From tom.hoffman at gmail.com  Wed Jul  1 20:37:47 2009
From: tom.hoffman at gmail.com (Tom Hoffman)
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:37:47 -0400
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python/Moodle Integration
Message-ID: <92de6c880907011137y78183477p2125a9c01c44ae49@mail.gmail.com>

Apologies for using the edu-sig as a bucket for all vaguely
education-related Python news, but some of you may find this useful.

As an off-shoot of some SchoolTool work funded by the Escondido
Charter School, we've now got mnet-wsgi, WSGI middleware to handle
Moodle's MNet web services.  Basically the middleware handles the
encryption and authentication MNet uses on top of XML-RPC, so that the
Python web application just has to talk regular XML-RPC.

Code here -- https://code.edge.launchpad.net/~mnet-maintainers/mnet-wsgi/main

We'll be using this as a foundation of some Moodle/SchoolTool
interoperability, but since it is WSGI, it should be useful to anyone
doing Python web apps for schools and universities using Moodle.

--Tom

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Tue Jul  7 19:37:26 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2009 10:37:26 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] a brief update from my corner
Message-ID: <f604188c0907071037x2397fdadycc1e7dfdbf80e20c@mail.gmail.com>

I was happy to hear from Vern about his and Jeff's experiences at NECC
conference, as I briefly notate in my blog:

http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/07/planning-charter.html (PSF was
officially invested here)

More recently, I briefly re-visited the PSF's decision to "dump
Gattegno" for the benefit of the math teachers on math-teach, as he's
something of a hero and I didn't want anyone thinking we had a problem
with AlgebraFirst or whatever they're calling it:

http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=6776229&tstart=0

In terms of outreach to <14, the XO shouldn't be discounted.  That's
been a first contact with a Python interactive shell (Pippy) for many
youngsters around the world, a milestone already achieved (not saying
we're done).

I've been eyeballing this one (below), think it makes a good case for
Python (its intent), could be used to extend awareness of our language
in other non-scientific liberal arts fields.  I'll be sharing the
link.

Kirby



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steve Lawford <steve_lawford at yahoo.co.uk>
Date: Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 2:15 AM
Subject: Python review article (econometrics & statistics)
To: python-announce at python.org


Dear all,

We have written a review of Python aimed at econometricians and statisticians:
http://www.enac.fr/recherche/leea/Steve%20Lawford/papers/python.pdf
Some of the introductory material and examples may be of general interest.
Comments are very welcome (steve_lawford at yahoo.co.uk).

Best,

Steve Lawford
http://www.enac.fr/recherche/leea/Steve%20Lawford/steve_site1.html

<P><A HREF="http://www.enac.fr/recherche/leea/Steve%20Lawford/papers/python.pdf"></A>
- Python review article (econometrics & statistics) (04-07-09)
--
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-announce-list

? ? ? ?Support the Python Software Foundation:
? ? ? ?http://www.python.org/psf/donations/

From roberto03 at gmail.com  Sun Jul 12 20:08:44 2009
From: roberto03 at gmail.com (roberto)
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:08:44 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] python publication
Message-ID: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>

hello,
i have managed an introductory math and programming course, mainly
based on python for the programming side;
participants came strictly from high schools;

i'd like to share the results with the community and collect them as
draft for an eventual publication;

may you give me any hint about a suitable place to submit ?

thank you
-- 
roberto

From wdjoyner at gmail.com  Sun Jul 12 23:09:57 2009
From: wdjoyner at gmail.com (David Joyner)
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:09:57 -0400
Subject: [Edu-sig] python publication
In-Reply-To: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <8cf963450907121409g323e3be4oc86606a1ddcd27dd@mail.gmail.com>

On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 2:08 PM, roberto<roberto03 at gmail.com> wrote:
> hello,
> i have managed an introductory math and programming course, mainly
> based on python for the programming side;
> participants came strictly from high schools;
>
> i'd like to share the results with the community and collect them as
> draft for an eventual publication;


Will the lecture notes be licensed under an open source license,
such as GFDL?

Is it written in latex?


>
> may you give me any hint about a suitable place to submit ?


You mean which publishers might be interested in publishing your
lecture notes? Or do you mean, which websites accept such
manuscripts so it will publicly available?

>
> thank you
> --
> roberto
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>

From echerlin at gmail.com  Mon Jul 13 02:47:34 2009
From: echerlin at gmail.com (Edward Cherlin)
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:47:34 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] python publication
In-Reply-To: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <e574f6eb0907121747i58141809y2f979ade6536f7e4@mail.gmail.com>

On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 11:08 AM, roberto<roberto03 at gmail.com> wrote:
> hello,
> i have managed an introductory math and programming course, mainly
> based on python for the programming side;
> participants came strictly from high schools;
>
> i'd like to share the results with the community and collect them as
> draft for an eventual publication;
>
> may you give me any hint about a suitable place to submit ?

You can submit it to me, if you would be interested in the Earth
Treasury project of Free Digital Learning Materials. See
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Creating_Textbooks

I am working on teaching math and Python through Turtle Art. Perhaps
we can coordinate.

> thank you
> --
> roberto
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>



-- 
Silent Thunder (??/???????????????/????????????? ?) is my name
And Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination.
http://earthtreasury.org/worknet (Edward Mokurai Cherlin)

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Mon Jul 13 04:49:56 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:49:56 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Fwd:  python publication
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907121732r455ed685sff4f9c0979f3b6bc@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
	<f604188c0907121732r455ed685sff4f9c0979f3b6bc@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907121949h1c12571eh851fdc791bed0125@mail.gmail.com>

Missed sending reply here too.

My little crew is celebrating "bucky's birthday" today, with the usual
defiant fireworks, kinda "north korea" in that way. :)

http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-buckaneer-talk.html
(ritual polemics)
http://www.portlandpiratefestival.com/  (in September)
http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2006/07/july-four.html  (flag wavy)

Buckaneers in Portland include Trevor Blake.  I mention him in today's
blog post (above).  His connection to the Portland Python community is
through Esozone (a geek hangout -- esozone.com, also Backspace).

In terms of academic-flavored papers, it's OK to bypass the journals
as you'll still get peer reviewed in the blogosphere, plus are more
likely to find your real peers (scholarly journal publishers are
mostly way behind on topics like Python, hard to find any apropos).

