

Zed Shaw is teaching two four-week Python classes (online) - thesethings
http://codelesson.com/python

======
netmau5
I'd -love- to take a Python course from Zed but this site makes me uneasy
about following through. Not enough information and the site simply doesn't
look professional enough to be sending in payments of $200+. The 404 on the
follow up course is a big red flag too.

\-- "Find courses you're interested in from our course list. After you've
selected a course, we'll send you more information about our Web-based
learning system. "

I kinda want to know before signing up, selecting, and/or paying what your
Web-based learning system is about. From what I can see on the site, there
will be some directed readings, evaluated assignments, and a place to do Q&A.
Those are nice benefits but I'm looking for a quality teacher to pay that
premium. I'd like to know if there is audio/video lectures, what the required
texts are, etc. Unfortunately there is no FAQ and the only obvious way to ask
is the "Contact Us" link which takes you to a generic feedback page.

~~~
jeffreymcmanus
There is a FAQ, actually:

<http://codelesson.com/faq>

~~~
nivertech
No audio/video lectures or screencasts?

It's unclear from FAQ what's "instructor-led" actually means.

~~~
jeffreymcmanus
Sorry, I responded to your question in the wrong point in the thread. See:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1724883>

------
thesethings
Full disclosure: I have no professional/ financial affiliation with
Codelesson, though I am friends with one of its founders.

Posted this since I've seen so much praise for Zed's Python book here on HN.

~~~
zaatar
Zed's python book: <http://sheddingbikes.com/LearnPythonTheHardWay.pdf>

~~~
thesethings
Doh! Thanks. I should have linked to that :D (Everybody, check out this
amazing, constantly updated (!) book that Zed wrote.)

~~~
mcn
The grandparent comment links version 0.1 of the book, get the current version
(0.5 as of now) from the book's website at <http://learnpythonthehardway.org/>

(I found that out in the process of attempting to report an error in version
0.1 - it's already fixed in 0.5, and 0.5 is 4x longer.)

~~~
zedshaw
Hmmm, I should probably put up a pdf that says "there's a new version" at that
URL.

------
praeclarum
What's up with this being an introductory course to Python? Shouldn't the
experts be giving expert level instruction?

I understand the desire of programmers to start from ground zero, but come on.
The internet is full of easy beginner tutorials. Bookstores are full of
intermediate materials.

But there is a shortage of expert advice from experienced professionals. Let's
see some of that!

~~~
jeffreymcmanus
You assume every experience professional knows everything. :) There's no shame
in taking an introductory course, even if you're a super genius in some other
area.

One thing that surprised us about our first CodeLesson course is that it was
populated by a few startup CEOs, some of whom had coded in college, others who
were learning to code for the first time.

~~~
praeclarum
While I agree, in general, with your statements/sentiments, such logic will
keep us perpetually in a loop of beginner's mechanics. You advance knowledge
and skill by challenging yourself - you don't do it by repeating beginner's
materials.

~~~
babeKnuth
i disagree. i've been coding for quite a while now, and am now just picking up
emacs. the only way for me to begin is to start with basic/simple tutorials
(e.g. peepcode, emacs starter kit, etc.). for an experienced programmer trying
to learn python, i'd imagine zed would be an amazing fit since he could
possibly customize/direct his vast knowledge specific to the user.

though i agree with the idea that there are very few resources geared toward
expert/advanced users. i'm not sure how flexible the course material would be
in this case tho.

------
jnoller
That's pretty cool; and I didn't know about codelesson - if I ever had the
time to put together a decent class, I'd try this out for sure.

Grats to Zed.

------
sublemonic
I'd love to take a Mongrel2 class from Zed. Codelesson is new to me - I must
explore...

~~~
zedshaw
Well damn, maybe I'll do one. Hell I'd get together with people in SF or
wherever for free and show them how to do stuff. It'd be an awesome bad ass
way for me to get feedback on what needs to happen to make Mongrel2 awesome.

~~~
Psyonic
I'd definitely be interested in attending that.

------
jlmendezbonini
Someone knows about a similar site offering (or someone willing to offer
through codelesson.com) a good software engineering course? I'll be up for
that.

~~~
jeffreymcmanus
You can propose a course here:

<http://codelesson.com/courses/suggest>

What topics would you like to see covered in a software engineering course?
What kind of person would you like to see teach it?

------
kmfrk
Little can be inferred from the link, but I am 100% sure that Zed makes an
awesome teacher for anyone who's considering taking the class. Just hit him up
on Twitter or e-mail, and I'm sure he'll oblige.

------
jbarham
FYI, I'm getting a 404 for the link to the Part B follow-up lesson.

~~~
jeffreymcmanus
I think I fixed the bad link; thanks for letting us know.

~~~
patrickaljord
Still there here [http://codelesson.com/view/introduction-to-programming-in-
py...](http://codelesson.com/view/introduction-to-programming-in-python-
part-b)

~~~
brianmwang
That's not the right URL.

Go here instead: [http://codelesson.com/courses/view/introduction-to-
programmi...](http://codelesson.com/courses/view/introduction-to-programming-
in-python-part-b)

------
mkramlich
I'm really not into taking "courses" online when there's already lots of free
non-interactive textual/reference/tutorial content already online, and offline
in the form of books. And for a really great interactive resource, there's
this thing called the Python REPL.

That said, I do think people should do what they love, and try to monetize the
doing of what they love, so more power to him in this endeavor.

~~~
zedshaw
Same here, but then people like me and you are rare in the real world. Other
folks, for lack of confidence or direction, need someone to point them in in
the right way so they get started.

~~~
mkramlich
fair point

------
mhb
Making the first lesson available for free would answer a lot of questions and
address a lot of anxieties as well as probably lure in more students.

~~~
zedshaw
Well, the entire course is technically already online:

<http://learnpythonthehardway.org/>

Basically, I'll be setting up the first 26 lessons for class A, then the
remaining 26 for class B. The purpose of the course is that you get my time to
help you through the book and grade you on your progress.

It's actually pretty simple and should be a ton of fun.

~~~
Kaizyn
This course is a great idea. Will you do a ruby class next? In saying that, I
am mostly joking. However a C class would be pretty sweet, especially since
it's hard to learn how to write C correctly, efficiently and securely.

~~~
jeffreymcmanus
We have a Ruby course listed on the site already:

[http://codelesson.com/courses/view/the-ruby-programming-
lang...](http://codelesson.com/courses/view/the-ruby-programming-language)

~~~
babeKnuth
i think he was asking if zed would be teaching a course on ruby.

if so, what about mongrel too? :)

------
babeKnuth
i'm curious as to what sort of pedagogical approach zed will be taking with
this course. i know zed's personal preference is to pick up a book and just go
thru all the exercises in it (e.g. mickey baker's jazz guitar).

will he be doing anything different from traditional student/instructor
methods? curious as to what zed's personal take on this is as well.

------
c00p3r
I think there is a much better way to invest your time:

[http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-
comput...](http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-
science/6-00-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-
fall-2008/lecture-videos/)

Seem like everyone on HN is either a teacher or a prophet nowadays. ^_^

