames, and then start to give it our version of the solution, in this case using Python as a tool for the explotation of data and analysis. Easy are the modules about Python if you are programmer, but in my experience the final assestment is far as being easy. Thank you! to any one who was involved in the development of this course, I learned and enjoyed very much!

By Dongyan S

May 26, 2023

This Python course for bioinformatic analysis is truly exceptional. It provides a comprehensive foundation in Python programming, covering everything from the basics to building and importing modules/packages, and even utilizing biopython. The instructors have done an outstanding job in creating a course that instills confidence in writing and modifying code for personal projects. I am grateful for their expertise and guidance. Highly recommended!

By Michael J M

May 11, 2016

Really good introduction to Python, Genomics in the two together. This was the first Python course - of many - I've since done and then gone on to use Python professionally and for my own 'Hacker/Maker' projects.

A few typos / mis-alignments between the slides and the explanations - but nothing serious. The presenters know the material and present it well.

A couple of good TAs (full disclosure - I am / have been one of the less good ones!)

By Daphne S K

Apr 30, 2023

Moderately difficult programming exercises, interesting and challenging final exam, fast-paced code-along lectures that required pauses and re-watching. This was an excellent course for someone with elementary programming experience and a logical progression from Introduction to Genomic Technologies, the first course in the Specialization. I feel motivated to keep going and complete the Specialization!

By Charles W

Jun 21, 2020

Out of what I have tested so far, I think this is the best Coursera course for beginners.

I frequency use regular expressions, so I think that might be helpful. However, you also thought of things that I frequently use that I might not have remembered were important for beginners. So, perhaps there could be a recommendation of what to do to learn more intermediate skills?

By Zirlane P d C

Jun 22, 2020

The course was very good, in general. The instructors and classes were also good. I'm a beginner in python, so I had a lot of difficulties. The final test was difficult for me, I couldn't solve all the questions. I think the course could offer more basic classes, but I intend to study more to understand some points that were not clear to me.

By 李居祚

Nov 24, 2016

Thanks for the interesting course made by two brilliant teacher. This is my first time to learn something about computer science on coursera and I really enjoyed this kind of experience. As a beginner of Bioinformatics, this help me a lot. In the futrue I will continue focusing new courses on coursera provided by Johns Hopkins University!