I like the idea of sharing with Cherlin of course, as XO is cutting edge.

Here's a recent example of "academic flavored" (circulating among
Jordanians among others (just because of who I've been meeting with
more)).

http://www.4dsolutions.net/presentations/holistic_siliconforest_ver2.pdf

I've been tracking the Europython threads some, but if there's an
education-relevant thread someone *on the scene* wants to start, I'm
all eyes and ears.

Kirby

PS:  I thought this one from Slate was remarkably mean-spirited and ungeeky.

Like *of course* we want/need a multiplicity of operating systems, the
more the merrier, so go Google!

This nasty unfriendly attitude towards diversity seems more prevalent
in less sophisticated corporate cultures, anti-cosmopolitan,
illiberal.  Just my take.  Maybe he's just a loose cannon.
http://www.slate.com/id/2222564?nav=wp


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
Date: 2009/7/12
Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] python publication
To: roberto <roberto03 at gmail.com>


On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 11:08 AM, roberto<roberto03 at gmail.com> wrote:
> hello,
> i have managed an introductory math and programming course, mainly
> based on python for the programming side;
> participants came strictly from high schools;
>
> i'd like to share the results with the community and collect them as
> draft for an eventual publication;
>

Sure, right here. ?:)

> may you give me any hint about a suitable place to submit ?
>

I did my write-ups in my own blogs, of my math and programming courses
(also high school aged students).

It's not either/or, in that you can do something self published, also
go through some on-line journal if that's your preference.

The Python community itself has a number of venues for sharing
(including edu-sig).

I recommend steering clear of off-line journals with no web presence.

Kirby

> thank you
> --
> roberto
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>



--
?????? ??ss



-- 
?????? ??ss

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Tue Jul 14 02:28:57 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:28:57 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Bernoulli Numbers (a generator)
Message-ID: <f604188c0907131728q44020d16p51ba6f970ff7e21@mail.gmail.com>

Just adding to what's on file, not sure this is a "must have" but it's
fun to do, especially given the association of Bernoulli Numbers with
"the first computer program" as scoped out in Ada's notes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315 at N00/3718903352/sizes/o/  (shell
view, Akbar font)

http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/python/ada.py   (source code)

According to Wikipedia, this is similar to what Knuth recommends i.e.
we're staying with integer operations, although I'm using the Fraction
type to output results (Bernoulli numbers are fractions with lots of
digits once you get into 'em, ideal grist for the mill when learning
about Python generators).

Kirby
4D

-- 
?????? ??ss

From roberto03 at gmail.com  Tue Jul 14 19:10:48 2009
From: roberto03 at gmail.com (roberto)
Date: Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:10:48 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] python publication
In-Reply-To: <e574f6eb0907121747i58141809y2f979ade6536f7e4@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
	<e574f6eb0907121747i58141809y2f979ade6536f7e4@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4bcde3e10907141010o19869afcva2fc32029808f564@mail.gmail.com>

On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 2:47 AM, Edward Cherlin<echerlin at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> may you give me any hint about a suitable place to submit ?
>
> You can submit it to me, if you would be interested in the Earth
> Treasury project of Free Digital Learning Materials. See
> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Creating_Textbooks
>
> I am working on teaching math and Python through Turtle Art. Perhaps
> we can coordinate.
>

no time enough to deal with turtle art during my course but i am
really fond of it and i would like to use it massively in teaching
math and especially geometry;

i will surely insert it in future courses

if help is needed on this topic, just tell me



-- 
roberto

From gregor.lingl at aon.at  Wed Jul 15 22:16:48 2009
From: gregor.lingl at aon.at (Gregor Lingl)
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:16:48 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] Bernoulli Numbers (a generator)
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907131728q44020d16p51ba6f970ff7e21@mail.gmail.com>
References: <f604188c0907131728q44020d16p51ba6f970ff7e21@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4A5E3930.8020707@aon.at>

Very interesting issue, superbly documented by Kirby, thanks!

May I contribute a slightly streamlined version of the seidel-generator:
see attachment. (Please check if everything is correct.)

Regards,
Gregor
 

kirby urner schrieb:
> Just adding to what's on file, not sure this is a "must have" but it's
> fun to do, especially given the association of Bernoulli Numbers with
> "the first computer program" as scoped out in Ada's notes:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315 at N00/3718903352/sizes/o/  (shell
> view, Akbar font)
>
> http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/python/ada.py   (source code)
>
> According to Wikipedia, this is similar to what Knuth recommends i.e.
> we're staying with integer operations, although I'm using the Fraction
> type to output results (Bernoulli numbers are fractions with lots of
> digits once you get into 'em, ideal grist for the mill when learning
> about Python generators).
>
> Kirby
> 4D
>
>   
-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: ada.py
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20090715/d9933c1b/attachment.txt>

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Thu Jul 16 00:06:58 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:06:58 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Bernoulli Numbers (a generator)
In-Reply-To: <4A5E3930.8020707@aon.at>
References: <f604188c0907131728q44020d16p51ba6f970ff7e21@mail.gmail.com>
	<4A5E3930.8020707@aon.at>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907151506l3f7b4cebp51dd44f0f9919bf0@mail.gmail.com>

Yes, much cooler, thanks!

