Learn modern R and Python programming, one mini project at a time.

Build mini-projects with each programming course you find on Fine Tutorials. The truly time-tested way to learning programming.

Active Learning

Learn to code by actually writing code. Small pieces of a code at a time, targeted to teach you a specific concept.

Comprehensive Tutorials

Each course includes programming lessons, code, additional materials, and downloadable code references.

Build and Ship

Build feature-complete projects at the end of each course, under a series of carefully-guided tutorials and lessons

Why build projects in Python and R?

People don’t pay you for what you know. They pay you for the solutions you build to solve their problems.

Video Tutorials	Programming Books	Project-based Learning
Passive	Passive	Very Active Learning
Mid to High Retention	Programming Books	Highest Retention
Mixed	Mostly Principles / Theoretical	Practical, Real-life projects
Close-ended	Close-ended	Open-ended
Mixed	Mostly narrowly scoped	Widely scoped*

*Widely scoped: building end-to-end projects mean you’ll be exposed to the full spectrum of software development skills

I’ve written plenty of programming articles, course books, and made video tutorials related to R and Python programming over the last many years. I guest-lecture actively, and run a programming bootcamp with 3 active campuses across Singapore and Indonesia. My courses and even taught in curriculums offered by universities and polytechnics.

The same time that I was authoring courses, I started to study learning performance and pedagogical approaches, building open-source systems to measure and quantify knowledge absorption based on the different teaching styles.

The winner was clear to me: people learn programming the way they learn swimming.
You have to do it.

I can play you hundreds of hours worth of videos, of an Olympic swimmer doing her routines, but that’s not going to turn you into a swimmer. The way to learn, as cliche as it sounds, is to get into a pool. No alternatives, non-negotiable.

The same is true for programming (and singing, engineering, playing the piano etc). The best pianists spend hours on the pianos on long stretches. Not on a couch watching videos of world-class musicians.
There simply aren’t any substitute to active learning.

I started Fine Tutorials to double-down on project-based learning. Forget about 30% video, 30% reading, 30% hands-on programming, 5% quiz and 5% quiz; What if I tutor you through the process of building end-to-end projects from day 1 of you learning programming. Your own projects.

It’s more rewarding to learn programming this way, but it’s also advantageous in ways that theory-heavy books or lectures cannot be.

Learn-by-building helps cultivate:

Mental Models

A mental model of application when you build an end-to-end mini project.
You will learn how different pieces of software come together in the process, and that experience is valuable in shaping your perspectives in the early days of your programming career.

Higher Engagement

Stay motivated and engaged. Programming books courses are difficult to follow because they are often unsatisfying. You may learn 20 concepts in a book, but fail to see how they materialize. They are great companions when you’re a professional with a solid mental model of how these concepts are applied.

Knowledge Retention

This is an empirically validated teaching practice with performance increase of 55% based on independent studies by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Concrete Application

Ever picked up a book about caching, and thought, sounds cool but how does this fit into what I already know? Building projects take your knowledge from the abstract to the real life.

Knowledge Transfer

Taking a practical approach to learning means puts you in a position to learn how product development actually work. Not how they should work. The experience help you do more in less time in your future projects.

Yours to keep

The projects you build following the tutorials are yours to keep, to deploy, to monetize, to remix, modify and distribute (in fact, I encourage you to make money out of your mini-projects!).

New to Programming?

Start with the Data Science Toolbox if you’re completely new to programming (in particular Python and R Programming). It has a very gentle learning curve, walking you through the steps required to get your computer configured for Python, R, git (version control) and GitHub (hosting, version control) integration, as well as using the various programming editors:

Basic usage of the command prompt and Terminal
Visual Studio Code
RStudio
JupyterLab (+ Jupyter Notebook)

The full course is free and have no prerequisites.

Free

The Data Science Toolbox

A comprehensive guide to setting up R and Python-based development environments. Perfect for beginners new to the command line, git, R, Python, virtual environments and IDE.

Get Started (Free)

$29.90

Build a real time COVID-19 web dashboard in R

Learn to develop & deploy a modern, responsive web application using R and the Shiny Web app framework. A 10-part tutorial series on web dashboard development for beginner developers.

Get Started (Free)

Who creates the courses on Fine Tutorials?

Hello, I’m Samuel.

I’m also the chief course producer at Algoritma (https://algorit.ma) Data Science Education Centre, where I’ve authored consultative training for more than 200 companies in Southeast Asia (primarily Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia) and taught data science to more than 10,000 students across the region. I guest-lecture regularly in more than 10 universities + polytechnics across Singapore and Indonesia on:

Machine Learning
Deep Learning and Computer Vision
Natural Language Processing (English and Bahasa Indonesia)
Data Visualisation
Web Application Development
Cybersecurity and Network Monitoring

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn:

Introduction

I am a RStudio Certified Trainer and a machine learning practitioner active in the field of marketing automation and finance. I love to help people learn programming, and was blessed enough to be able to follow this passion by teaching programming full-time. My passion for coaching and programming education is also evident from my StackOverflow history, where I’ve spent my spare time answered more than 100 questions (~700k reach) and became the top 3% user in 2018 and 2019. I have certifications from RStudio, Microsoft’s Data Science Professional Program, MongoDB, Neo4J Database academy and I’m a volunteer-mentor on data science courses offered by Stanford University, John Hopkins University and UC San Diego.

My Experience

Having spent 10 years working as consultants to several public-listed companies from my time staying in China, Japan, Singapore, I have the privilege to work with students from all kind of backgrounds (culturally, and academically). I’ve co-founded and sold 3 different companies, the last of which is an automation chatbot service (GrowthBot.ai). I would love to help you get started on your journey into software development and data science programming.

You can read more about my profile on my employer’s website

Employment History

More than 10,000 students

Sam is as always very knowledgeable and his teaching style is very intuitive. He explains things very simply to make sure everyone is not left behind!

Anonymous ReviewFormer Student, CET Academy (Singapore)

Sam’s content are presented in small, logical chunks of learning units, making it really easy and not overwhelming. Love that he takes a highly practical approach, emphasizing on the end product. If you’re trying to learn programming, look no further!

Megan Allen Former Student

Excellent instructor, clear in bringing across concepts and ideas.