Online-school of algorithms Sport Programming Guide
Hello everyone! My name is Mikhail Rubinchik and I am the SPGuide founder. On this page I will tell you how the school was created, about our approach and format of work.
I used to teach a very few people and conducted all the classes by myself. Among my students there are medalists of ICPC World Finals and IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics). When I noticed that the demand for studying programming was high and I did not have enough time to teach everyone, I decided to create an online school - SPGuide. I invited my former students as tutors, and began to develop our website and teaching methodology. As time went on, the school began to grow, so we decided to accept any willing tutors after the interview process. Each tutor receives a rank. Students also have their own rank, so we can control that the rank of the tutor is suitable for classes with each student.
Our school has a wide age range - from elementary school students to adults of any age who want to improve their skills in basic programming and algorithms. We teach elementary school students basic programming principles using games, Python syntax and solving their first algorithmic problems. Middle school and high-school students evolve their algorithmic thinking by studying more about programming and algorithms and solving complex problems. Also we help university students and graduates (including those who already work as a software engineer) improve their hard skills for FAANG interviews.
Studying takes place on sp.guide website and other platforms. The site has special tools for self-study, this is a significant part of the work.
Our school has a wide age range - from elementary school students to adults of any age who want to improve their skills in basic programming and algorithms. We teach elementary school students basic programming principles using games, Python syntax and solving their first algorithmic problems. Middle school and high-school students evolve their algorithmic thinking by studying more about programming and algorithms and solving complex problems. Also we help university students and graduates (including those who already work as a software engineer) improve their hard skills for FAANG interviews.
Studying takes place on sp.guide website and other platforms. The site has special tools for self-study, this is a significant part of the work.
Classes
Our online school of algorithms differs from others the way we emphasize thinking skills rather than memorization. We do not give the theory, but help with hints so that the student himself "invent" it. The same way, we do not provide the solution to the problems, we just give clues. The theory is given only at the moment when the student and the tutor are faced with a topic unfamiliar to the student. The advantage of this approach is that you master the algorithms in practice and learn how to apply them straight away.
Each class lasts 120 minutes. The first hour you work with the site guide. According to your level, you are offered problems that you may read, think about and then solve. The second hour - individual online class with a tutor. These classes are held online. You discuss problems that you have solved on your own at home or before the class and the tutor helps you deal with the necessary theory. You should always turn on the screen display in all classes so that the tutor can read your code.
The studying program is built individually for each student and depends on the level that the student has when he or she starts the training. With those who are just diving into learning algorithms, we study programming through game languages and the basics of Python. For those who already have experience in programming, we teach algorithms in Python and C++.
Each class lasts 120 minutes. The first hour you work with the site guide. According to your level, you are offered problems that you may read, think about and then solve. The second hour - individual online class with a tutor. These classes are held online. You discuss problems that you have solved on your own at home or before the class and the tutor helps you deal with the necessary theory. You should always turn on the screen display in all classes so that the tutor can read your code.
The studying program is built individually for each student and depends on the level that the student has when he or she starts the training. With those who are just diving into learning algorithms, we study programming through game languages and the basics of Python. For those who already have experience in programming, we teach algorithms in Python and C++.
Tutors and schedule managers
We have a team of schedule managers who are responsible for schedule planning, that's why the schedule can be changed flexibly (but not at the last moment).
At the end of each week, our schedule manager plans a schedule for you for the following week. Before confirming it, check carefully that you don't have other plans at this time. It must be agreed by the end of Sunday in your Telegram chat. If you have not responded by this time, the schedule is considered agreed in the form that you received.
In our school there are usually several tutors working with each student (2-3 different tutors). All the tutors have experience in algorithms. Each of them goes through the interview. If one of the tutors does not suit you with something, it is normal to write detailed commentary in the study chat so that we could deal with this problem. It is also normal to ask for another tutor if you feel that this one does not suit you.
Several tutors for each student is one of the advantages of our school. There are no absolute dogmas in writing code, but there are opinions. One tutor will always unconsciously try to convince you of his personal point of view. If there are several tutors, you will definitely see different points of view. It also allows not to cancel the class if your tutor cannot conduct it for any reason. In that case we just provide you another tutor.
At the end of each week, our schedule manager plans a schedule for you for the following week. Before confirming it, check carefully that you don't have other plans at this time. It must be agreed by the end of Sunday in your Telegram chat. If you have not responded by this time, the schedule is considered agreed in the form that you received.
In our school there are usually several tutors working with each student (2-3 different tutors). All the tutors have experience in algorithms. Each of them goes through the interview. If one of the tutors does not suit you with something, it is normal to write detailed commentary in the study chat so that we could deal with this problem. It is also normal to ask for another tutor if you feel that this one does not suit you.
Several tutors for each student is one of the advantages of our school. There are no absolute dogmas in writing code, but there are opinions. One tutor will always unconsciously try to convince you of his personal point of view. If there are several tutors, you will definitely see different points of view. It also allows not to cancel the class if your tutor cannot conduct it for any reason. In that case we just provide you another tutor.
Payment
Our academic months are not exactly the same as the calendar months. They run from the first Monday of the current month to the first Monday of the following month.
Payment is taken once a month for a month in advance and should be provided at the end of the previous month. For example, at the end of March you make a payment for April.
The very first month of classes can also be started in the middle of the month. Starting from the second month, classes last the entire month.
The payment is available via PayPal. Write your email in the Telegram chat and we will send you an invoice. Monthly price is fixed. It does not depend on the number of weeks in a month (usually it's 4 academic weeks, but sometimes it's 5).
The cost is 165$ per month for classes once a week.
If you want to have classes twice a week (or more), a month of studying will cost 330$ etc.
Payment is taken once a month for a month in advance and should be provided at the end of the previous month. For example, at the end of March you make a payment for April.
The very first month of classes can also be started in the middle of the month. Starting from the second month, classes last the entire month.
The payment is available via PayPal. Write your email in the Telegram chat and we will send you an invoice. Monthly price is fixed. It does not depend on the number of weeks in a month (usually it's 4 academic weeks, but sometimes it's 5).
The cost is 165$ per month for classes once a week.
If you want to have classes twice a week (or more), a month of studying will cost 330$ etc.
165$
for classes once a week
per month
Lateness and rescheduling
If you are late for a class, then depending on the tutor's availability, he/she may give you a full class. Otherwise the class will be shortened and counted as a full one too. If you are too late, without any notice, then your class "burns out" (there are no refunds for this class).
If you have force majeure after the approval of the schedule, you can ask to reschedule the class. Classes must be rescheduled for the same week.
If you have an acceptable reason for taking a class next week, you must state it, and we will discuss it with you. If the class is rescheduled to next week, nothing can be moved from next week to another one, and the class that was not held will burn out.
If you have reasons like illness or a long planned trip, we can move more than one week, but only within one month, postponing to the next month is not allowed in this case. It is not permitted to reschedule classes quite often, in this case you can try to cancel classes for a month, but we do not recommend doing this frequently, as irregular classes may affect the quality of your progress.
If you have force majeure after the approval of the schedule, you can ask to reschedule the class. Classes must be rescheduled for the same week.
If you have an acceptable reason for taking a class next week, you must state it, and we will discuss it with you. If the class is rescheduled to next week, nothing can be moved from next week to another one, and the class that was not held will burn out.
If you have reasons like illness or a long planned trip, we can move more than one week, but only within one month, postponing to the next month is not allowed in this case. It is not permitted to reschedule classes quite often, in this case you can try to cancel classes for a month, but we do not recommend doing this frequently, as irregular classes may affect the quality of your progress.