Kirby


On Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 1:16 PM, Gregor Lingl<gregor.lingl at aon.at> wrote:
> Very interesting issue, superbly documented by Kirby, thanks!
>
> May I contribute a slightly streamlined version of the seidel-generator:
> see attachment. (Please check if everything is correct.)
>
> Regards,
> Gregor
>
>
> kirby urner schrieb:
>>
>> Just adding to what's on file, not sure this is a "must have" but it's
>> fun to do, especially given the association of Bernoulli Numbers with
>> "the first computer program" as scoped out in Ada's notes:
>>
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315 at N00/3718903352/sizes/o/ ?(shell
>> view, Akbar font)
>>
>> http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/python/ada.py ? (source code)
>>
>> According to Wikipedia, this is similar to what Knuth recommends i.e.
>> we're staying with integer operations, although I'm using the Fraction
>> type to output results (Bernoulli numbers are fractions with lots of
>> digits once you get into 'em, ideal grist for the mill when learning
>> about Python generators).
>>
>> Kirby
>> 4D
>>
>>
>
> """
> Python version: 3.1
> author: Kirby Urner, 4D Solutions
> release: 1.01, July 15, 2009
>
> quick and dirty implementation of Bernoulli numbers
> as a generator, getting clues from Wikipedia article
>
> code of seidel generator slightly streamlined by Gregor Lingl
>
>
> Dedication:
> "to Ada Byron, with respect and admiration"
>
> (hence name ada.py)
>
> "In note G of Ada Lovelace's notes on the
> Analytical engine from 1842, Lovelace
> describes an algorithm for generating
> Bernoulli numbers with Babbage's machine [~ 1].
> As a result, the Bernoulli numbers have
> the distinction of being the subject of
> the first computer program."
> Wikipedia: ?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli_number
>
> Source code (current version):
> http://www.4dsolutions.net/ocn/python/ada.py
>
> """
>
> from fractions import Fraction
>
> def seidel():
> ? ?"""
> ? ?"...in 1877 Philipp Ludwig von Seidel published an ingenious
> ? ?algorithm which makes it extremely simple to calculate Tn."
> ? ?(Ibid, Wikipedia)
>
> ? ?See OEIS:
> ? ?http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A000111
> ? ?"""
> ? ?yield 1
> ? ?yield 1
> ? ?row = [1]
> ? ?while True:
> ? ? ? ?t = 0
> ? ? ? ?newrow = []
> ? ? ? ?for i in row:
> ? ? ? ? ? ?t += i
> ? ? ? ? ? ?newrow.append(t)
> ? ? ? ?newrow.append(t)
> ? ? ? ?yield t
> ? ? ? ?row = reversed(newrow)
>
> def bernoulli():
> ? ?yield Fraction(1,1)
> ? ?yield Fraction(-1,2)
> ? ?seidelgen = seidel()
> ? ?next(seidelgen)
> ? ?sign = 1
> ? ?n = 2
> ? ?while True:
> ? ? ? ?sign *= -1
> ? ? ? ?denom = 2**n -4**n
> ? ? ? ?numer = sign * n * next(seidelgen)
> ? ? ? ?next(seidelgen)
> ? ? ? ?n += 2
> ? ? ? ?yield Fraction(numer, denom)
>
>

From roberto03 at gmail.com  Mon Jul 20 12:19:43 2009
From: roberto03 at gmail.com (roberto)
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:19:43 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] Fwd: python publication
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907121949h1c12571eh851fdc791bed0125@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907121108t7b0b842dlc10c69f78e7d0515@mail.gmail.com>
	<f604188c0907121732r455ed685sff4f9c0979f3b6bc@mail.gmail.com>
	<f604188c0907121949h1c12571eh851fdc791bed0125@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4bcde3e10907200319i257462e3p3de883607ee7e35@mail.gmail.com>

2009/7/13 kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>:
> In terms of academic-flavored papers, it's OK to bypass the journals
> as you'll still get peer reviewed in the blogosphere, plus are more
> likely to find your real peers (scholarly journal publishers are
> mostly way behind on topics like Python, hard to find any apropos).
>
> I like the idea of sharing with Cherlin of course, as XO is cutting edge.

thank you for your comments;

my intended aim is:
- writing a report on the activity to let other guys in the field know
what else is going on
- the report should be totally free of charge and web-available
- the report should be citable in other reports/papers or else
- receive comments from other educators using Python in classrooms, to
improve my future plans

i'll seriously consider sugarlabs choice, if you think i may collaborate;



>
> Here's a recent example of "academic flavored" (circulating among
> Jordanians among others (just because of who I've been meeting with
> more)).
>
> http://www.4dsolutions.net/presentations/holistic_siliconforest_ver2.pdf
>
> I've been tracking the Europython threads some, but if there's an
> education-relevant thread someone *on the scene* wants to start, I'm
> all eyes and ears.
>
> Kirby
>
> PS: ?I thought this one from Slate was remarkably mean-spirited and ungeeky.
>
> Like *of course* we want/need a multiplicity of operating systems, the
> more the merrier, so go Google!
>
> This nasty unfriendly attitude towards diversity seems more prevalent
> in less sophisticated corporate cultures, anti-cosmopolitan,
> illiberal. ?Just my take. ?Maybe he's just a loose cannon.
> http://www.slate.com/id/2222564?nav=wp
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
> Date: 2009/7/12
> Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] python publication
> To: roberto <roberto03 at gmail.com>
>
>
> On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 11:08 AM, roberto<roberto03 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> hello,
>> i have managed an introductory math and programming course, mainly
>> based on python for the programming side;
>> participants came strictly from high schools;
>>
>> i'd like to share the results with the community and collect them as
>> draft for an eventual publication;
>>
>
> Sure, right here. ?:)
>
>> may you give me any hint about a suitable place to submit ?
>>
>
> I did my write-ups in my own blogs, of my math and programming courses
> (also high school aged students).
>
> It's not either/or, in that you can do something self published, also
> go through some on-line journal if that's your preference.
>
> The Python community itself has a number of venues for sharing
> (including edu-sig).
>
> I recommend steering clear of off-line journals with no web presence.
>
> Kirby
>
>> thank you
>> --
>> roberto
>> _______________________________________________
>> Edu-sig mailing list
>> Edu-sig at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>>
>
>
>
> --
> ?????? ??ss
>
>
>
> --
> ?????? ??ss
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>



-- 
roberto

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Wed Jul 22 02:14:38 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:14:38 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Fwd: Proposal: poster session
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907211420s65a793b2u1b31b5efd242271d@mail.gmail.com>
References: <f604188c0907211420s65a793b2u1b31b5efd242271d@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907211714i3c028b6chdf2f7bc41d1ec95a@mail.gmail.com>

Yo edu-sig!

FYI the below is archived as:
http://mail.python.org/mailman/private/pycon-organizers/2009-July/012720.html

Vern is doing a good job of bringing our proposal before the Pycon
organizers, and I'm wanting to give enough background to make our
motivations clear.

Those of us with a CP4E background have little trouble understanding,
but in some circles its still a new idea that "everyone" would be
interested in programming for some reason.

Kirby


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Subject: Proposal: poster session
To: "Pycon-Organizers at Python.Org" <Pycon-organizers at python.org>


Kirby here.

