Mailman 3 October 2010 - Edu-sig

xturtle online via processing.js !?
by Jurgis Pralgauskis 27 Sep '12

27 Sep '12

Hi, I am struggling around with interactive online py tutorials with https://launchpad.net/projects/intro-to-code (ith might become securely sandboxed soon, as pypy made it possible http://blog.sandbox.lt/en/WSGI%20and%20PyPy%20sandbox :) but one more thing is I'd like to let access xturtle functionality online - one possible way could be triggering tkinter to save its canvas to ps, and then convert them with imagemagic and show via web (animated gif or static) - but if pyjamas can render GUI for js (http://www.google.lt/search?&q=pyjamas+python ), mayby there is a way to **translate turtle commands to processing.js analogues** http://ejohn.org/blog/processingjs/ would it be difficult -- how do you think? -- Jurgis Pralgauskis tel: 8-616 77613; jabber: jurgis(a)akl.lt; skype: dz0rdzas; Don't worry, be happy and make things better ;) http://sagemath.visiems.lt

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Eclipse as Python3 IDE
by kirby urner 12 Mar '11

12 Mar '11

Just wanted to share experiences using PyDev plugin within Eclipse, with Python 3... I've not been unable to get pickle to work properly, with the error confirmed by others. Sometimes (in at least one case) an error marker will indicate a module name cannot be resolved, and yet it imports and works anyway. Getting proper syntax-coloring around triple-quotes seems problematic, especially when the first line is empty e.g. """ comments go here """ However, I'm able to get the coloring situation to resolve by moving text around later... On the whole, Eclipse is pretty capable in supplying an interactive shell, lots of different windows. There's even a terminal window option if you want to do ssh into a server right from within Eclipse. As the above difficulties get ironed out, I think Eclipse will continue to serve as a development platform for Pythonistas. It's not the only option, given Visual Studio, Wing IDE etc., but it's one of the better free ones (eMacs, vim -- these do everything too, in the hands of experienced users, Notepad not so much). [ I remember how Jason Cunliffe used to post a lot about Leo to this archive. There's a school of thought that's more into "literary programming" as I'd call it, where comments might be relatively copious, with more hypertext relationships. You get these fancy markups... ] Some of you may be familiar with the O'Reilly School of Technology (OST) and its use of Eclipse as a front end to accredited courses in the many languages, databases and so on. Rather than use the free-standing Eclipse, which is an option, you get a customized student version called Ellipse that runs of their servers in a remote desktop session. This seems a creative approach and gets a next generation of developer prepared with one of the state of the art environments, using some of the best industry standard tools (e.g. Python and MySQL). Kirby PS: in other news, I've continued to focus on the plight of the lone FoxPro coder (which was me for many years, but not just me) and possible migration paths for legacy applications. FoxPro is a dialect of xBase nutured by Microsoft over the decades. It competes with their other products and too many people use it for free (not the original business model, unlike Java's) so the plan is to discontinue support for it by 2015 I think it is. This decision is having lots of boat rocking-ripple effects, It's not automatic that the .NET platform is where to go next, certainly not with VB necessarily. New developers don't want to waste time learning a proprietary dead language that might be hard to come by down the road, so there's increasing pressure to migrate those legacy FoxPro apps that still do valuable work. I haven't been tracking closely and don't know if MSFT is taking IronPython that seriously, in terms of marketing and outreach. Server side apps still seem to be gaining over thick clients in many institutional settings, but again, I'm not posing as having a lot of overview here. Gotta read all those IT mags I guess, but who has the time? Pointers to true story use cases welcome.

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Exploring Computational Thinking curriculum
by Jessie 'Chuy' Chavez 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

FYI Tthe Exploring Computational Thinking curriculum was announced this week. Most of the exercises utilize python. http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2010/10/exploring-computational-thinking… Thanks, Jessie 'Chuy' Chavez Software Engineer, Feedburner Google, Inc. - Chicago

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Last call for K12 Python education panel
by Vern Ceder 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

Jeff? Kirby? Either of you going to make it to Atlanta? Anyone else? If not, I have one non-EduSig option I might try, so please speak up soon. Vern On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 12:58 PM, Zac Miller <zmiller(a)gsc.edu> wrote: > I'm still looking for a 3rd person if anyone is interested in doing a panel > at PyCon about teaching Python in K12. Anyone interested? The deadline is > coming up on the 1st for proposals. > > -J. Zachary Miller > > > _______________________________________________ > Edu-sig mailing list > Edu-sig(a)python.org > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig > -- This time for sure! -Bullwinkle J. Moose ----------------------------- Vern Ceder, Director of Technology Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 vceder(a)canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW -- This time for sure! -Bullwinkle J. Moose ----------------------------- Vern Ceder, Director of Technology Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 vceder(a)canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW

