What To Expect
This section describes what to expect in your upcoming training course with Python Charmers.
Timing
Your training course will normally run from 9:00 to roughly 17:00 each day, with breaks of 50 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes each for morning and afternoon tea.
We highly recommend that you arrive or connect by 8:40am (20 minutes early) on the first day so you can settle in and find your way around and get set up before the course starts.
Break times (approximate):
10:40am to 11:00am
12:40pm to 1:30pm
3:00pm to 3:20pm
Format
Each topic is a mixture of hands-on exercises and expert instruction.
Exercises
There will be practical programming exercises throughout the course. These will be challenging and fun, and the solutions will be discussed after each exercise and provided as source code. During the exercises, the trainer will offer individual help and suggestions.
Questions
We encourage an interactive and dynamic learning atmosphere. If you ask questions in the course as they arise in your mind, you will have more fun, learn faster, and your questions will probably help others who have similar questions.
Personal help
Your trainer(s) will be available after the course each day for you to ask any one-on-one questions you like — whether about the course material and exercises or about specific problems you face in your work and how to use Python to solve them.
Hosted courses
Computer: For face-to-face training courses Python Charmers host, we will provide an internet-connected computer for you during the course.
Food and drink: For training courses we host, we will provide lunch, morning and afternoon tea, and drinks. Please let us know at info@pythoncharmers.com if you have special dietary requirements.
On-site courses
For training courses on-site at your company or organization's premises, please bring a laptop with:
a 64-bit operating system: Windows, Linux, or macOS
at least 8 GB RAM, 15 GB disk space
(preferably) internet access
(preferably) USB access
Software setup: If possible, prior to the course, please install the latest Anaconda Python 3.x. Detailed installation instructions are here.
Online courses
For online training courses, we recommend the following hardware and software:
Audio / Video: a webcam and headset with microphone or (preferably) a quiet room to allow you to collaborate effectively.
Computer: at least 8 GB of RAM and a 64-bit operating system (Windows, Linux, or macOS). If possible, we recommend using multiple screens.
Browser: Chrome, Firefox, or Safari (not IE or Edge). You will be able to use your browser to access our cloud server for coding during the course.
Multiple screens: (Optional) If possible, we recommend having a multiple screens to make it easy to keep several browser windows visible simultaneously.
You can also optionally install the following software on your computer. You will not need this during the course but we would recommend this setup for your use afterwards:
The latest Anaconda Python 3 pre-installed (for your user account only): https://www.anaconda.com/distribution/#download-section
The latest Visual Studio Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/Download
Supplemental materials
In a face-to-face course, we will give you printed course notes and a USB stick containing many useful Python-related resources.
In an online course, you will have access to these resources via our cloud server and you can download them for your own use during or after the course.
The materials include:
the course content (PDF or printed)
solutions to the exercises as Python code
individual chapters as Jupyter notebooks
cheat sheets
reference documentation on Python and the 3rd-party packages covered in the course
sample datasets
Post-course assistance
We are happy to offer answers to questions after the training course, to ensure that you can make progress immediately with using Python for real work.
We also offer formal consulting for direction and support with code and team architecture, building web services and data analytics tools, and providing further customised training in specific tools.
Certificate of completion
We will provide you a certificate if you complete the course and successfully answer the majority of the exercise questions.
Questions?
You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions prior to your training course. You are also welcome to send us sample datasets or details of specific problems that you would like us to look at in advance. We can then either try to incorporate these into the training course or answer your questions personally.
You can reach us at help@pythoncharmers.com.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
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