We live in an era of unprecedented access to data. Understanding how to organize and leverage the vast amounts of information at our disposal are critical skills that allow us to infer upon the world and make informed decisions. This course will introduce you to such skills. To work with large amounts of data, you will need to harness the power of computation through programming. This course teaches you basic programming skills for manipulating data. You will learn how to use Python to organize and manipulate data in tables, and to visualize data effectively. No prior experience with programming or Python is needed, nor is any statistics background necessary. The examples given in the course involve real world data from diverse settings. Not all data is numerical – you will work with different types of data from a variety of domains. Though the term “data science” is relatively new, the fundamental ideas of data science are not. The course includes powerful examples that span the centuries from the Victorian era to the present day. This course emphasizes learning through doing: you will work on large real-world data sets through interactive assignments to apply the skills you learn. Throughout, the underlying thread is that data science is a way of thinking, not just an assortment of methods. You will also hone your interpretation and communication skills, which are essential skills for data scientists.
An excellent online course offered by edX: how it works
edX courses consist of weekly learning sequences. Each learning sequence is composed of short videos interspersed with interactive learning exercises, where students can immediately practise the concepts from the videos. The courses often include tutorial videos that are similar to small on-campus discussion groups, an online textbook, and an online discussion forum where students can post and review questions and comments to each other and teaching assistants. Where applicable, online laboratories are incorporated into the course.
edX offers certificates of successful completion and some courses are credit-eligible. Whether or not a college or university offers credit for an online course is within the sole discretion of the school. edX offers a variety of ways to take courses, including verified courses where students have the option to audit the course (no cost) or to work toward an edX Verified Certificate (fees vary by course). edX also offers XSeries Certificates for completion of a bundled set of two to seven verified courses in a single subject (cost varies depending on the courses).
An edX learning programme under Other Experiences
