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

4.7
stars
6,359 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

PC

Jun 4, 2021

Well taught, assignemnts are just right in complexity, its hard enough to no be easy and but not to be frustrating and tests challange your knowledge enough for it to be rewarding to complete with 80%

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.

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1501 - 1525 of 1,842 Reviews for Learn to Program: The Fundamentals

By Tajih P

•

Nov 5, 2022

This course was very helpful in introducing me to programming in python. I felt that the material was covered in a fairly easy to read format. Assignments really tested my knowledge of function building, which I appreciated. My only notes are that I feel more worked assignments were needed because assignments required more critical thinking skills than the weekly tests and final exam. I also found week 6's videos on importing files to read/write hard to understand, which made assignment 3 harder than it needed to be (but that may be just me) otherwise the course was perfect! Thank you!

By Omar

•

Mar 20, 2020

Thank you for your efforts in creating and maintaining this course and its material; I have no comments per se but if I must then I will mention that I have been following other courses as well (I am a beginner) and they cover subjects that are not covered in here (eg. Classes). I understand that this course if for the learning the fundamentals of Python only, but it would have been great to learn about Classes, among other subjects, within this course, I believe it would have made a bigger impact on me as a beginner student. Thank you again.

By Amit G

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Aug 28, 2017

Overall it's a great course for anyone who's new to programming and wants to start with Python. I wish they would include more complex examples in the lecture videos vs. spending a lot of time on repetitive commands. The assignments were the best way to learn, much better than the quizzes, hence I'd recommend adding another assignment, perhaps a final assignment. Finally it's really great the lecture summaries are provided after every video. Using the python colors instead of simple black and white would make them even greater.

By Anuj N

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Aug 30, 2021

Was intuitive, educational course. Definitely learned a lot, and am motivated to learn further! Do be warned that the course is a little old, so some parts about the file systems are no longer relevant (Pycharm has taken over , much larger than the base Python software) but it's fairly simple so no worries there. The course can be a little slow at times, but for good reason - to be more explanatory. Honestly aside from the confusing file system, most middle school students should be able to handle this course.

By Vinod S

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Jul 25, 2023

Although course has constraints which is why not all methods of python were covered, certain important functions shouldn't have left out. The title should have mentioned Python but it looks like objective was to introduce programming but not just python. Further, as it is not just python introduction course but a course which introduces Programming per se, a minimum introduction to concepts like compiler, algorithm, binary data types would have made this course even better.

By Thompson M

•

Nov 26, 2020

The course is very engaging and keeps the learn on their feet. I love it. The deadlines helped me focus and complete my assignments so that I completely forget about my programming commitment. As a self-taught programmer it is very hard to keep up with University Engineering classes as well as computer programming. But I was able to keep myself going and I know I will reach an intersection point for both in Electrical-Electronics Engineering as well as Software Engineering.

By Pi-Hsing C

•

Feb 13, 2017

Pro : 1. Instructors explained the fundamentals in details.

2. The lessons are concise and with just enough information.

Con : 1. This course is not updated to the latest Python 3.5 (even in 2016).

2. Many solutions of the quizzes should be explained afterward.

3. The lack of interactions between students due to the "design limit" of Coursera.org

Overall : A decent fundamental course to help step into Python 3 programming and computer science.

By Jarek M

•

Jun 22, 2020

I like this course very much because of practical approach. As I had some programming experiences in the past this course was an opportunity for me to recall some knowledge. I think this course could be difficult task for real beginners. There were some questions or excursuses which I think require better and precise explanation. Time I spend was worth it and now I am planning to go into next courses - Data Science with Python i.e.

By Clarence L

•

Jun 1, 2020

I think that this course is fantastic for newcomers and that the moderators and lecturers are very patient and kind to go through all the queries raised by the student. Lessons are short and sweet so it is easy to pick up. However, quizzes should be designed with a lesser steep curve and give students more chances to practice rather than throwing us into the fray. An overall enjoyable experience to cap off after a long working day.

By Renato S M L

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Dec 16, 2018

Estoy entusiasmado y viendo la planificacion curricular del curso me motiva aun mas en aprender contenidos apropiados para desempeñarme con las habilidades competentes en este nuevo y bonito futuro trabajo. No le dí de momento las 5 estrellas ya que no puedo pagar por otro medio que no sea paypal con tarjeta de credito. Yo cuento con saldo suficiente en paypal para pagar el certificado.

Gracias y a estudiar. Renato Salvatore

By Leandro C

•

Aug 25, 2017

Excellent introductory course to Python Programming. If I could suggest one upgrade, it would be to set more challenging tests and assignments. Also to include explained solutions to tests and quizzes, because sometimes one is left wondering about it and, although is great to figure it out by yourself, sometimes it takes too long while you need to go on with videos (and worst of all, sometimes it was just a typing error!).

