Python Programming Semester Class - Practical and Fun Programming

In this course we will learn how to program in python from the ground up, using a cloud based programming platform. We will divide each class between discussing methods and topics in programming to actually building programs ourselves. We will cover the basics of programming, learn about variables, and ways to store and use information in lists, dictionaries, tuples, and other structures. We will also learn about conditional statements to sort data, and user input and loops. The course will focus on fun and interesting examples to help students understand concepts that can be applied elsewhere. Though both discussion and collaborative programming, we will build a solid foundation of Python programming and build real world code that solves many common problems.

In this semester length course, we are going to cover Python programming from the very beginning and work our way towards more complex and intricate programs. This is a great course for those with programming experience or students that are starting from scratch. Our goal is to introduce various programming methods and techniques as we build examples that have real-world applications. Programming is a superpower for the future, and students will look at many different ways to interact with the world, gather and analyze data, manipulate various elements using programming, and ultimately gain a deep insight into the Python programming language. 

This course is divided into two parts, the first part is composed of 6 modules on the basics of Python programming, which will go over data structures and various types of programs, which will serve as a refresher for those who have python experience, or an introduction for those who are new to programming. 

Required experience:
No knowledge of programming is required to get started with this course, our goal is to work through the tools we need in the first part of the course so we can experiment with amazing projects in the latter 14 modules. 

We will work on expanding our foundational knowledge of python in the second part of the course By working on projects that automate various tasks. We will look at validating input reading and writing to files, connecting with the web and scraping data, working with various kinds of data and documents, using python to send emails and text messages, manipulating images, and even creating keyboard and mouse control using python. 

Course Outline (Introduction or Refresher to Python):
Part I: Python Programming Basics
Module 1: Python Basics
Module 2: Flow Control
Module 3: Functions
Module 4: Lists
Module 5: Dictionaries and Structuring Data
Module 6: Manipulating Strings

Part II: Automating Tasks (Projects and Programming Exploration)
Module 7: Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
Module 8: Input Validation
Module 9: Reading and Writing Files
Module 10: Organizing Files
Module 11: Debugging Code
Module 12: Web Scraping
Module 13: Working with Excel Spreadsheets
Module 14: Working with Google Sheets
Module 15: Working with PDF and Word Documents
Module 16: Working with CSV Files and JSON Data
Module 17: Keeping Time, Scheduling Tasks, and Launching Programs
Module 18: Sending Email and Text Messages
Module 19: Manipulating Images
Module 20: Controlling the Keyboard and Mouse with GUI Automation