Just wanted to chime in on the poster session thread, having been at
Pycon when the idea first surfaced, giving full credit to our fearless
chairman Steve Holden for thinking of it. ?I hatched in Princeton's
philosophy department (1879 Hall) where we didn't have those, my first
exposure to "poster session" being 1st International Conference on
Buckminsterfullerene in Santa Barbara, Elsevier sponsoring (1990s
sometime, BFI was just moving there). ?Steve has a stronger background
in academic engineering, even if he's beyond all that now.

In a nutshell, here's the premise: ?Pycon showcases successful private
sector businesses mixed with some academics but has precious little in
the way of outreach to minors, under-aged, under-privileged looking
for a break, wanting to get noticed.

The "private sector business" flavor stems from using upscale hotels
with high price tags, meaning floorspace at a premium, can't expect a
full blown poster session ala Nanotubes 05, going along in parallel
with Europython @ Chalmers and dwarfing Python's exhibit space, as
nanotubes are more important.

Photo exhibit: ?http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2006/08/hp4e.html ?(scroll
to bottom picture and click for larger view -- shows Europython geeks
mingling with nanotube people).

This idea for a "poster session" is at least our short term solution.

Our long term solution might be to host some satellite eduPycons on
university campuses, got the idea from Jeff Rush & Co. to piggy back
on science fiction conferences, in terms of outreach, mix in robotics
(device control), complete with tournaments.

These wouldn't be at luxury hotels necessarily, more likely university
and college campuses, although I've been pitching Angel of the Winds
as an example resort casino option, given interest in teaching
Pythonic Math [tm] in gambling subcultures in some niches....

Anyway, back to my main point: ?picture a highly talented young
Pythonista in Poughkeepsie, wanting to showcase a pet project in the
equivalent of a national dog show, but for snake projects. ?For the
time being, Pycon is the best we have to offer, and Vern Ceder has
generously volunteered to PSF take these pet projects in for
consideration, coordinate their getting some focus. ?He has lots of
relevant experience from what I've discerned i.e. he really is a great
person for this position, hope he'll stick with it.

We planned this out as a BOF in Chicago and in followup
communications. ?I don't think we need to second guess Vern as to how
he picks winners, or if he even does that. ?He's writing the job
description as he goes, though I've suggested he build around the
Giles character in Buffy, known as "a watcher" informally -- at least
some kids will like that (means he's watching the radar "between
Pycons", keeping alert to what's out there in the field).

The based example I've yet seen, of a long-running conference that
mixes academic projects (posters) with company booths, is the ESRI
sponsored GIS in Action, held shortly after Pycon this year, with me
representing PSF in sharing our "lore". ?You can look at my slides,
read my journal, at this address:

http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/04/gis-2009.html ?(mentions Vern
and Pycons explicitly, as did my talk)

ESRI, for those who don't know, is the giant of GIS and standardized
on Python awhile ago, meaning a huge following in those circles.
Children of government GIS workers across the nation are chomping at
the bit to send projects to Vern (lets just model that), and what
we're hoping for Pycon, is some modest exhibit space in the corporate
exhibit area (like where geeks line up around coffee, munch cheesies).

Posters need not be accompanied by live actors, need to be the subject
of lightning talks, but do have lots of contact information, so geeks
munching and drinking, taking these in, have a way to follow up in
their capacity as talent scouts, blogosphere reviewers. ?Kids will get
to read about themselves, get a sense of the competition, and so Pycon
will have served this new purpose and edu-sig people can nod
appreciatively, thinking Python Nation is really well governed, praise
Guido or whatever.

Lastly, although I've dwelt on minors, school aged kids, I didn't want
to give the impression we're precluding oldsters from diving in. ?It's
just that FOSS geeks are getting old enough to have teenagers, have
input to Pycon's planning as parents not just as single males just out
of college or something (still a part of the demographic obviously).

So I see this as part of a maturation process, a sign of Python
reaching some milestones. ?On a related topic, Laura has tried to get
the child care scene off the ground at Europython (some talk of my
Tara doing babysitting), but here we're skirting that issue by
suggesting a poster needn't come with a 15 year old directly attached.
?If said 15 year old wants to record some Youtubes to explain the
project, then getting that officially wired in to the Pycon site would
be a second aspect of this project (in addition to the physical poster
boards).

Make any sense?

Kirby Urner
PSF 09

4dsolutions.net

From roberto03 at gmail.com  Wed Jul 22 17:28:55 2009
From: roberto03 at gmail.com (roberto)
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:28:55 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] turtle in education
Message-ID: <4bcde3e10907220828hb31e3c9n12440f92b3456c8f@mail.gmail.com>

hello,
i am looking for materials, experiences etc. about using turtle module
in math, physics and related for middle or high school students

i realized a lot of work is going on but is there any place where all
or part of this material is gathered ?
i am going through the talk of Gregor Lingl at PyCon;

if you're aware of anything else just tell me

thank you very much
-- 
roberto

From jeff at elkner.net  Thu Jul 23 04:19:51 2009
From: jeff at elkner.net (Jeff Elkner)
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:19:51 -0400
Subject: [Edu-sig] Feedback sought on blog post: "Where do all the geek
	girls go?"
Message-ID: <37fa1dfb0907221919j46b13eaaiff42b0218e648f8f@mail.gmail.com>

I've just written a blog post reflecting on what a learned in teaching
Summer enrichment classes about girls and programming:

http://proyectojuanchacon.blogspot.com/2009/07/where-to-all-geek-girls-go.html

Thoughts and/or feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

jeff elkner
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From da.ajoy at gmail.com  Thu Jul 23 23:26:13 2009
From: da.ajoy at gmail.com (Daniel Ajoy)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:26:13 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] nice post about teaching functional programming to kids
Message-ID: <op.uxjhtzyi0gup8g@daniel-pc>

http://jackcoughonsoftware.blogspot.com/2009/05/teaching-functional-programming-to-kids.html

"What happens if we put one machine into the slot of another machine?"
"That's silly, Daddy!"


