I thought I might add a few comments since we at Centre College have been teaching Python in CS I for a long time. We use Java in CS II but I often let students use Python in subsequent courses for assignments in everything from algorithms to operating systems to AI. I have a research project going on this summer using the pyro robotics project materials which uses Python. I teach CS II and only once has a student complained about not learning Java from the beginning. I taught the course for the first time this spring using John Zelle's book. No one in the course was a major or minor -- everyone was taking it for a general ed or because it was required on their major (generally math or physics). I'm willing to admit that this class was not typical (many were upper classmen) but it was successful beyond my usual hopes. This is a typical comment from the student evaluations: "I thoroughly enjoyed this course, even though I was only taking it for gen ed requirement. I was able to gain many skills that will help me in the future and will add to my ability to think critically and decipher problems quickly and logically." Another wrote: "I was very surprised how much I enjoyed this class, especially the graphics labs and projects. I only took this class because it was a requirement for my major, but I would say that it was by far my favorite class this semester. It is nice having a class where the subject matter is applicable in the real world and you can see tangible results." We did do quite a bit of graphics programming using the graphics package in Zelle's book. It was easy to use and the students took on projects that were really very challenging. One wrote a very nice minesweeper program. This past week, long after grades were submitted, I got a revision of an Othello game that a student attempted. It still needs work but the fact that this course captured the imagination of a student and encouraged him to keep working on a project well into the summer speaks volumes both about our students and about the value of Python for the intro course. There are definitely things about Python that I don't like, but I find it very conducive for getting students to start programming meaningful projects in a hurry. Please contact me directly if you have additional questions about our course. Christine Shannon Margaret V. Haggin Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Centre College 600 W. Walnut Danville, KY 40422 859 238 5406