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PyCon 2011 Reminder: Call for Proposals, Posters and Tutorials - us.pycon.org
by Vern Ceder 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

PyCon 2011 Reminder: Call for Proposals, Posters and Tutorials - us.pycon.org =============================================== Well, it's October 25th! The leaves have turned and the deadline for submitting main-conference talk proposals expires in 7 days (November 1st, 2010)! We are currently accepting main conference talk proposals: http://us.pycon.org/2011/speaker/proposals/ Tutorial Proposals: http://us.pycon.org/2011/speaker/proposals/tutorials/ Poster Proposals: http://us.pycon.org/2011/speaker/posters/cfp/ PyCon 2011 will be held March 9th through the 17th, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Home of some of the best southern food you can possibly find on Earth!) The PyCon conference days will be March 11-13, preceded by two tutorial days (March 9-10), and followed by four days of development sprints (March 14-17). We are also proud to announce that we have booked our first Keynote speaker - Hilary Mason, her bio: "Hilary is the lead scientist at bit.ly, where she is finding sense in vast data sets. She is a former computer science professor with a background in machine learning and data mining, has published numerous academic papers, and regularly releases code on her personal site, http://www.hilarymason.com/. She has discovered two new species, loves to bake cookies, and asks way too many questions." We're really looking forward to having her this year as a keynote speaker! Remember, we've also added an "Extreme" talk track this year - no introduction, no fluff - only the pure technical meat! For more information on "Extreme Talks" see: http://us.pycon.org/2011/speaker/extreme/ We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta! Please also note - registration for PyCon 2011 will also be capped at a maximum of 1,500 delegates, including speakers. When registration opens (soon), you're going to want to make sure you register early! Speakers with accepted talks will have a guaranteed slot. We have published all registration prices online at: http://us.pycon.org/2011/tickets/ Important Dates November 1st, 2010: Talk proposals due. December 15th, 2010: Acceptance emails sent. January 19th, 2011: Early bird registration closes. March 9-10th, 2011: Tutorial days at PyCon. March 11-13th, 2011: PyCon main conference. March 14-17th, 2011: PyCon sprints days. Contact Emails: Van Lindberg (Conference Chair) - van(a)python.org Jesse Noller (Co-Chair) - jnoller(a)python.org PyCon Organizers list: pycon-organizers(a)python.org -- This time for sure! -Bullwinkle J. Moose ----------------------------- Vern Ceder, Director of Technology Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 vceder(a)canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW

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Last call for K12 Python education panel
by Zac Miller 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

I'm still looking for a 3rd person if anyone is interested in doing a panel at PyCon about teaching Python in K12. Anyone interested? The deadline is coming up on the 1st for proposals. -J. Zachary Miller

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Robots for Teaching Python
by Zac Miller 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

It seems as if the Scribbler robots are fairly popular for teaching Python. I also have to confess that even with just one robot my students are blowing through large numbers of AA batteries. Has anyone tried any of the more complex robots such as the SRV-1 or the robotic blimp from Surveyor? http://www.surveyor.com/YARB.html I also teach middle school and college students in some Geographic Information Systems (GIS) courses. I'd love to link the programming and GIS students together eventually if I could get a python controlled blimp to take aerial photos that could be georeferenced and used for GIS problems. -J. Zachary Miller

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Re: [Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG
by Andy Judkis 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

Hi Zac (et al), I teach 10th graders a course called Principles of Computer Technology that includes about 4 weeks of programming at the end, using Python. We always start with about 4 days using RUR-PLE, which I think is the cat's pajamas, and then go on to using IDLE to do some simple stuff. This year for the first time I did a 'getting to know you' project using Scratch, and I'll be interested to see if that exposure helps them grasp the basics of Python a little quicker. Also, last summer I took a seminar on Media Computing with Mark Guzdial (amazing guy, if he went into politics I'd vote for him in a heartbeat) and am considering introducing some of that material. For me, the tradeoff is that the media computing projects are really cool, but the Jython environment is not as friendly and I'm afraid it may be discouraging given the short time we have to work with. Anybody have an opinion on this? Thanks, Andy

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Re: [Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG - Panel
by Vern Ceder 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

