Set up a safe learning environment and choose the right starting point.

Student getting started guide

This page is the first stop for a new student. You do not need to know advanced mathematics or own a robot to begin.

For complete installation and optional provider instructions, use the complete setup and credentials guide. It separates required local tools from optional API tokens.

What this journey expects

You are not expected to memorize every library or model name. You are expected to:

  • ask a clear question before choosing a tool;
  • make small, testable changes;
  • explain evidence and uncertainty in your own words;
  • protect people, data, and hardware; and
  • document enough for another student to reproduce the result.

Read the learning and project practices page before starting a project.

Choose your starting point

If you can already… Start here
Use a browser but have never programmed Your first Python program
Write small Python programs Data types, tables, and schemas
Analyze tables with pandas Classical machine learning
Train a small model Deep learning
Use AI tools and want to understand them Generative AI
Build circuits or program a microcontroller Robotics foundations

When uncertain, start with Python. The early lessons are intentionally short and provide the vocabulary used later.

Minimum setup

You need:

  • a computer with a modern browser;
  • Python 3 and a code editor;
  • a terminal or command prompt;
  • an account or local folder for saving projects;
  • permission to install software on the computer.

Use the Jupyter notebook workflow for experiments. You can run notebooks in the browser with JupyterLab or in VS Code with the Microsoft Python and Jupyter extensions. Use a project-specific virtual environment rather than installing every package globally.

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

For the data lessons, install the shared student packages from requirements-student.txt:

python -m pip install -r requirements-student.txt

On Windows PowerShell:

py -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install --upgrade pip

A safe first session

  1. Create a folder named techclub-practice.
  2. Create a virtual environment inside it.
  3. Create a notebook or hello.py.
  4. Run one small example.
  5. Change one value and run it again.
  6. Save the result and write what you observed.
  7. Ask for help with the exact error message, the code you ran, and what you expected.

Learning habits

  • Predict the output before running code.
  • Change one thing at a time.
  • Keep a short experiment log.
  • Explain results in your own words.
  • Check AI-generated code before running it.
  • Share questions and solutions without sharing secrets or private information.

Completion check

You are ready for the data track when you can:

  • run a Python program and a notebook;
  • use variables, conditions, loops, collections, and functions;
  • read an error message;
  • explain input, process, and output;
  • save a project with a short README.