Daniel



From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Thu Jul 23 23:54:11 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:54:11 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] nice post about teaching functional programming to
	kids
In-Reply-To: <op.uxjhtzyi0gup8g@daniel-pc>
References: <op.uxjhtzyi0gup8g@daniel-pc>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907231454t1e205e17radd8cca2a166e7b0@mail.gmail.com>

On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 2:26 PM, Daniel Ajoy<da.ajoy at gmail.com> wrote:
> http://jackcoughonsoftware.blogspot.com/2009/05/teaching-functional-programming-to-kids.html
>
> "What happens if we put one machine into the slot of another machine?"
> "That's silly, Daddy!"
>
>
> Daniel
>
>

Hmph, this fun post jumped mine in the queue, though likewise
cross-posted.  Ah the mysteries...

I've stashed my reply to Jeff et al in this more obscure location:

http://groups.google.com/group/edupython/ (as a reply to myself:
follow-up to OS Bridge usa.or.pdx)

In the meantime, more fine tuning of the poster session proposal has
occurred.  The Pycon organizers seem pretty much OK with it,
understanding we "learn by doing" so wheel-spinning on lists has its
intrinsic limitations.

Some bridges one crosses only when one gets to them.  Most bridges...

If we get my original, so much the better.  Lots of bots harvest
edu-sig, most Google Groups more under the radar I'm thinking.

Kirby

Twitter:  thekirbster
Flickr:  thekirbster

> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>



-- 
?????? ??ss

From da.ajoy at gmail.com  Fri Jul 24 02:29:29 2009
From: da.ajoy at gmail.com (Daniel Ajoy)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:29:29 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] turtle in education
In-Reply-To: <mailman.3.1248343202.28465.edu-sig@python.org>
References: <mailman.3.1248343202.28465.edu-sig@python.org>
Message-ID: <op.uxjqbfof0gup8g@daniel-pc>

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:00:02 -0500, <edu-sig-request at python.org> wrote:

> hello,
> i am looking for materials, experiences etc. about using turtle module
> in math, physics and related for middle or high school students
> 
> i realized a lot of work is going on but is there any place where all
> or part of this material is gathered ?
> i am going through the talk of Gregor Lingl at PyCon;
> 
> if you're aware of anything else just tell me
> 
> thank you very much
> --


Materials?

http://neoparaiso.com/logo/ejercicios-de-geometria.html

Logo books and resources in general.

Daniel



From daveb at davebsoft.com  Sat Jul 25 00:15:56 2009
From: daveb at davebsoft.com (Dave Briccetti)
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:15:56 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Young Programmers Video Podcast
In-Reply-To: <DA31E24C-62D0-49CF-8B78-CBC91646C932@davebsoft.com>
References: <DA31E24C-62D0-49CF-8B78-CBC91646C932@davebsoft.com>
Message-ID: <ED7CCC96-67E6-4109-B17B-00D379AA220F@davebsoft.com>

Hi. Some of you may be interested in a new video podcast for young  
programmers learning Python, Scratch and Alice.

http://young-programmers.blogspot.com/

Should it be added here? http://www.python.org/doc/av/  I couldn't  
find any contact info.

Dave Briccetti

(I posted this a couple days ago, and don?t see it in the archives, so  
perhaps it was silently discarded since I wasn?t subscribed to the  
list.)

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Mon Jul 27 16:08:55 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:08:55 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Feedback sought on blog post: "Where do all the geek
	girls go?"
In-Reply-To: <37fa1dfb0907221919j46b13eaaiff42b0218e648f8f@mail.gmail.com>
References: <37fa1dfb0907221919j46b13eaaiff42b0218e648f8f@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907270708t7eb79d1bq7da53545628d9f5@mail.gmail.com>

On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 7:19 PM, Jeff Elkner<jeff at elkner.net> wrote:
> I've just written a blog post reflecting on what a learned in teaching
> Summer enrichment classes about girls and programming:
>
> http://proyectojuanchacon.blogspot.com/2009/07/where-to-all-geek-girls-go.html
>
> Thoughts and/or feedback would be much appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> jeff elkner

So my first reply to this ended up on the EduPython Google Group,
obscure, but with its own advantages (better profile tracking,
something Python.org doesn't support as we don't have user login).

I've got a different reply now for edu-sig, which is again focusing on
"lore", the other axis orthogonal to "skills" in my Pycon workshop
(Chicago, w/ Holden).

What I ran by "Dabo guy" Ed and some others at Pycon were these new
stories we're telling students, about how computer science came to be.

First, it was based in a hoax, talking about The Turk, which defeated
Napoleon at chess yet seemed to be an automaton, a "thinking machine"
(the beginnings of AI in the popular mind).  That prolly drove the
little dictator crazy (which he was to begin with, so in a new +
different way).

Second, it was founded by a woman, as when people later wanted to know
if a "thinking machine" would arise out of work by Babbage & Co., the
Countless Lovelace aka Ada Byron went around the salon circuit
educating people, helping replace idle superstition with the germs of
an actual science:  computer science.

Fast forward to WWII with the Brits working overtime to crack the
German Enigma code at Bletchley Park, Turing in command over military
people hating to work together, but under strict orders (when the war
was over, it quickly fell apart, the centrifugal forces just too great
(it was also a class thing -- machines were dirty, mathematicians
clean (but that's another story))).

Most the patient "hole puncher" types in that invisible army were
women.  Likewise when it came to wiring ENIAC for computations (what
programming was at first:  wiring a spaghetti monster):  most the
doers were women.  Why?

Scientific hypothesis:  hominid women have a social role more amenable
to doing drudgery, very necessary drudgery, for not much credit.
Credit is only useful to people wanting to self promote and women are
supposed to rise through their men in the standard western civ model
(which sucks but we're not here to pass judgement).  Men have their
social networks based on credit and meritocracy, advancing amidst "old
boys" (as in network) by accumulating kudos and being somewhat public
about their skills (picture gladiators, TV wrestlers), pushing women
out of the limelight (where many prefer to be).

Case in point:  so long as "programming" was really difficult,
required almost superhuman patience to get right, the XXs did the
heavy lifting.  Then Rear Admiral Grace Hopper came along and realized
we could start using more human language like words and get the
computer itself to translate to machine code.  This was called a
"compiler" (formerly womens work) and took a lot of the drudgery out,
making CS a lot easier.  Men came flooding in, seeing an opportunity
to accumulate credit, filling the discipline with the loud mouths we
know and love, women again shoved to the back of the bus (where many
of them prefer to be -- lots of controls back there, unlike on an
ordinary bus with a male driver).

