Hi Frances,
I'm new to cycling as well (just started with a group in April) and had been spinning at the gym for a while so I had SPD clips. If you spin at all and are comfortable with them I highly recommended using them to get used to clipping in and out on a moving bike. It took me a while to get the hang of it and I fell several times in front of groups of people. Great fun!

I also started with pedals that had clips on one side and platforms on the other and lasted only 3 rides with them. It was such a pain to have to spin the pedal over to the clips and found myself looking down to see what side was up - not a good thing. Like some of the others have said, I also clip out very early whenever there is a chance that I might have to stop. I found that the tension on one side of one of my pedals was pretty tight and with a little adjustment it's so much better. It takes a little bit of practice, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it!