Hi everyone,<div><br></div><div>I just wanted to bring you uptodate on where we're at with the Education Summit at the upcoming PyCon. This will be a "by invitation only" event, so if you are interested (and I haven't contacted you already) or know of someone who would be really good for and interested in this event, please let me know about that interest off list. One of our reasons for going with invitations is that we want to be sure that we get a fair balance between the various education constituencies in space available, so I can't guarantee that absolutely everyone who wants to come will be invited.... But I'll try.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Also we're looking for a keynote and panelists for the topics below, so if you know of anyone that you think would be good, please email me off list. Also if you have any other suggestions or questions, please let me know. </div>
<div><br></div><div>There is also a google group for announcements about the summit, so if you're interested, you should join that group - <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/pycon-education-summit">https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/pycon-education-summit</a><br>
<div><br></div><div>First of all, the summit blurb is the following:</div><div><br></div><div><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">"In 2013, for the first time ever, PyCon will be holding a Python Education Summit. This summit will be a gathering of teachers and educators from the many venues that support the teaching of programming in Python - schools, colleges and universities, community based workshops, online programs and government. These constituencies differ widely in resources and constraints, in methods, and in goals and aspirations, yet are all working to address the same issue - a lack of coding literacy - with the same belief - that teaching programming is needed and that Python is an excellent way to do that.</span><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">
<br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">The goal of the summit is to bring together leaders from those diverse constituencies to learn more about each other's efforts and gain useful insight from them, to form connections that might foster future collaboration, to identify common issues and begin discussing ways to attack them, and to create an enhanced sense of unity, purpose and community among teachers of Python, wherever they might be. It is also our hope that the summit will serve as catalyst for the rest of PyCon to encourage even more interaction - hallway discussions, open spaces, lightning talks, and sprints. </div>
<div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Anyone attending this conference will gain a broader understanding of approaches and issues in teaching Python, will have the opportunity to contribute to their discussion, and will make contacts with other teachers of Python from across the community. A high school teacher might make contacts that allow her to enlist the support of a community based program while a community volunteer might gain useful guidance on curriculum design.</div>
<div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">In addition to active involvement in the process of teaching Python, the only requirement of attendees is engagement. The morning sessions will include panel discussions that encourage participation and the afternoon will consist of unconference style breakout sessions that demand it. So please come willing to learn, to teach, and to participate."</div>
</div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Also, I've developed a basic statement of the topics we'll be covering:</div>
<div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">"As I see it there are the three core issues that most impact Python education today: engagement, curriculum and teaching. So I'm proposing that we frame the topics for the summit accordingly. </div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Engagement - By "engagement" I mean getting people involved - attracting learners and letting them know why they should be eager to learn Python, recruiting teachers, sponsors and supporters with the skills needed to facilitate that learning, and then keeping everyone involved in the community. You could also call this "outreach" or even "marketing". Whatever you call it, we need to attract people who want to learn Python and the people and the people to help satisfy that need.</div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Topics: How are the various education communities attracting people to their programs? What things can each learn from other programs, particularly in terms of increasing interest and involvement in the Python language and community?</div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Curriculum - The need for uptodate, accessible and appropriate curriculum is felt in all aspects of Python education. Community programs need free and flexible lesson plans and teaching materials, schools are often reluctant to offer a program without an established curriculum, and teachers in all areas are often desperate for curricula that can be leveraged with minimal time and effort. </div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Topics: What curriculum materials are currently freely available for teaching Python? What means can be used to increase their quality, coverage and availablity?</div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Teaching - Again, teaching is a universal issue. Schools often have experienced teachers, but ones who don't know Python. Community programs can find Python experts, but they frequently have little teaching experience or knowledge. </div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br></div><div style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Topics: what best practices might community programs follow to help volunteer teachers do a better job? Are there any teaching guildes or hints available now? What strategies might help schools qualify their current experienced teachers to teach Python? How might we increase the number of qualified teachers generally?<br clear="all">
<div><br></div><div>Underlying themes: The two underlying and unifying themes for the summit are communication and collaboration."</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks!</div><div><br></div><div>Vern</div></div></div><div>
<br></div>-- <br>Vern Ceder<br><a href="mailto:vceder@gmail.com" target="_blank">vceder@gmail.com</a>, <a href="mailto:vceder@dogsinmotion.com" target="_blank">vceder@dogsinmotion.com</a><br>The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - <a href="http://bit.ly/bRsWDW" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/bRsWDW</a><br>
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