On Sun, Oct 24, 2010 at 6:29 PM, Helene Martin <lognaturel(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Vern, > > I always have trouble with bluetooth interference, changing COM ports > (probably a Windows XP "feature"), low batteries and so on. Of > course, these issues are probably aggravated by having 60 students > working with them over 220 minutes in a day but I imagine they show up > at any scale. At first, the students find it quaint and put up with > it but I've found that their tolerance for the quirks is finite, as is > mine. I hesitate to teach Python basics using the platform for those > reasons. Do you share those problems? How do you address them? > The bluetooth problem is pretty much taken care of by using the dedicated Linux laptops - as long as I can set them up without the others on, it's no problem and we don't have any real trouble with that. The battery issue is real - as the voltage goes down the bot's behavior changes, and I shudder to think of the number of batteries we've burned through. OTOH, I don't see such quirks as obstacles to programming, but rather factors that can be at least partly mitigated with code. So we acknowledge the frustration and try (not always successfully, which is in itself a lesson) to deal with it. All of my kids are used to reading the battery state frequently in their code, and they're experimenting to find what they can do within the limitations of the machines. And failure, (as they say on Mythbusters) is always and option. However, a "failure" that establishes just how far the robot can be pushed earns an A, as for example a pair of girls who tried to have their two robots perform a complex interactive dance. They did a good job - analyzing the problems, trying to code solutions, but in the end the hardware wasn't up to the task and they could tell you exactly why and how things didn't work. That's a success in my book and I let them know that. > That's one of the big reasons that I only do about two weeks with the > 'bots. That's also about the time it takes us to get through the > Georgia Tech exercises (with students already knowing Python basics). > That's impressive. We're just getting to the image processing stuff after 8 weeks, but then, most of them are new to programming. But as I said, we have covered creating modules, basic control structures, and the like, all in the context of programming the scribblers. Cheers, Vern On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 8:51 PM, Vern Ceder <vceder(a)canterburyschool.org> > wrote: > > On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 11:24 PM, Zac Miller <zmiller(a)gsc.edu> wrote: > >> > >> Hello Vern, > >> > >> The scribbler robots seem to be pretty popular from the replies I've > been > >> getting here. We bought one of the robots to experiment with and the > >> students really enjoy working with it. How many of the robots do you > use? > >> What kind of robot to student ratio? > > > > I have seven students and each has their own scribbler and dedicated > laptop > > (they're old, retired laptops running Debian Linux) since having a > dedicated > > laptop cuts down on the hassle/time of pairing the bluetooth board. > > Most of those students are new to programming and we're using the > scribblers > > for the whole semester, sort of following the same process as GA Tech > does. > > A couple of the experienced programmers are moving on to more advanced > > projects, though. In working with the scribblers, they've learned if > > statements, functions, loops, how to create and use separate modules, > share > > code, and now are getting to the point of using the camera to grab and > > process images and use that information to control the robots. A couple > of > > the advanced kids have written multi-threaded apps to both drive the bot > and > > have it automatically avoid obstacles. It depends on what you want to do, > > but scribbler/fluke combo has a lot of potential. > >> > >> I think that a panel discussion with an established program like yours > and > >> a start up like mine may be interesting, maybe we could add a third and > work > >> out the details in private email. Anyone else interested? > > > > +1 > > > >> > >> I'm interested in doing a poster as well. I will be working it all out > >> this week since the talk proposal deadline is 1 November. > > > > Good. The final poster submission deadline is January 19, but we have a > > limit of 35 posters and are accepting them on a rolling basis. Acceptance > of > > a poster is not tied to whether or not a talk is accepted. > > > >> > >> -J. Zachary Miller > >> > > Cheers, > > Vern > > > > > > > >> > >> ________________________________ > >> From: Vern Ceder [vceder(a)canterburyschool.org] > >> Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 7:55 PM > >> To: Zac Miller > >> Cc: edu-sig(a)python.org > >> Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG > >> > >> Hi Zac, > >> > >> On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 6:39 PM, Zac Miller > >> <zmiller(a)gsc.edu<mailto:zmiller@gsc.edu>> wrote: > >> Hello! > >> > >> I've just joined this SIG, my first, and looked over a few of the > archived > >> threads from last few months. My name is Zac Miller and I am currently > >> teaching Python programming to college and middle school level students. > >> > >> I am curious if there are many K12 educators involved in this SIG? I am > >> looking for people to discuss my student's progress with and it seems to > be > >> hard to find others using Python in this setting. > >> > >> I'm the technology director and programming teacher at Canterbury, a > >> private school in Ft Wayne, IN. We've been teaching at least a little > Python > >> to every single 8th and 9th grader in the school since 2001, as well as > >> offering electives in Python, Java, C, etc. > >> > >> Right now, our Python class is using the same robot/bluetooth board that > >> Georgia Tech uses (http://wiki.roboteducation.org) which has been a > blast. > >> I'm also teaching an online Python enrichment course to middle school > kids > >> through Northwestern University's Gifted Learning Links program > >> (http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/gll/courses/enrichment/courses/), > using > >> Warren and Carter Sande's _Hello, World!_. > >> > >> As André mentioned there are a few of us on this list, so go ahead and > >> raise your questions. > >> > >> I am also considering putting together a talk proposal for PyCon 2011. > So > >> far my ideas for a talk would be a brief introduction of myself and my > >> experiences learning and teaching Python in the past year. I attended > PyCon > >> 2010 as student. Beyond that brief introduction I would like to discuss > the > >> state of programming in K12 education in the state of Georgia, as much > of it > >> as I have been able to untangle, and ideas for improving it. > >> > >> I've completed a few open record requests to the Georgia Department of > >> Education pulling enrollment number for programming and computer science > >> courses for the entire state. What would make for an interested PyCon > talk > >> on K12 education involving Python? Does anyone have similar data or a > >> summary of programming education for another state they wouldn't mind > >> sharing for me to use as comparison? Anyone interested in doing a Panel > >> proposal? > >> > >> I'd be available for a panel, and would be willing to work on a > proposal, > >> but don't think I have the time to be a main organizer of one... Also, > as > >> the chair of PyCon's poster session, let me encourage you to consider > >> presenting some of your findings as a poster. Even if you submit a talk > or > >> panel (and even if they get turned down) you can still submit a poster > >> proposal. > >> > >> Cheers, > >> Vern Ceder > >> > >> Thanks! > >> > >> -J. Zachary Miller > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Edu-sig mailing list > >> Edu-sig(a)python.org<mailto:Edu-sig@python.org> > >> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> This time for sure! > >> -Bullwinkle J. Moose > >> ----------------------------- > >> Vern Ceder, Director of Technology > >> Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 > >> vceder(a)canterburyschool.org<mailto:vceder@canterburyschool.org>; > >> 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 > >> > >> The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > This time for sure! > > -Bullwinkle J. Moose > > ----------------------------- > > Vern Ceder, Director of Technology > > Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 > > vceder(a)canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 > > > > The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Edu-sig mailing list > > Edu-sig(a)python.org > > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig > > > > > -- This time for sure! -Bullwinkle J. Moose ----------------------------- Vern Ceder, Director of Technology Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 vceder(a)canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW

