Code Yourself An Introduction to Programming
Coursera
Course Summary
Have you ever wished you knew how to program, but had no idea where to start from? This course will teach you how to program in Scratch, an easy to use visual programming language. More importantly, it will introduce you to the fundamental principles of computing and it will help you think like a software engineer.
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Course Description
Computer programs are everywhere: from coffee machines and MP3 players, to spaceships and medical robots. But just like astronomy is more than simply using telescopes, Computer Science is more than simply using computers. It’s about programming computers to tell them precisely what to do. Coding is an invaluable skill that helps people think computationally, and hence effectively solve problems within and outside computer science. It is also creative and fun, allowing you, for instance, to build computer games to play with your friends.This course will introduce you to computer programming with Scratch, one of the easiest to use programming languages. You will create computer programs by plugging graphical coding blocks together, for example to create animations, build games and construct interactive stories. But this course is much more than an introduction to Scratch. It will teach you how to think like a programmer, a computer scientist, a software engineer! It will introduce you to the fundamental principles of computing, and prompt you to think around topics like algorithm design, user interaction, code reusability and generalisation of solutions. You will learn all this through in-depth, hands-on examples, interviews with computing experts, fun quizzes and creative projects. By the end of this course you will be equipped with a solid understanding of the foundations of computing, allowing you to move to different programming languages or take a more advanced programming course in the future.
NOTE: This course is also given in Spanish: https://www.coursera.org/course/aprogramar
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Course Syllabus
- Week 1: Your first computer program
- Week 2: Code gone loopy
- Week 3: Remixing games
- Week 4: Reusing your code
- Week 5: Think like a software engineer
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Recommended Background
No prior computing experience is needed. This course is intended for people who have never programmed before, and it is designed to work equally well for children and adults.
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Course Format
The course consists of around 1 hour of lecture each week, delivered as short videos supported by slides and code examples. Each video contains optional integrated quiz questions to help you verify that you have correctly understood new concepts. Feature videos of interviews with computer scientists and non-computer scientists reflecting on each week’s topic are also included. Weekly quizzes and peer-graded programming projects will equip you with hands-on programming experience. Finally, you will have the opportunity to use the discussion forum to interact with and learn from each other.
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Suggested Reading
There is no required textbook for this course, as it is meant to be self-contained. For students that are eager to use a textbook, a useful reference is Computer Science Concepts in Scratch (Weizmann Institute of Science) by Michal Armoni and Moti Ben-Ari or Creative Computing Curriculum Guide (Harvard University) by Karen Brennan, Christan Balch, and Michelle Chung.