The Pycon folks were somewhat amused by all this.  But you can see
where these stories might be useful for holding womens interest, as
its about social networking, culture, and beautiful Ada (smart too).

Another piece of it is to stop using "nerd" and "geek"
interchangeably.  "Nerd" is the larval form of "geek" and is closer to
"hobbledehoy" (gawky youth).  The word "geek" means a Cirque du Soliel
type, lots of social skills, might be a womanizer (even if a woman),
much more like a pirate (in terms of commanding a team).

If nerds are lucky, they mature into geeks, but not all of them do.
As a culture, we've been maturing from nerds to geeks "en masse" and
as we've done so, we've attracted more women, as "female nerd" is
almost an oxymoron per my scientific hypothesis above.  Girl geeks are
becoming tomorrow's leaders today here in Portland, in other cities
too.

Weird Al is a geek, makes fun of nerds.  Kaplan-Moss is a geek.  I
can't think of many nerds around Pycon as most of us are older than
14, and women find us debonair and attractive, are just too shy to say
so.

The rest of my Edupython post was more specifically about Portland.
We have a strong womens community focused around FOSS, lots of
"witches" and "covens".  This was part of Portlandia's lore long
before FOSS came along, before the Torvalds family or the current
ISEPP, but you can see how the culture adapts.  Women like social
causes, social justice (good design) and so are attracted to "code
with a heart" projects.  That'd be like UrbanEdibles and Free Skool,
websites about providing free social services, healthy food, a strong
education.

In terms of Free Skool, I was recruited by a new FOSS witch in
Portland by the name of Lindsey (blog character) who, if she wore a
military uniform, might be right up there with Hopper, at least in my
book.  Here people skills are to-die-for, right up there with Selena's
and Audrey's (our OS Bridge organizers and co-chairs).  We've also
been blessed with Amber Case, the cyborg anthropologist and keynoter
for said OS Bridge.  She's been on the Wanderers boat already (that's
a core "floating office" in our Portland think tank, headquartered in
Linus Pauling House).

These women are roll models for someone like my daughter (age 15).
She sees I look up to women, take orders from them, and that's
encouraging.  FOSS in Portland is *not* male dominated.  At best, men
are equals (but who are we really kidding?).

I could say a lot more, but want to conclude with the advice I got
from OSCON and OS Bridge as well:  focusing specifically on the
"digital divide" among genders is counterproductive.  If men continue
to upgrade their skills, become less nerdy and more geeky, then
they'll spontaneously rise in the meritocracy to where they encounter
more women, a sign of social maturity.

This in turn means working hard on "world domination" (aka "world
peace") which leads to self mastery, promotes self discipline.   So
lets just focus on skill building together and less on how to make men
be less jerky (a lost cause in any case).

Sounds good to me. :)

Kirby

Notes:

* I'm aware of some snarky remarks from the peanut gallery aimed at
dislodging Ada from her pedestal as "first computer programmer",
published my counter narrative awhile back.  There's a retro
(atavistic) throw back kind of guy who still things men should
"dominate" in engineering.  We don't have any of those in Portland,
but I encounter them in my travels.  Maybe contact me off list if you
need more pointers to good writings, or just read Mary Daly.  'Triumph
of the Moon' also good (a history book).  Plus here's a blog post:
http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2008/07/women-and-foss.html

* here's a link to Lindsey's Free Skool page, which links to my OS
Bridge slides, a lot about women and FOSS, maybe take a look (6 meg
PDF, sorry, lots of screen scraping):
http://portland.freeskool.org/?q=node/1216

* Ed Leafe:  http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=17157315 at N00&q=Dabo&m=text
 (xBase community took to Python in a big way, though VFP is still
popular in US military and Prague)

* more gender studies, been sharing with Dr. Tag, an Arabic speaking
faculty member exploring Portland's geek subculture (she's me Lindsey
already, not Amber yet I don't think):
http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/07/compare-and-contrast.html

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Mon Jul 27 17:11:52 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:11:52 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Feedback sought on blog post: "Where do all the geek
	girls go?"
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907270708t7eb79d1bq7da53545628d9f5@mail.gmail.com>
References: <37fa1dfb0907221919j46b13eaaiff42b0218e648f8f@mail.gmail.com>
	<f604188c0907270708t7eb79d1bq7da53545628d9f5@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907270811y5b2d4760qf0c10f14f856653b@mail.gmail.com>

> So my first reply to this ended up on the EduPython Google Group,
> obscure, but with its own advantages (better profile tracking,
> something Python.org doesn't support as we don't have user login).
>

This one made it to edu-sig archive no problemo, however I was
nonplussed by some of the typos so did a more polished draft for the
Google group.  That's the one I twittered about just now:

http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/07/more-twittering.html

On another topic, if you're in a public school that blocks YouTube
even in the library, consider contacting either ACLU and/or Amnesty
International.  It's a violation of civil rights, plus if your
school's doing it, your students are technically political prisoners
several hours a day.  This will count against the US and/or your state
in cocktail parties, when we rank 'em on "freedom", stuff like that.

I'm adamant about this because a lot of our best Python stuff is on
YouTube, Google Video, ShowMeDo, Vimeo... Blip TV.  These are the
conduits for that famous "distance education" everyone talks about
(not the only ones, but some of the most viable).  To block these in
the library is akin to book burning, certainly censorship of the worst
kind.  Your only excuse is if you're "off the grid" in terms of having
zero bandwidth.

For example, kids like to let off steam by smashing calculators with
hammers, running over them, throwing them against the wall.  They
know, intuitively, that being forced to use them instead of computers
is viciously fascist and anti-future.  If they can't access YouTube,
they won't get this vicarious thrill and it's really wasteful to have
too many kids doing it (redundant).

Here's a watering hole (oasis) for our oppressed, feel free to direct
them here if you're a math teacher:
http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/07/contraband.html

Remember:  America eats its young.  Fight back!

Kirby

From mark.goadrich at gmail.com  Mon Jul 27 18:33:10 2009
From: mark.goadrich at gmail.com (Mark Goadrich)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:33:10 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python 3.0 Textbook and Labs
Message-ID: <2bd0f8590907270933t357dac9ai281877efda60f063@mail.gmail.com>

Last year in my CS1 course where I teach Python, I used a modified
version of Allen Downey's "How to Think Like a (Python) Programmer"
open source text. I restructured and edited the text to fit my
pedagogical needs, and it was well received by my students (especially
the "free PDF textbook" part).

