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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming by The University of Edinburgh

4.7
stars
3,403 ratings

About the Course

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....

Top reviews

ED

Apr 4, 2016

the course is what the name says it is, an introduction to programming, great course for any code beginner. Lecturer is doing amazing job and keeping the lectures interesting, easy and understandable.

EA

Jun 3, 2020

for a total beginner in coding, this course was the perfect start! It was easy to understand, and easy to program (coding wit already?)

Thank you so much for offering such a wonderful way to learn!

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1 - 25 of 1,176 Reviews for Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming

By Kathryn D

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Sep 20, 2015

I love the way this course is designed! It's a really wonderful breath of fresh air.

Scratch is a wonderful tool for understanding programming before jumping into courses in programming languages.

By Monika S

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Jun 4, 2020

This course is really helpful .Content is amazing and so much useful.anybody who wants to learn programming as a beginner should try this course first .Thank you for making my Lockdown so productive.

By Johannes G A B

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Apr 12, 2020

Honestly, I think Scratch, the programming tool used here, is better left for kids. This is a great tool to give kids an idea about programming and to get them interested. For adults, however, I think this is a very, very, very basic program, which teaches just the absolute basics of coding logically and thinking logically. I do not think Scratch has any real-life applications or use. I do not think the skills taught here allow you to do make anything practical, but it does let give you a bit of a taste about programming and teaches you very basic programming logic. But like I said, I just don't think Scratch is an appropriate tool and I think it should remain a coding tool for kids. I believe others are better off with an introductory course on something like Python instead, which isn't that hard either.

Regardless, I've given the course 5 stars. For what it tries to do, it really does teach you Scratch in baby steps in a clear, practical way with some good projects to test your skill. It was made clear in the description they'd be using Scratch, hence I do not take off any stars from the instructors for that reason.

If you really just want to see if you like coding at all, want to get at it in small steps or want to learn about the basics behind thinking as a software engineer, this course is fine for that. If you want to learn practical coding skills, it can be a stepping stone, but to some people this may just be a bit too easy and they're better off starting off with a more advanced course.

By Abby D

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Aug 14, 2015

The course itself is easy to follow and informative. However, the programming relates primarily to animations so is most appropriate for those interested in design, game design, etc. The course description should better specify this.

By Saatvik G

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Dec 6, 2016

This is a very bad course I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as it doesn't concern to any coding.

By Darshan P

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Apr 29, 2020

First of all, I would like to thank Dr.ARET!. The teaching approach is outstanding and she never feels you bored while learning and you always feel excited to learn with her(SHE IS SO CUTE), the approach and the use of Cody the animations are awesome. One of the best courses on Coursera to start learning to program using scratch...note that anyone can learn to program (coding) and become a good programmer. just believe that you can do it. I will suggest that you go for these courses no matter what background you belong too just go for it. thank you and "I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IF Dr.ARET MAKE AN ADVANCE COURSE ON SCRATCH OR OTHER PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE IF YOU CAN MAKE FOR US ".

By Emir D

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Apr 5, 2016

the course is what the name says it is, an introduction to programming, great course for any code beginner. Lecturer is doing amazing job and keeping the lectures interesting, easy and understandable.

By Elaine W

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Sep 10, 2015

This course is a great way for the beginning program to get started. It is a fast, easy to understand explanation of Scratch. Great lectures with clear instruction. I really enjoyed this class.

By Sailaja S T

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Dec 1, 2017

I started from zero in programming. I like the way it was taught. I got interested in programming after doing this course and thoroughly enjoyed it . Now, I am able to write small games on the scratch which my kid is enjoying. My kid also wants to learn now. I will soon be introducing Scratch Jr to her. In fact, this made me sign up for one more course, which I am currently learning. I would definitely recommend this course to my friends.

A big thank you to Areti and Inés.

By Empty A

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Jun 3, 2020

for a total beginner in coding, this course was the perfect start! It was easy to understand, and easy to program (coding wit already?)

Thank you so much for offering such a wonderful way to learn!

By Beatriz M P

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Apr 21, 2020

I love it thank yoy

By Jennifer S

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Aug 27, 2021

The teacher is good. She speaks clearly and explains things well. The opportunity to practice in Scratch is great. However, the reason for this rating is because Scratch changed significantly since these lessons were recorded and the lessons have not been updated. This happened at least a year ago by the complaints in the forum. That's too long to leave updates to the software you're teaching unaddressed. It's very frustrating.

By Katie D

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Oct 19, 2015

This is a great introductory programming course for anyone. It covers the basics of programming and prepares you for more advanced programming like java. If you can play with LEGOs you can do this course, yet it is still fun and challenging for the genuinely tech savvy. It's also a good creative outlet.

The professor is cool and sweet, and although it sometimes feels like she had kids in mind for this course, the students are very diverse. Thanks Areti, I had a heck of a lot of fun!!! Now, it's midnight here, time for some Java (and some coffee too)!!!