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Re: [Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG - Panel
by Zac Miller 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

Hello Vern, The scribbler robots seem to be pretty popular from the replies I've been getting here. We bought one of the robots to experiment with and the students really enjoy working with it. How many of the robots do you use? What kind of robot to student ratio? I think that a panel discussion with an established program like yours and a start up like mine may be interesting, maybe we could add a third and work out the details in private email. Anyone else interested? I'm interested in doing a poster as well. I will be working it all out this week since the talk proposal deadline is 1 November. -J. Zachary Miller ________________________________ From: Vern Ceder [vceder(a)canterburyschool.org] Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 7:55 PM To: Zac Miller Cc: edu-sig(a)python.org Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG Hi Zac, On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 6:39 PM, Zac Miller <zmiller(a)gsc.edu<mailto:zmiller@gsc.edu>> wrote: Hello! I've just joined this SIG, my first, and looked over a few of the archived threads from last few months. My name is Zac Miller and I am currently teaching Python programming to college and middle school level students. I am curious if there are many K12 educators involved in this SIG? I am looking for people to discuss my student's progress with and it seems to be hard to find others using Python in this setting. I'm the technology director and programming teacher at Canterbury, a private school in Ft Wayne, IN. We've been teaching at least a little Python to every single 8th and 9th grader in the school since 2001, as well as offering electives in Python, Java, C, etc. Right now, our Python class is using the same robot/bluetooth board that Georgia Tech uses (http://wiki.roboteducation.org) which has been a blast. I'm also teaching an online Python enrichment course to middle school kids through Northwestern University's Gifted Learning Links program (http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/gll/courses/enrichment/courses/), using Warren and Carter Sande's _Hello, World!_. As André mentioned there are a few of us on this list, so go ahead and raise your questions. I am also considering putting together a talk proposal for PyCon 2011. So far my ideas for a talk would be a brief introduction of myself and my experiences learning and teaching Python in the past year. I attended PyCon 2010 as student. Beyond that brief introduction I would like to discuss the state of programming in K12 education in the state of Georgia, as much of it as I have been able to untangle, and ideas for improving it. I've completed a few open record requests to the Georgia Department of Education pulling enrollment number for programming and computer science courses for the entire state. What would make for an interested PyCon talk on K12 education involving Python? Does anyone have similar data or a summary of programming education for another state they wouldn't mind sharing for me to use as comparison? Anyone interested in doing a Panel proposal? I'd be available for a panel, and would be willing to work on a proposal, but don't think I have the time to be a main organizer of one... Also, as the chair of PyCon's poster session, let me encourage you to consider presenting some of your findings as a poster. Even if you submit a talk or panel (and even if they get turned down) you can still submit a poster proposal. Cheers, Vern Ceder Thanks! -J. Zachary Miller _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig(a)python.org<mailto:Edu-sig@python.org> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig -- This time for sure! -Bullwinkle J. Moose ----------------------------- Vern Ceder, Director of Technology Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804 vceder(a)canterburyschool.org<mailto:vceder@canterburyschool.org>; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137 The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW

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