Hi I'm a techie with no programing experience. I know html and css, but I'd like to someday be able to make an app for my phone (I have an android) and possibly mobile websites. 
I made learning a programing language and creating a mobile app a goal for my job, and now my boss would like me to pick a programing language to learn. I found a free open course from MIT (http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-fall-2008/) called introduction to computer science. In the course they teach python, but more importantly it seems they teach how to think like a programmer. 
When I told my boss about the free online course she didn't think that Python was an appropriate language for me to learn. She'd like me to learn a language that is more similar to one used to make Phone apps. Does anyone out there know a better language for me to pick up that would be similar to Android or iPhone's App language. 
Thank you
Learn to program first before learning how to develop for the iPhone.  That will give you a much better chance at success.  Python a perfectly good language for learning to program, especially in the context of an Intro to CS course environment.  But any intro programming language environment will do (even one designed for kids).
Once you're comfortable writing non-trivial programs in Python (or whatever first computer language you choose), learning Objective C and the iOS APIs (or Java and the Android APIs) will become much much easier, compared with starting from scratch and zero programming background.
Beginner's Language app