This summer I have converted the text and examples to be in line with
the Python 3.0 changes, and thought other people on this list might be
interested. I've tried to be thorough, but I'm sure I've missed some
things, and will continue to update the text as the fall semester
progresses.

The PDF can be found at

    http://mark.goadrich.com/courses/csc207f09/book/thinkPP.pdf

with the LaTeX source files at

    http://mark.goadrich.com/courses/csc207f09/book/thinkpp3000.tar.gz

and my associated labs, approximately one for each chapter

    http://mark.goadrich.com/courses/csc207f09/#labs

Hope you find them useful,

Mark

-- 
Mark Goadrich, Ph.D.
Broyles Eminent Scholars Chair of Computational Mathematics
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA
http://mark.goadrich.com
mgoadric at centenary.edu
(318) 869-5194

From jasonrbriggs at gmail.com  Mon Jul 27 21:39:32 2009
From: jasonrbriggs at gmail.com (Jason Briggs)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:39:32 +0100
Subject: [Edu-sig] Learning to Program... in French!
Message-ID: <DE52BA1B-E2A2-4461-AE3D-BDCC44F2CABA@gmail.com>

Hi All

I've been lurking for a while now, without much of interest to report,  
but just wanted to let the group know that the first non-English  
version of my e-book (Snake Wrangling for Kids) has been released.   
It's version 0.0.1, but looking good (in my opinion, anyway).   
Downloadable from the project page:  http://code.google.com/p/swfk-fr.

Awesome effort from Michel to get this first version completed.

Regards
Jason

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Mon Jul 27 22:26:59 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:26:59 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Learning to Program... in French!
In-Reply-To: <DE52BA1B-E2A2-4461-AE3D-BDCC44F2CABA@gmail.com>
References: <DE52BA1B-E2A2-4461-AE3D-BDCC44F2CABA@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907271326j1ded5641w5208deed2fc76a42@mail.gmail.com>

Awesome.

I'm working with a Jordanian group, haven't gotten that far yet, just
looking at Javascript talk balloons that come up in different
languages depending on setting (UrbanEdibles mashup, moving to
Django).

http://urbanedibles.org/

Python is a great first language for non-English speakers.

Dunno if you've heard of LEX Institute but it's been influential on
this list since the early days, thanks to Jason Cunliffe especially.

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2001-October/001788.html

Kirby


On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 12:39 PM, Jason Briggs<jasonrbriggs at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All
>
> I've been lurking for a while now, without much of interest to report, but
> just wanted to let the group know that the first non-English version of my
> e-book (Snake Wrangling for Kids) has been released. ?It's version 0.0.1,
> but looking good (in my opinion, anyway). ?Downloadable from the project
> page: ?http://code.google.com/p/swfk-fr.
>
> Awesome effort from Michel to get this first version completed.
>
> Regards
> Jason
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>

From jasonrbriggs at gmail.com  Tue Jul 28 00:48:30 2009
From: jasonrbriggs at gmail.com (Jason Briggs)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:48:30 +0100
Subject: [Edu-sig] Learning to Program... in French!
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907271326j1ded5641w5208deed2fc76a42@mail.gmail.com>
References: <DE52BA1B-E2A2-4461-AE3D-BDCC44F2CABA@gmail.com>
	<f604188c0907271326j1ded5641w5208deed2fc76a42@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <83773C63-C8AA-45FE-8BCA-21DCD8334DC2@gmail.com>

Nope.  Hadn't come across LEX.  Interesting.

By the way, I forgot to mention there's also a spanish effort which is  
nearing completion (again of a first version).  Similar project page: http://code.google.com/p/swfk-es 
, although no released files yet.

J


On 27 Jul 2009, at 21:26, kirby urner wrote:

> Awesome.
>
> I'm working with a Jordanian group, haven't gotten that far yet, just
> looking at Javascript talk balloons that come up in different
> languages depending on setting (UrbanEdibles mashup, moving to
> Django).
>
> http://urbanedibles.org/
>
> Python is a great first language for non-English speakers.
>
> Dunno if you've heard of LEX Institute but it's been influential on
> this list since the early days, thanks to Jason Cunliffe especially.
>
> http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2001-October/001788.html
>
> Kirby
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 12:39 PM, Jason  
> Briggs<jasonrbriggs at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi All
>>
>> I've been lurking for a while now, without much of interest to  
>> report, but
>> just wanted to let the group know that the first non-English  
>> version of my
>> e-book (Snake Wrangling for Kids) has been released.  It's version  
>> 0.0.1,
>> but looking good (in my opinion, anyway).  Downloadable from the  
>> project
>> page:  http://code.google.com/p/swfk-fr.
>>
>> Awesome effort from Michel to get this first version completed.
>>
>> Regards
>> Jason
>> _______________________________________________
>> Edu-sig mailing list
>> Edu-sig at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>>


From echerlin at gmail.com  Wed Jul 29 06:28:54 2009
From: echerlin at gmail.com (Edward Cherlin)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:28:54 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] turtle in education
In-Reply-To: <4bcde3e10907220828hb31e3c9n12440f92b3456c8f@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907220828hb31e3c9n12440f92b3456c8f@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <e574f6eb0907282128o6470fc40nd28fffe67f181cc9@mail.gmail.com>

On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 8:28 AM, roberto<roberto03 at gmail.com> wrote:
> hello,
> i am looking for materials, experiences etc. about using turtle module
> in math, physics and related for middle or high school students

http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/File:Gravity.odt Alan Kay's third-grade
gravity lesson in Turtle Art, with extra material.

