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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Learn to Program: The Fundamentals by University of Toronto

4.7
stars
6,358 ratings

About the Course

Behind every mouse click and touch-screen tap, there is a computer program that makes things happen. This course introduces the fundamental building blocks of programming and teaches you how to write fun and useful programs using the Python language....

Top reviews

HA

Aug 17, 2019

Great for a fundamental course. I have to admit that I had learnt python a few years back and was using this as a practice and revision course. But I learnt a lot more which I can add to my knowledge.

AG

Dec 15, 2020

Great course for refreshing your python basics, and any beginner looking to pick up Python basics will be in a comfortable spot after completing this course and a bit of practice with the assignments.

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151 - 175 of 1,842 Reviews for Learn to Program: The Fundamentals

By Sarah P

Jul 27, 2019

I LOVED this course! Not only did I learn so much, but the walkthrough of the code was so helpful. I also really liked the mini quizzes during the video lectures. I will continue to use the visualize tool as I continue my journey into this new skill. I would like to extend a very big thanks to the fantastic instructors and moderators. I will be on the lookout for more programming courses from the University of Toronto!

By Wayne S

Apr 7, 2021

I started not knowing much about programming except for working extensively in excel and doing basic macros. Although this is a beginner programming course, the lecturers had done an exceptional job in pushing me to think and expanding my knowledge.

The course was neither too slow, or too fast. I could learn at my own pace. The course had provided me with the tools to pursue more advanced python programming techniques.

By Akala

Jul 2, 2017

Thank you Jennifer and Paul for making such a wonderful course and making all the material available for all. I have manage not only to code but also to build my own first game in Python. The learning journey with you are both fun and challenging. I am truly grateful for all the hard work you have dedicated into this course and looking forward to explore more coding courses with you. Thank you very much! Xie Xie!

By Guilherme C

Feb 15, 2017

Awesome! I already had a very good idea about programming, so it was kind of fast to go through this course. As always, I learned a lot by listening to all the basic principles of programming again. Different people have different approaches when teaching, which makes sometimes easier to understand things that haven't been much clear yet. Special thanks to UoT and Coursera, you've made learning easy and fast!

By Garry C

Nov 9, 2017

As someone who needed a refresher in Python (having first taken this in university, many years ago), this was a great course with many useful tutorials and examples. It taught me how to think through problems a lot better than Code Academy, and I felt that the material was at a good level. I will be taking the follow on course and hopefully this provides a good foundation for my learning into data science.

By bhavan p

Jun 9, 2018

Jen and Paul are one of the best professors that I have seen so far. They have explained concepts in a very organized and interesting manner. They have designed this course with great excellence and have developed a best way of testing our learning by grading quizzes and assignments online within a matter of seconds. I will feel lucky to get a chance to learn personally under the guidance of Jen and Paul.

By Nick R

Jan 21, 2019

This was a great introductory programming course. I've tried other courses on different sites before and have given up due to lack of solid examples and explanation. This course kept me interested due to its format and pace. The use of video lectures with questions throughout, quizzes at the end of units, and challenging assignments led to an engaging course and a solid understanding of the material.

By Salvin T

May 30, 2020

I never knew I will be able to do this because I was a Cpp student and the syntax of python was completely different too, at first I felt like it was difficult but later I came to understand that it was much easier than Cpp to code on Python.

I am also very much happy with the course the video lectures were so clear and the practical way of learning made me easier to practice the lessons every day.

By Adrienne M

Oct 11, 2017

The course is an excellent intro to Python and programming languages in general. The teachers were precise and clear in their language, and taught at a pace that made it very easy to follow along. I appreciated their efforts to encourage best practices early on, particularly teaching the debugger tool and python visualization tool so that we really understood what was happening in computer memory.

By James M

Apr 7, 2017

This is the first MOOC that I've done and it couldn't have gone much better. The presentation is good, the examples are useful and the pacing was just right for me. You could probably get through the material in a lot less than seven weeks if you wanted to, but I found that the pacing allowed me time to experiment with the various concepts discussed in the videos and to improve my understanding.

By Amanda G D

Dec 18, 2023

Amazing, clear and succinct instructors. Great “hands on” lessons. Quizzes and assignments reinforce learning well. The perfect level of challenge that is able to be completed with perseverance and a dedication to lecture reflection, troubleshooting, and knowledge application. The discussion boards are also a vast resource of tips for times you may get ‘stuck’ on specific questions or concepts.