By Stefan T A

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Sep 10, 2015

I loved this course.

Its a great way to get an understanding on how coding is built up.

Building in scratch was a lot of fun, but if I tried using to much effects, the game started lagging. This can be a bit frustrating, but with some practice I think it will give a better understanding on how to make coding in general not to heavy.

By István P

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May 4, 2020

A perfect course to get familiarized with coding. The instructors are just fantastic! They keep the course fresh with posting to the forums regularly and with holding live hangout sessions. There are also interview videos with professionals about interesting IT topics. The course videos are understandable and the topics are clearly formulated. The course helped me understand the foundations of coding, which two semesters of university courses could not accomplish. I am really satisfied with the knowledge I got and I will continue learning to code. I definitely recommend this course to anyone who wants to start a journey into the world of coding.

By Laina K

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Aug 24, 2017

As a complete beginner to programming, I loved and appreciated the way this course taught me the concept of coding and algorithms through everyday examples, and then applied it to Scratch when creating games. They walk you through various projects and from there you can apply a lot of the principles to your own assignments. Interesting to me and fun personally! I found myself saying, 'I miss the course!' after it ended which means I will need to sign up for another one soon :)

By Carol S

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Nov 2, 2015

Very helpful course for anyone who plans to use any form of programming. Helps you to wrap your head around the terms and their meaning. I have found having taken this course as being helpful now that I am taking a course covering JavaScript.

The instructor on this course is EXCELLENT with presentation and is enjoyable. The class demands a lot of hands-on time, but is fun if you enjoy solving problems and making things work.

By Somto G U

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Jun 9, 2017

This was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only issue that I had was come week 4, I started to struggle a little bit as the exercises became more challenging. However, I persevered and was proud of what I was able to accomplish by the end of it. It its programming at a very basic level but it does serve as a good introduction to the world of code and writing programmes.

Would highly recommend!

By Oleksandr S

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Nov 22, 2015

I think this is the best course to start with programming especially with the professors from top universities. Programming in Scratch can build solid foundations of IT knowledge. I especially like explanations of professor from Edinburgh University, very clear and encouraging and with some flavor of Scottish humor.

I really hope this would be my first step towards career in computer science, hopefully with Edinburgh University.

By Aparna M

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Aug 16, 2016

I love Prof. Areti!! She's amazing! This is first time I've come so far in any course I've taken in Coursera; partly because programming is actually fun, but also because this course is structured beautifully to teach students how to understand the logic behind programs and implement &/or improvise the same concepts in their own creations. With this, I shall say I am determined to complete the Code Yourself! course :)

By Ace

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Mar 29, 2017

Very helpful course in understanding basics of software engineering, but more so an insight into what programming is really like. I thought it would take long, but it didn't really. You get to the point where you want it to be good or you want it to be satisfactory - if you choose good then you'll be spending more time on it without realising. Good course, friendly and honest reviewers. Thanks everyone.

By Fatih K C

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Sep 30, 2015

Anlatımlar ve ders planı çok iyi şekilde planlanmış. Pedagojik olarak anlatımlarda her öğrenci seviyesi düşünülmüş. Konu anlatımı sırasında sorulan sorular, ders sonlarında yapılan quiz sınavları ve proje çalışmaları oldukça güzel. Dersleri ingilizceniz yeterli olmasa bile ingilizce altyazılar ile kolaylıkla dersleri takip edebilirsiniz.

Öğrendiğiniz konuları derslerinizde kullanabilir, ders dosyalarını kaydedebilir daha sonra yeniden takıldığınız yerleri seyredebilirsiniz.

p.s. This review is wriiten for Turkish Users.

By Amanda S

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Oct 21, 2015

Thank you so much! What a fun and practical course. It was delivered so simply and provided a good starting point for coding. I wanted to learn some fundamentals and theory, which I would normally expect to be dry and boring, however with your happy delivery and application to Scratch made that learning process really enjoyable. I looked forward to every week of the lectures and the peer assessments were also insightful. A well structured program! I look forward to furthering my knowledge with you. Thank you again.

By Mabel W

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Mar 3, 2016

This is a great course for beginners for sure. I loved the teacher and would do more courses she teaches for sure. The only thing I would have to say is that the last task was a bit difficult for some of the coding and there was no assistance of someone I could have reached out to. i.e. if I was having a hard time with a certain aspect in Scratch that I had a difficult time with, I would have loved somehow to ask for assistance to better understand what I was doing wrong and/or why it was not working

By nikhil k

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May 1, 2017

a very excellent course. to actually introduce yourself to programming and the instructors are great..! the mentors were quick in solving difficulties.. i enjoyed the course.

i am basically a noob at programming. i come from a medical background but want to explore the field of data science, medical informatics. this course hopefully is the perfect start. my next step is to learn python ! hopefully i can do it.. but in all a fantastic course.!