In this course, we will learn how to program in python from the ground up. Each module will have an in-depth video explaining the concepts and working through building programs and examples of concepts. From the very beginning steps into programming (the basics of python) to more complicated programs, we will build up the skills to make our own programs and learn to code. Weekly modules will cover different topics, and scaffold skills so we are able to build more complex programs and think of new ways to solve coding challenges . 

Each module will have an overview of the topic we are going to cover, activities and games to learn, build on, and reinforce concepts. 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.

Because this is a flex class, students will get detailed videos each week that cover the topic of the week, as well as handouts or PowerPoint slides that cover the topic. Students will have a weekly assignment at the end of each module, and will post their code to the classroom. Students are also encourages to comment on each others code. Students will be able to look at how the homework was solved, and will be provided with video feedback on their code. Feedback will be provided  so learners can work on improving the fundamentals of coding as we work through the course and build the skills need to learn programming.

Course modules will cover:
Module 1: Introduction to Python
We will talk about variables, and work on programs to explore variables, strings, integers, and floats. We will also build a dog age calculator and work on different ways to join and print strings.

Module 2: Lists
We will do a deep dive into the world of lists and build programs that draw from lists including a changing story based on random selections from the contents of lists.

Module 3: Loops
Our first examination of for loops and the ways we can use them with variables and lists to make things run over and over again without needed extra lines of code. 

Module 4: Conditional Statements
Conditional statements will let us sort though data, and we will use if/elif/else statements to sort through data, play a game against the computer, and organize our data by condition

Module 5: Dictionaires 
Once we have covered the basics, we will work on the next data type in python, dictionaries. These let us store more complex kinds of data, and organize our code in key and value pairs. We will also talk about OOP or Object Oriented Programming and JSON

Module 6: User Input and While Loops
Up until now we have been writing programs that we supply the data for, now we will learn new methods for users to supply data. This can be used to build chatbots, customize our programs, and collect user input. We will also talk about our second type of loop, while loops which run based on a condition.

Module 7: Functions
In module 7 we will learn how to create our own functions and build programs by connecting files and functions together.

Module 8: Text Based Game
Using the many topics we have covered to this point, we will build a text based game using functions, variables, and a game map. We will discuss how to create pathways for players to follow, and use their input to navigate the game. 

Module 9: Text Based Game Part 2
We will continue working on our games, and programming additional interactive and random elements to make them more fun and exciting.

Module 10: Connecting to an API
In this module, we will connect to the weather and space API (application programming interface) so our programs will use live data to run. This means we can build some really neat programs that use live data.

Module 11: More APIs
We will continue our API adventure with additional Space data and build a program that predicts where the International Space Station is. We will also program a URL with strings, so we can generate web links to google maps that visualize the data we capture in the API. 

Module 12: Turtle, Final Wrap-up and Beyond 
In our final module, we will work on some other neat things Python can do, like turtle, to create graphics and images. We will also work on creating graphs from some of our data, and reviewing what we covered in the course and how topics connect together.