By Donato L P

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Aug 9, 2019

I wish the course offered more scripting assignments. The videos were very informative, but I would have like to have more hands on scripting practice. I thought the course was a very well structured introduction. I learned so much about the basics of python, and I think that my understanding of how to write scripts in python execute has grown tremendously. Also, the python visualizer is a great tool! Thanks so much!

By Michael P

•

Sep 20, 2020

I have received my certificate before I was able to improve my marks in the last quiz and final exam! I thought this part would be treated like the parts before with the possibility to improve...

The certificate does not say in which language I have learned the fundamentals to program. For 40 Euros I think I can expect that.

Apart from that I was very satisfied with the course itself and the help I got.

Michael Peters

By Mohsen H

•

Jul 21, 2019

Design of the assignments could use some improvements. If you fail assignments the first time, I suggest only the parts that you made errors in be re-evaluated not the whole assignment from the beginning.

Also instructors should put more time in getting ready so that they don't make so many errors while teaching the course.

Also, sometimes, the audio has problems and it's hard to understand.

But overall a good course.

By Warren H

•

Apr 22, 2018

This course was great for me as a beginner. It started fairly easy and then became more challenging, which was nice as I was not too familiar with Python. When needed, feedback in forums was there and the instructors were great at responding within a day. I did find that I got lost on some problems since the path of least resistance was trial and error but instructors always guided me back to the fundamentals!

By Abhishek B

•

Jan 28, 2018

Great teaching! Lectures were very well delivered. Loved the short quizzes in the middle of lectures plus the ones at the end.

Assignments were challenging but doable. Following the discussions on the Forum was extremely rewarding, thanks to good contributions by students and prompt replies from Patric (mentor). Came to the program with no background in programming and completed the course well in time.

By Conrad U

•

Nov 11, 2016

Great course! This course deep dives into the Python and provided me immediate hands on coding. I enjoyed experiments with this language. The quizzes and final exam were tough but fair. The only complaint I have is that the python visualization tool quiz questions were confusing. I like the visualization tool; it allows one to view code execution which was a must for this course.

By ANGELIS K

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Apr 14, 2017

It was a really helpful course! I had previous experience in programming (I have written scripts in Fortran), but having the opportunity to learn a much modern language such as Python was really entertaining.

The assignments were made so that I could utilize each lesson and so did each quiz.

I would firmly recommend this course to people with little to none programming knowledge!

By Mau B

•

May 21, 2020

Useful course but in my opinion very basic. I expected basic but thought it would take me at least double the time. Still I'd recommend it if you know nothing about programming and want something to start with. It kind of let me thinking I know very little about programming with Python and thinking I want to expand upon what I learned if I really want to make something useful.

By Julia G

•

Jul 27, 2023

Great course! I had followed Mosh's YouTube video on learning Python and felt very confused afterwards. This course went at a slower pace and helped me to better understand Python fundamentals. My only complaint was that there were some errors in the course that caused correct answers to be marked as incorrect. I recommend this course to anyone interested in learning Python.

By Vishnu L

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Jun 30, 2017

Very good for grasping the basics, and a nice structure and succinct lectures. Also includes challenging projects which are the best way of learning, more of these would be good. Exceptional mentors on the forums, particularly Patrick Dennis, who gave very detailed responses and was supportive, and posed further questions and thinking points to all. Very good overall.

By Ashwin S

•

Dec 20, 2023

The course could have been further improved by delving into a broader range of built-in functions instead of solely relying on learners to explore them independently. While it's impractical to cover every conceivable utility, striking a balanced approach between instruction and individual exploration might have made the course more comprehensive and beneficial

By Diana

•

Mar 13, 2018

I think this class did a good job of teaching programming concepts, but it was not easy. The final assignment was very challenging and it took me weeks to solve it. However, if you have the time and patience to think things out for yourself (with helpful hints from mentors in the forums), you will come away with a good grasp of programming fundamentals.

By Derek G

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Sep 26, 2021

Overall a good overview of basic in both Python and programming generally. Problem solving is important and many questions or designed in a way that requires careful problem solving--a few are a bit ambiguous initially in terms of what the expected answer format should be. This improves in retrospect once you have completed several quizzes.

By Shlok D

•

Oct 26, 2020

Realy great course! had a lot of fun and the tests genuinely were very challenging but fun in their own way.

would have loved to give 5 stars but i don't know if it was just me but the topics of week 6 were explained a bit fast so had some difficulty grasping those especially READING A FILE.

overall a pretty good course with lots to learn