Points
You earn points as you work through Python Morsels: attempting exercises, reflecting on what you learned, watching screencasts, reading articles, and maintaining a learning habit.
Points are a private nudge, not a competition. There's no leaderboard, and your point history appears only on your profile page, which is private unless you choose to make it public.
How are points awarded for exercises?
You'll receive points for every exercise you attempt:
- Attempting an exercise (submitting any code at all, even code that doesn't work) rewards 8 points.
- Solving the base problem rewards 7 more points (15 total).
- Solving the recommended bonuses rewards 10 more points in total (25 total).
The bonus points are split across the recommended bonuses, with earlier bonuses worth a bit more than later ones (for example, an exercise with 3 recommended bonuses awards 4, 4, and 2 points for them). This is deliberate: it subtly discourages perfectionism, since attempting and solving the base problem is where most of the points are.
Solving a bonus beyond the ones recommended for you rewards 3 points each.
Revisiting an exercise awards points again, using the same scheme, so revisits count as real practice (because they are).
How are points awarded for learning reflections?
Filling out the learning reflection form at the bottom of a solution walk-through rewards 6 points (once per exercise).
It's a small nudge toward one of the highest-value habits on Python Morsels: taking two minutes to note what you recalled, what you forgot, and what you discovered.
How are points awarded for screencasts and articles?
Marking a screencast as watched or an article as read rewards 4 points, once per screencast or article.
How are habit points awarded?
Every two weeks, you'll receive either 0, 12, or 24 points:
- 12 points if you did something on Python Morsels in the last fortnight: attempted at least one exercise, or marked at least one screencast or article as watched/read.
- 12 more points (24 total) if you were also active during the fortnight before that.
These points reward maintaining a learning habit, and the penalty for a broken streak is deliberately small: miss a fortnight and you just start back at 12.
Where do I see my points?
Your total appears on your dashboard, and the breakdown (habits, exercises, screencasts) lives on your profile page, linked from the account menu.
Your profile is private by default. If you'd like to share it, there's an "Allow others to see my profile" toggle on the profile page itself.