Get a Job Building Apps Using Python Programming!

This course will teach you how to write your own programs in the Python programming language. Along the way, you will learn the basic skills needed to take the next step into an awesome field like machine learning, app development or video games!

Cutting-Edge Learning Methods

This course was built around several learning methods that take advantage of new discoveries from the science of learning.

The Spacing Effect

Learning is faster when the studying is spread out over time.

So this course includes an easy-to-follow schedule (90 min. sessions, 3 days a week) that takes two months to complete.

The course is split into 3 chapters that start with a no-code, reading-friendly e-book written in Q&A style with mnemonics.

Separating “Why” From “How”

This course addresses all topics in two ways, first by having a no-code discussion explaining the “what” and the “why,” then with code examples that demonstrate the “how.”

The Mnemonic Effect

Humans are wired to learn about real-life objects, but often in programming, learning is not hands on or visual.

Each concept we discuss is connected to a physical object that you have likely interacted with in real life and can imagine seeing, feeling, etc.

The Metaphor Effect

Learning is faster when an instructor builds on associations that a student has already made.

This course uses visual/spatial mnemonics along with every programming concept. Each mnemonic is tied to a metaphor, so you can connect the discussion topics with physical objects to aid in memory retention.

Memory Palace

A Memory Palace works by imagining a place you know well and then putting the physical mnemonics we learned from the other chapter in your spacial memory. 

After the “what” and “why” videos, you will find bizarre stories that are all told in a single geographical location.

[hide="Readmore"]The Bizarreness Effect

The Bizarreness Effect is the tendency to remember bizarre material better than common material.

The stories are purposely designed to make absurd leaps of logic, anthropomorphize objects and generally address bizarre and unrealistic situations.

The Eureka Effect

The Eureka Effect describes the experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem.

To help increase this sensation, we learn passes. This approach lets the concepts build up in steps, but also allows the whole picture to come into focus slowly, as you learn about previous concepts on a deeper and deeper level.

We use two numbering systems for every lesson. The top number shows the breadth: how much progress you are making across topics. The bottom number shows the depth: how deep into a topic's complexity you are.



The Belief Effect

Studies show that students who are told they will do better on tests end up performing better, and vice versa.

This course is sprinkled with stories that humanize the life of a programmer, comparing programming to creative writing, sports and painting. Just as anyone can learn writing or painting skills, anyone can learn to code; this course keeps that perspective in focus.



Project-Based Learning

Each chapter ends with a review of dozens of working projects.



Projects: Writing

Automate Boring Songs: Prints out the whole “99 bottles of beer on the wall” song

Make Interactive Jokes: Interactively asks the user to be part of a snowman and vampire joke. The punchline is… wait for it…. “Frostbite.” :)

Randomly Pick Characters: Randomly chooses a letter out of a sentence

Identify Positions: Finds the second occurrence of a word in a sentence

Remove Vowels: Removes vowels from a sentence

Reverse a String: Takes in any text input “string type,” reverses it, then returns the reverse text string

Check for Palindromes: Checks any text input for a palindrome match, then returns a yes or no statement

Pluralize: Takes any single word and makes it plural



Projects: Numbers

Calculator Stuff: Performs basic arithmetic

Solve the Pythagorean Theorem: Solves the Pythagorean theorem with variables

Generate Random Numbers: Returns a random integer from a customizable range of numbers

Odd or Even Test: Returns a boolean response if a number is even or odd

Trig Homework: Calculates some trigonometric angles

Randomize a Guessing Game: A fun random guessing game you can play with a friend



Projects: Automation

Print the Fibonacci Sequence: Prints the Fibonacci sequence

Solve the FizzBuzz Problem: Solves the FizzBuzz problem just like at a real job interview



Projects: Oysters

Check if it's Dark Outside: Looks up the user’s location and time and then returns a statement saying if it’s dark outside or not

Read a Spreadsheet from the Internet: Uses the pandas module to load in a CSV file from the internet

Make a Progress Bar: A cool package that makes a progress bar while your computer is working on a loop that runs 10 million times

Scrape Jokes off a Website: A cool app that uses BeautifulSoup to scrape Victorian jokes off a website and display them in the console

Share Data through an API: Creates JSON for others to access

Make a Beautiful Chart: Generates random data points, then uses matplotlib package to display a colorful chart