By piotrbrendan

Dec 10, 2017

Very good introductional course. I strongly recommend to pause videos and try implement code before instructors (especially during later weeks, when you have enough knowledge to figure solutions out on your own). The course was delivered in a very understandable and consistent way. After this course I have an impression that I managed to think in a programmer way (of course on a basic level)

By barun b

Nov 24, 2019

Excellent course from basic to mid level. Anyone wants to start with data analysis. This course is a must.

I found it to be a bit tough, since my programming back ground is minimal. But hey if I exist, so can you. Get along keep revising, every time you revise, concepts gets clearer. Dont lose heart if you cant get it right first time, do it 10 times, then things would get much clearer.

By Filip A

Nov 14, 2016

Perfect course for everyone who wish to learn how to program even you are not new into it but you are new in Python as me. I am very thankfull to Jenn and Paul for their videos and knowledge they shared with us. The workflow is easy with them and you don´t need to google almost anything else than what they show. I am looking forward to any other course they will come up with. Thanks!

By Colette K

Dec 28, 2017

The instructors are awesome. The quizzes and assignments are written in a way that requires you to really understand the information. The problems to solve are non-trivial, which means if you pass this course you actually learned how to program. I love the Python language for it's syntax simplicity. Finishing this course was my first step on my path to becoming a data scientist!

By Julio A R R

Nov 26, 2018

Amazing teachers!

Very clear speaking, i'm not even native but didn't have any trouble understanding their English

Step by step explanations, perfect for beginners

Very good coding practices!

The course focuses on programming for general situations (from 0 to n and not a fixed value, always)

Tests results offers good feedback most of time, the "assignments tester" works flawlessly!

By Jeroen v S

Aug 14, 2018

Super clear course. Pace is good. Every week the content is manageable, so you don't feel overwhelmed yet still learn a lot. Only thing missing: at times the courses teaches syntaxt that is not very Pythonic, instead opting to teach a "C style" kind of programming with for loops. Could definitely improve if they also teach you how to do things the Python way, short and simple.

By Calypso R

Jul 18, 2019

Well designed introduction course on programmation, clear instructors, easy to pass and assignments automatically graded.

Unfortunately some quizzes don't work on the mobile app (you can't read the whole code), but you need a computer for python anyway

It only covers the basics so if you already learned a bit of coding in any language, you should aim for a more advanced course.

By Dineth W

Sep 30, 2022

Nicely structured to study the fundementals for a complete beginner.

Going in, I knew nothing about programming.

Now I can write full programs and build upon this knowledge.

The discussion board already had answers to every question I had, in the rare instances that I needed it.

I got my certificate as well so thanks to Professor Paul Gries and Professor Jennifer Campbell.

By Robert L

Dec 14, 2018

Great class, the progression of lessons is very well balanced. The quizes are very relevant to the learnt material. Some of the assignments can be challenging, but a good challenge. I struggled a bit with the file reading and writing as I didn't feel the lecture covered it in enough detail, but I manged to figure it out with enough trial and error. Overall a great course.

By Shubham M

Nov 29, 2020

I think it should be mandatory for every entry-level programmer to go through this course. I have never felt like I absorbed so much from an introductory course like this. Highly recommended and worth every penny! I am very motivated to take on the second course in the series Learn to Program: Craft Quality code and hope to learn more from these excellent instructors.

By Anene P C

Jun 15, 2018

I have really enjoyed this course, it has taught me a whole lot about the python language and how to use it extensively, so much as to even be able to visualize and understand a lot of functions without having to use a visualizer. I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants to venture into the python programming language or already knows it and just needs a refresher

By Miguel R C

Aug 14, 2021

This course is amazing. It takes a very mathematical approach to teach you python from zero, so if you are good with math and you have never seen any coding in your life, this course is for you. The instructors are amazing as well, the paced of the lessons are good and they give a you a summary file at the end of each lesson that covers all the concepts taught. 10/10

By Michael L

Jan 20, 2020

Challenging and super helpful course! Made all the difference in understanding the basics of programming, and what you can do with it, in terms of development scope. Nice training approach and tasteful, yet though provoking format. Decent Forum for researching questions. I did find the question / answers a little daunting and didn't submit any questions myself.

By Kiah A H

Sep 12, 2017

This is the first time I've ever done any programming or coding of any kind. I haven't been known to be computer or math savvy, and with the help and instruction provided by the course - I was able not only to pass, but to receive 100% on quizzes and assignments. I was able to do it at my own pace which gave me the opportunity to really learn the material. Great!