[Edu-sig] Fwd: Starting Python

[kirby urner]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
Date: Jan 27, 2006 5:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Starting Python
To: adam <adam at monkeez.org>


I think the Python curriculum for children that young is still in its
infancy, yet we've already seen many promising developments, Pygame being
one of them (although the package by itself is quite low level -- best to
start with working code, as Adam is doing).

I've had some success with Madlibs at that age, i.e. fill-in-the-blank
stories, where the reader/user supplies the missing nouns, verbs and so on.
After playing user for awhile, you get to pop open the source and change the
story itself, preserving syntax.

I'm teaching 8th graders once a week this year, and learning a lot doing
it.  That's a little bit older than 12 though, more like 15.

In the meantime, I'm working on a moodle to define a Algebra with Python
course that isn't overly age/grade specific, i.e. an adult could use it.
It's directed primarily at teachers, but I expect some of the more curious
students will find it and flip through it, just for kicks.

My hope is to get a guest password for members of this list, so other
teachers can eyeball my latest and greatest math/cs hybrid (yes, it's
basically more of the same).

Kirby


On 1/26/06, adam <adam at monkeez.org> wrote:
>
> Catherine,
>
> > Adam
> >
> > I'm an old COBOL programmer/analyst that have moved on to other areas
> over
> > time.   I'm trying to get my 12 year old interested in computers instead
> > of
> > just playing games.  I've gone through a number of the tutorials
> available
> > on the internet but haven't come up with suitable examples that would be
> > suitable for a 12 year old to try.  He can enter the instruction in some
> > of
> > the tutorials but he can't comprehend how he might use python.  Have you
>
> > come across any simple exercises for kids.
> >
> > Catherine
>
>
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