Class Description
This class is designed for Python beginners, open to grades 8-12.
This class can fit two purposes. Yes, it would be a good first class for students who want to go on to a career involving coding. BUT IT IS ALSO, ESPECIALLY designed for students who don't necessarily want to work in coding, but want to have a working knowledge of Python for personal or work use. To that end, this curriculum teaches the basics of Python, but also teaches how to write some simple programs that could be useful to anyone, like scheduling tasks or organizing files on their computer. **Please note, if a student has previously taken other Python classes or used online resources to teach themselves Python, they may find this class too simplistic.**
In class each week, we will watch a short video, then walk through the week's Python lesson together. Students will NEED TO BRING A LAPTOP TO CLASS EACH WEEK.
The homework for each week will be to read the chapter we covered in class and practice the exercises at home. Homework will not be graded, but is highly recommended for students to retain the material and be ready to build on it each week.
The class curriculum is available free online and there are no supplies needed in class other than a laptop. The class supply fee will cover the cost of a dedicated hotspot for the class.
The class topics are:
Part I: Python Programming Basics
Chapter 1: Python Basics Covers expressions, the most basic type of Python instruction, and how to use the Python interactive shell software to experiment with code.
Chapter 2: Flow Control Explains how to make programs decide which instructions to execute so your code can intelligently respond to different conditions.
Chapter 3: Functions Instructs you on how to define your own functions so that you can organize your code into more manageable chunks.
Chapter 4: Lists Introduces the list data type and explains how to organize data.
Chapter 5: Dictionaries and Structuring Data Introduces the dictionary data type and shows you more powerful ways to organize data.
Chapter 6: Manipulating Strings Covers working with text data (called strings in Python).
Part II: Automating Tasks
Chapter 7: Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions Covers how Python can manipulate strings and search for text patterns with regular expressions.
Chapter 8: Input Validation Explains how your program can verify the information a user gives it, ensuring that the user’s data arrives in a format that won’t cause errors in the rest of the program.
Chapter 9: Reading and Writing Files Explains how your program can read the contents of text files and save information to files on your hard drive.
Chapter 10: Organizing Files Shows how Python can copy, move, rename, and delete large numbers of files much faster than a human user can. Also explains compressing and decompressing files.
Chapter 11: Debugging Shows how to use Python’s various bug-finding and bug-fixing tools.
Chapter 12: Web Scraping Shows how to write programs that can automatically download web pages and parse them for information. This is called web scraping.
Chapter 13: Working with Excel Spreadsheets Covers programmatically manipulating Excel spreadsheets so that you don’t have to read them. This is helpful when the number of documents you have to analyze is in the hundreds or thousands.
Chapter 14: Working with Google Sheets Covers how to read and update Google Sheets, a popular web-based spreadsheet application, using Python.
Chapter 15: Working with PDF and Word Documents Covers programmatically reading Word and PDF documents.
Chapter 16: Working with CSV Files and JSON Data Continues to explain how to programmatically manipulate documents, now discussing CSV and JSON files.
Chapter 17: Keeping Time, Scheduling Tasks, and Launching Programs Explains how Python programs handle time and dates and how to schedule your computer to perform tasks at certain times. Also shows how your Python programs can launch non-Python programs.
Chapter 18: Sending Email and Text Messages Explains how to write programs that can send emails and text messages on your behalf.
Chapter 19: Manipulating Images Explains how to programmatically manipulate images such as JPEG or PNG files.
Chapter 20: Controlling the Keyboard and Mouse with GUI Automation Explains how to programmatically control the mouse and keyboard to automate clicks and keypresses.
We will cover at least the first 13 chapters in class, but will try to cover as much as possible in the semester. A detailed syllabus will be provided at Meet the Teacher
Are there any Prerequisites?
No
Class Supply Fee
15
What class supplies do parents need to provide?
Laptop required for class
Will homework be required for this class?
No
Additional Info:
| Fee | Amount |
| Class Supply Fee | $15.00 |
| Total: | $15.00 |