in between the course the continuity breaks and also it jumps to a sudden high level

It was definitely interesting and quite challenging. But in my opinion it is a little hard for beginners. I am glad I did it though. Looking forward to the specialization.

excellent introduction, which was at an appropriate level for my experience (lots of programming in languages other than python, and just a cursory understanding of genomics).

This is a poor course for Python beginners. There are two things going on here -- CodeAcademy, which has a nicely thought out, clear explanation of basic Python programming. Then there is STEPTIK--the big problem is that the very basic programming instruction in CodeAcademy does provide adequate background to successfully solve the problems in STEPTIK. The STEPTIK section should build on/fill in the gap between what we learned in Python and we need to still learn to complete the problems. Many of the solutions provided in the solutions forum use coding that was not introduced to us in CodeAcademy.

This course may work for computer programmers who want to explore Bioinformatics. After trying twice to complete Week 1, I finally gave up. What's the point if I have to copy solutions from the Solutions forum (that I don't understand) to proceed? I'm glad I did not purchase the course before I tried out Week 1.

I really enjoyed the class, however, I have two complaints/recommendations.

1. Much of the content seems geared towards biologist/life science professionals who have a strong grasp on the concepts being presented. I am a software developer with little background in the life sciences, much of what was discussed as it relates to biological processes was new to me. It would have been nice to have had a companion document for the biology side of the course, similar to the Python programming companion.

2. Successfully completing work in Week 4 depends on successfully completing the "GreedyMotifSearch", I didn't search the forum or FAQ too much, but providing more visible support for people who get the correct answer, but exceed the time limit might be useful. I was able to easily identify my problem using a line profiler, but those new to Python may not know "Best Practices" for optimizing code.

Anyway, that's it. Thanks.

The course was fairly interesting and I had a lot of fun in completing it. The only problem I had with the course was with its python aspect. Apart from that, it was amazing!

The design of class is very sophisticated, which is quite friendly to beginners. Looking forward to the rest classes.

I already have python background so it is good for me. Maybe not suitable for beginner who doesn't touch python before.

great introduction, not too hard, great explanations and videos allowing for repetition of content for a better understanding

There was some really interesting information covered in this course. However, the programming assignments and explanations seemed unpolished, there were lots of typos or explanations that were simply unclear and confusing, and the randomized algorithm section made it unclear whether I was getting the coding exercises wrong due to a mistake in my coding or whether it was due to the random nature of the algorithm. Having us use a random seed for these algorithms would have cleared things up. Overall, OK introduction to the specialization, but I'm hoping the courses in the specialization will be better prepared.

You have to be very dedicated and have high frustration tolerance if you are actually a beginner in programming. This course expects you to complete the Codecademy Python Course in advance (which will take you several weeks) but it still won´t be enough to really keep up with the bioinformatics concepts that are introduced. Also, the explanations in the course itself are very, very rudimental, although the optional videos do a better job here.

All in all, I am glad I had the possibility for learning something new and I fought myself through the course but please don´t believe that it´s suitable for beginners.

Good Intro to Python for Bioinformatics.

Fun and easy to follow course! And the instructor is not boring :D

it was challenging, but interesting with very exciting code challenges! however, i really wish the theory was explained in a more visual manner. i believe that would increase the understanding of the concepts described there, because as for me, i don't yet feel confident with the theoretical basics of the course. though i got much more confident with python programming - practical part was much easier for me.

anyway, i'm VERY GRATEFUL to the creators of the course for providing me with this awesome opportunity to familiarize myself with Bioinformatics.

I have learnt a lot, but sometimes I missed some help or feedback.

A very interesting course, but perhaps not necessarily for "begginer" programmers.

it was enjoyable

Not at all for beginners. A coding background is necessary to make any sense of the material.

Great introduction to the field of bioinformatics.

课程内容深入浅出，语言趣味横生，我非常喜欢这门课程，非常喜欢Pavel Pevzener. 掌握适当python基础的童鞋学习起来会比较顺利，否则会感到吃力。

The course provides some meaningful questions in biological context (rather than abstact excercises in some textbooks) for you to solve. It is really fulfilling when you put what you learnt into use and made improvements on your code to solve the questions better. The exercises are actually challenging for programming beginners. But if you persist, upon completion of this course you will find youself equipped with some solid knowledge on bioinformatics, which will definitely benefit your future career.

I came to this course with a decent computer science background (some undergrad courses) and basically no biology knowledge (grade 10 general science twenty-some years ago). I found this course to be really easy and pretty fun. I'm still quite confused about the biology concepts, but that didn't make it hard to write the code or implement the algorithms. I'm definitely continuing with the following courses. I only watched the first of the videos. It was ok, but I found the interactive text easier better. The only reason I'd watch the videos is to learn the pronunciation of the biology terms, but the prof has a really heavy accent.

Great course.

Amazing course, I wish every course would be of this level

I loved the course so much! I have never programmed before and I've always been afraid of mathematics, but this course happened to be so exciting! I liked, how difficult (for me, at least) concepts are explained step-by step. I am sincerely grateful to the authors of the course.