Lessons Released 2nd April at 6pm – Complete before Wednesday, 23rd April 2025 to get certified!

Coding is the process of writing instructions for computers to perform specific tasks, it’s essentially how we communicate with computers! If you want to dip your toe into the world of programming, this Tech Taster is perfect for you.

Each lesson, you’ll get an overview of different elements of coding and a great foundation to start building upon your knowledge further. It could be the first step in your journey to getting into tech!

Learn the principles of key tech topics with Code First Girls ‘MOOC’ (Massive Open Online Courses) Sprints and test your knowledge with MOOC Challenges.

Please note these courses are available to anybody who identifies as a woman and is over the age of 18.

Session 1: What is coding and why is it important? 

• Intro to coding
• Compiler vs Interpreter
• Low level vs High level programming language
• Basic concepts of computer programming, such as variables
• Different types of data types – Integer, Floating points (Decimals), Booleans

Session 2: Different forms of Data Structures

• Operators in programming- +,-,*,/,%,&,|, >,<,!,~, etc
• Strings
• Lists or Arrays
• Associated arrays such as Dictionary, Maps

Session 3: Control structures and Functions 

• Conditional Statements – If, Else if and Else
• Loops – for, while, do-while and their basic structure
• Commonly used keywords with Loops- break, continue, pass
• Functions

Session 4: Errors, Types of errors and Error Handling 

• Syntax errors, logic errors, runtime errors
• How to troubleshoot and debug code
• Art of Pseudocode and making flowchart
• A small taste of how to write simple programs in a programming language, such as Python

Find out more about Code First Girls:

Code First Girls has become one of the largest providers of free coding courses for women globally, having delivered over £75 million worth of free technology education and teaching three times as many women to code as the entire UK university undergraduate system!

They’re on a mission to close the gender gap in the tech industry by providing employment through free education. They’ve already helped more than 150,000 women learn to code and by working with companies globally, we’re boosting employability, diversity and social mobility, transforming local economies and communities.

When you sign up to this course, you will receive a link which will take you through to the Code First Girls platform where you will need to fill in a registration form. Upon completion you will then be fully registered to the course and will receive a confirmation email directly from Code First Girls which will include information and your links to join. After each session there will be a mini quiz to fill in. Please read your joining information from Code First Girls thoroughly.