RMOTR

The people, the mentors, and the way the projects are designed to show us how to code for real.

The only thing I think could be done better is to give us at least a day between a class and the first coding session of that week. This way, we get the chance to really look through the material and get acquainted with it before we are thrown off the deep end with a project.

Mentors truly worked at your pace even when it must have been infuriating.

2 small things I didn't like. The time projects actually took was usually well over the 3 hour projected time. This led to several late nights and burned me out at the end of the course. Second small thing, the lectures skimmed over some material that became extremely important when doing a project. Sometimes felt that they lectures only hit the broadest of topics and we were supposed to research the tiny topics on our own time, most of my own time was spent trying to finish up prior projects.

"The amount of material covered was great, I felt I gained a much stronger grasp of Python during this course. I really like the instructors, and I find curriculum is really well structured. I'm a big fan and I will return when you have more courses that appeal to me, I'm even considering taking the Django class in a few months. Thanks for doing an amazing job!!"

I felt I took on too much by going directly from Intro to Python into Advanced Python. I would love if there was a bridge module that we could take, that consisted of several projects of the same complexity as the last few in Intro, first few of the Advanced class, basically involved object oriented programming problems. This combined with weekly meeting with mentors would have helped me solidify my skills before taking on the large workload and overwhelming amount of information of the advanced class. If I were to do it again, I would make sure that the advanced class was the only thing I had to focus on, as the amount of work is significantly more than the intro class. Waiting a month or two with active programming in Python would also have helped me.

I loved the fixed schedule, I would have never forced myself to read that much and work on projects that much on my own. I also really liked the exercises on the Learn platform, they just seemed to fit perfectly for cementing/applying what you just read. Simple enough to figure out in not too long of time, but with enough twist to make you think and make sure you actually understand what you just read.

I didn't really like working in groups on the projects. I feel more comfortable learning and experimenting with things on my own. In the groups, it either felt like your partner was leaving you behind, or you might be leaving your partner behind, but if you taught everything to your partner and made sure they understood everything, the project would take twice as long.

The instructors and the lab technology worked well. I have taken several online courses and have gotten bogged down in trying to make the labs work or getting them set up. But rmotr's set up worked well and I could focus on learning the course material.

A bit more instruction on your Learn platform would have been great. until about the third week I didn't figure out how to go back to a previous try at an answer.

Having a strict schedule (clear start and end date to the class, scheduled classes) with a short timeline (4 weeks) and lots of accountability (through all the required group work, having to join the Zoom sessions, mandatory human interaction) were all extremely helpful for a non-committal, procrastinating person like me. I usually never finish classes or I slack off, but RMOTR's class somehow pulled out a new level of dedication. I think out of all of those, being in a class with "real people" and interacting with each other was the most helpful in terms of keeping me coming and and staying on track. Taking other online courses can sometimes feel isolating, but RMOTR did the absolute best it could in relieving that.

I have mixed feelings about amount of resources given on the material. If I were not already aware of and familiar with all of the concepts covered, I imagine that the links for reading material would not be enough. The lectures to cover concepts were not that detailed either. I think what filled me in most were the Learn exercises and the group projects, so I would suggest having even more Learn exercises (double the amount, especially for the OOP and Advanced OOP sections) OR adding another project per week on Tuesdays instead of having just a Learn exercise group work day. I think Monday & Tuesday sessions were the least helpful because we wouldn't cover much in the Zoom session and we didn't do any projects those days either.

I really enjoyed the structured approach and the accountability that comes with working with teammates.

Instructors sometimes had poor internet connection experiences so it was hard to hear them at times, but it was just few times. Not sure if it should be considered as an issue.

I really enjoyed the projects using GitHub - they're hard, but it's a great way of seeing how everything fits together.

The difference in timezones was a bit rough, but that's inevitable and no-one's fault. I also prefer to work by myself so fewer group projects would have been better for me, but that's just me.

Once you understand the learning process, it's very streamlined and engaging to solve the weekly problems. Even the homework is often challenging and engaging. If you're looking for depth, the instructors and mentors are always ready for a deep dive on a topic.

There were times that I dreaded being paired up with someone who was really behind, which happened to me a few times. The difference between being paired up with someone around your level, versus someone that just isn't "getting it" is that you will spend the entire session explaining a problem instead of solving a larger problem collaboratively.

I loved the pace. I didn't want to have a class where we spent two weeks doing very basic Python coding that anyone who picked up a book and read for a couple of hours could do. The pace and content justify the cost. If you're not serious about it, then you shouldn't pass.

I felt kind of in the dark before the class started. After paying for the course, there wasn't much communication (to the point where I was trying to find out when the course was actually starting).

The community. The support from both the teachers and mentors is unmatched. Mentors and teachers were ALWAYS available when needed. Actually teaching the testing aspect of programming and teaching how coders typically program within their work environment was a welcome part! I definitely learned alot. I'm already signed up for the Advanced Python course. Can't wait to start!

Seemed like the first couple of weeks were very condensed. Wish we had more time dedicated to some subjects. Didn't affect how much I enjoyed the experience.

I really enjoyed live coding sessions and ability to get help from real mentors. Group projects were more complicated than exercises in a homework, which was a great opportunity for me to learn how to build complex projects. Solving group assignments required mentors' help most of the times, which is a unique part of this course because every other online course leaves you alone with your problem when you need a help with your code. Mentors are the best part of the course, as they are always there for you to help and answer all your questions in a very friendly way. They will do everything possible for you to understand how to code, but you must do a lot of individual work, where besides the homework exercises a lot of reading is required. To make a learning experience more impactful, I would suggest exploring provided reading material beyond given chapters as much as you can, as that will help you with the deeper understanding of programming with Python.

I'm very thankful for a learning experience that I had during my RMOTR course.