Python Teen Coders Part 1

The Python Teen Coders program has been meticulously designed to guide teenagers (age 13 and up) through the fundamentals of Python. This instructor-led online course is organized into two separate parts, each part is held over 4 days, 1 1/2 hours per day.

Day 1 - Getting Started with Python

We install Python on your laptop (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux are all supported) and learn how to get up and running with it.

• Introduction to Python
• Installing Python
• Learn how to run Python in interactive mode using the basic Python interactive shell and IDLE, the Python Integrated Development Environment
• Configure and use IDLE both in script mode (for writing, saving and running your Python programs).
• Learn about the programming concepts of values, data types and variables
• Understand what are statements and expressions
• Introduction to strings
• It's fun learning with the turtle module :
  • draw shapes and patterns with a turtle object
  • programming concepts such as function and repetition (with the for loop)
  • creating a turtle program

Day 2 - Drawing with Turtle Graphics

In this lesson, we will have a lot of fun learning how to draw simple graphics using a module from the Python Standard Library known as the turtle module. But more important we will learn a lot of important programming concepts along the way as well.

• What is a module?
• Activity : Draw a square with a turtle.
• Learn about object attributes and state from the turtle program
• Creating multiple turtle objects

Day 3 - Refactoring the draw square program

A basic pattern of many programs is to repeat some code, over and over again. We learn to analyze the draw square program from Day 2 for a repetitive pattern and to use the for loop to simplify our code.

• Preview of the list data type (required for using the for loop)
• Using the for loop to refactor our draw square program
• Refactoring the two_turtles program (from Day 1)
• More turtle methods and tricks

Day 4 - Functions and User Input

• What is a function?
• Defining a draw_square function for our turtle program
• Drawing a series of multi-coloured squares
• Functions that return values

Teenagers aged 13 and up. No experience with computer programming is assumed. But students should already be familiar with general usage of a computer such as using a browser, editing and saving files, etc.

No prior knowledge of computer programming is required. You should already be familiar with the general usage of a computer, for example, for editing and saving files, browsing the Internet and also the computer's file system.