Week 1 — Readings & Resources · Intro to Computing & Computational Thinking

Course: Introduction to Computer Science — CS1 / Programming Fundamentals in Python (CSCI 1101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Okafor
Objective covered: Objective 1 — Explain computational thinking and write, run, and trace simple Python programs.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser. Nothing needs to be downloaded or installed; the Python environments below run in the browser.

This week's load is deliberately light: set up your tools, then do one short interactive tutorial and read one page. The fastest way to learn this week is not to read — it's to type code and run it. So the first two links are the tools you'll live in all term; open them now.

Order that matches the lecture: ① set up your Python environment → ② write & run your first program → ③ trace & predict output → ④ read errors.

A habit to start now: never trust an output you didn't run. Before you believe what a page (or a chatbot) says a program prints, paste it into the runner and run it yourself.

① Your Tools — open these first (you'll use them every week)

Run Python in your browser — a free online editor (no install)
🔗 https://www.online-python.com/
Why it earns the click: this is where you'll write and run code all term. Type a program, press Run, read the output. (A second option, if you ever want it: 🔗 https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/online-compiler — same idea.)
⏱ 2 min to open and run print("Hello, world!")

See your code run, step by step — Python Tutor
🔗 https://pythontutor.com/
Why it earns the click: the single best tool in this course for understanding code. Paste a program, click forward, and watch what happens line by line. We'll use it constantly — especially for tracing. (Used in CS classes at thousands of universities.)
⏱ ~5 min to try the demo

② Write & Run Your First Program

Maps to Lecture Segment 3. A program is a list of precise instructions; print displays text; you run it and read the output.

Read & do — "Your First Python Program" (Programiz)
🔗 https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/first-program
Why it's assigned: the cleanest walk-through of print("Hello, World!") — what the quotes and parentheses do — with a short embedded intro video at the bottom. Read it, then type the program into the runner above and run it yourself.
⏱ ~8 min

Interactive — "Python Get Started / Python Intro" (W3Schools)
🔗 https://www.w3schools.com/python/
Why it earns the click: a friendly, click-through introduction to what Python is and how to run it, with a green "Try it Yourself" button on every example so you run code right on the page. Do the first few pages ("Get Started," "Syntax," "Comments").
⏱ ~10 min

③ Trace & Predict · and ④ Read Errors

Maps to Lecture Segments 4–6. Predict what a program prints, then run it to check; and learn to read a SyntaxError vs. a NameError.

Read — "An Informal Introduction to Python" (official Python Tutorial, §3)
🔗 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/introduction.html
Why it's assigned: the official docs show Python "as a calculator" — exactly the print(2 + 3 * 4) and string-vs-number ideas from class, from the source of truth. Skim §3.1 (Numbers) and §3.1.2 (Text). (The whole tutorial starts here: 🔗 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html — your reference all term.)
⏱ ~10 min

Read & do — "Python Comments" (Programiz)
🔗 https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/comments
Why it's assigned: short and practical — how to add # comments (notes for humans that Python ignores), which you'll use to annotate every program you write.
⏱ ~4 min

Optional one-stop references (free online)

• The official Python Tutorial — "Whetting Your Appetite." A two-minute read on why Python, from the people who make it.
  🔗 https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/appetite.html
• Programiz — "Getting Started with Python" (full Python tutorial index). A free, well-organized tutorial you can return to all term; it covers every topic in this course in order.
  🔗 https://www.programiz.com/python-programming

Pick-one quick path (≈15 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Open online-python.com, type print("Hello, world!"), and run it (group ①–②).
2. Read "Your First Python Program" on Programiz, then run print(2 + 3 * 4) and print("2" + "3") in the editor and see what they actually print (groups ②–③).

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Okafor and use the official Python Tutorial (docs.python.org/3/tutorial) or W3Schools (w3schools.com/python) in the meantime.