What is this repository for?

This repository stores my PowerPoint slides, lecture notes, and homework for a simple 7 to 10 session Python course. Each session is designed to last 1 to 2 hours, roughly half lecture and half hands-on practice.

This is an update on my earlier Python course, which you can find on GitHub here.

I primarily teach this material to middle school students in China. The first part of the course is adapted from Dr. Chuck's amazing, CC-licensed "Python for Everybody" class, which you can find on the Python for Everybody website. Later classes focus on writing a simple game, and borrow from Al Sweigart's great "Making Games with Python and Pygame" which you can find on his website, here.

How can I use these materials?

Any way you like! Just make sure to maintain the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

The materials themselves are organized by type:

books: this directory holds the books I used to develop the course
code: example code and additional resources for each class (still in progress)
homework: homework and quizzes for classes 1-7
slides: my PowerPoint slides for classes 1-8

What exactly is in this repository?

Lecture slides in .pptx format
Homework documents and lecture notes in .docx format

FAQ

What tools do I need for the course? What platforms are supported?

When I teach the course, I use Python 3 and the PyGame library.

Coding and experimentation is done in Python's IDLE. Typically, I provide each student with a Windows Remote Desktop environment, to ensure everyone is working in the same way.

However, these materials should work just fine in Linux, Windows, and macOS. You just need to download and install Python 3, then use Python's pip to download and install PyGame, like:

python3 -m pip install pygame

Python can be downloaded from the python.org website.

Why do you use .docx and .pptx instead of open standards?

I like open standards, but I want these materials to be useful to the broadest possible audience. The .pptx and .docx file formats are the de-facto standard at the moment and will open and display OK in Keynote on the Mac, in Microsoft PowerPoint, and in LibreOffice/OpenOffice.

Do you have video recordings of your class?

No. But there are many online Python classes already. You can search through the course catalogs on sites like Coursera, Udacity, Lynda, or Udemy...there are many options! In fact, Dr. Chuck's "Python For Everybody" course is already available as a Coursera Specialization.