> i realized a lot of work is going on but is there any place where all
> or part of this material is gathered ?
> i am going through the talk of Gregor Lingl at PyCon;
>
> if you're aware of anything else just tell me
>
> thank you very much
> --
> roberto
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>



-- 
Silent Thunder (??/???????????????/????????????? ?) is my name
And Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination.
http://earthtreasury.org/worknet (Edward Mokurai Cherlin)

From gregor.lingl at aon.at  Fri Jul 31 12:48:24 2009
From: gregor.lingl at aon.at (Gregor Lingl)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:48:24 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] turtle in education
In-Reply-To: <4bcde3e10907220828hb31e3c9n12440f92b3456c8f@mail.gmail.com>
References: <4bcde3e10907220828hb31e3c9n12440f92b3456c8f@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <4A72CBF8.90108@aon.at>

Hi Roberto, hi all,

I've just created a repository of turtle graphics demos/applications
at google code:

http://code.google.com/p/python-turtle-demo/

There are two versions of the collection: one for use with Python 3.1
and one for use with Python 2.5 / 2.6. The latter contains a backport
of version 1.1 of the turtle module (from Python 3.1) to Python 2.

Among others it contains all the examples I have demonstrated
at Pycon 2009 and at Europython 2009.

If you are interested to amend some of these examples, add some
explanatory material or contribute additional examples, please tell
me so I could add you as a committer to the project.

Maybe this repository could evolve to something Roberto was
asking for (below).

If you have questions concerning the examples, feel free to ask here.

I hope that this collection will prove to be useful.

Best regards,
Gregor


roberto schrieb:
> hello,
> i am looking for materials, experiences etc. about using turtle module
> in math, physics and related for middle or high school students
>
> i realized a lot of work is going on but is there any place where all
> or part of this material is gathered ?
> i am going through the talk of Gregor Lingl at PyCon;
>
> if you're aware of anything else just tell me
>
> thank you very much
>   

From lac at openend.se  Fri Jul 31 21:35:57 2009
From: lac at openend.se (Laura Creighton)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:35:57 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] Pycon organizers is now talking about poster sessions
In-Reply-To: Message from kirby urner <kirby.urner@gmail.com> of "Sat,
	06 Jun 2009 15:49:26 PDT."
	<f604188c0906061549u6db7a82dgcca3c5a7744301f9@mail.gmail.com> 
References: <kirby.urner@gmail.com>
	<f604188c0906051337w2d1deaa2nc5572b7f58e67271@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906060714.n567EmfB024212@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906060709o2d990a49qc6351f7e5d5d5739@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906062150.n56LopJA003990@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906061549u6db7a82dgcca3c5a7744301f9@mail.gmail.com> 
Message-ID: <200907311935.n6VJZv0l022173@theraft.openend.se>

I think it would help if an actual teacher got involved before they
decide what teachers want without consultation ...

Laura

ps -- unfortunately you have to subscribe to read the archive.  I have
no idea why.  http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-organizers

From gregor.lingl at aon.at  Fri Jul 31 21:52:26 2009
From: gregor.lingl at aon.at (Gregor Lingl)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:52:26 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] Pycon organizers is now talking about poster sessions
In-Reply-To: <200907311935.n6VJZv0l022173@theraft.openend.se>
References: <kirby.urner@gmail.com>	<f604188c0906051337w2d1deaa2nc5572b7f58e67271@mail.gmail.com>	<200906060714.n567EmfB024212@theraft.openend.se>	<f604188c0906060709o2d990a49qc6351f7e5d5d5739@mail.gmail.com>	<200906062150.n56LopJA003990@theraft.openend.se>	<f604188c0906061549u6db7a82dgcca3c5a7744301f9@mail.gmail.com>
	<200907311935.n6VJZv0l022173@theraft.openend.se>
Message-ID: <4A734B7A.9080801@aon.at>



Laura Creighton schrieb:
> I think it would help if an actual teacher got involved before they
> decide what teachers want without consultation ...
>
> Laura
>
>   
Hmmm, don't know what to do with this. Seems to be a reply to some posting.
Ok, I'm a teacher, but I definitely do not belong to the circle of 
pycon-organizers ...

I think it would be helpful if you posted the original to EduSig?

Best wishes,
Gregor
> ps -- unfortunately you have to subscribe to read the archive.  I have
> no idea why.  http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-organizers
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>
>
>   

From lac at openend.se  Fri Jul 31 22:52:46 2009
From: lac at openend.se (Laura Creighton)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:52:46 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] Pycon organizers is now talking about poster sessions
In-Reply-To: Message from Gregor Lingl <gregor.lingl@aon.at> 
	of "Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:52:26 +0200." <4A734B7A.9080801@aon.at> 
References: <kirby.urner@gmail.com>
	<f604188c0906051337w2d1deaa2nc5572b7f58e67271@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906060714.n567EmfB024212@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906060709o2d990a49qc6351f7e5d5d5739@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906062150.n56LopJA003990@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906061549u6db7a82dgcca3c5a7744301f9@mail.gmail.com>
	<200907311935.n6VJZv0l022173@theraft.openend.se>
	<4A734B7A.9080801@aon.at> 
Message-ID: <200907312052.n6VKqkQc026652@theraft.openend.se>

In a message of Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:52:26 +0200, Gregor Lingl writes:
>
>
>Laura Creighton schrieb:
>> I think it would help if an actual teacher got involved before they
>> decide what teachers want without consultation ...
>>
>> Laura
>>
>>   
>Hmmm, don't know what to do with this. Seems to be a reply to some postin
>g.
>Ok, I'm a teacher, but I definitely do not belong to the circle of 
>pycon-organizers ...
>
>I think it would be helpful if you posted the original to EduSig?
>
>Best wishes,
>Gregor
>> ps -- unfortunately you have to subscribe to read the archive.  I have
>> no idea why.  http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pycon-organizers
>> _______________________________________________
>> Edu-sig mailing list
>> Edu-sig at python.org
>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig

There are lots of notes by now.  And that is the unfortunate part,
you have to subscribe to read them.  Plus the whole list is in an
uproar as part of discovering that PyCON lost a bunch of money this
year.  But since I know some people on this list have strong ideas
about how a poster session at pycon should be organised, I thought
it was time to put the word out that now is when such things are
being discussed.

The initial article was mine.  I said that I would like PyCON better
if there was some way to get a track of 'what have you been doing
lately'.  The sort of talks that would not get accepted to PyCON
because they are not polished enough, or not of interest to a large
enough segment of the community.  Somebody suggested posters, and
the whole topic took off from there.

Laura


From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Fri Jul 31 23:00:18 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:00:18 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Pycon organizers is now talking about poster sessions
In-Reply-To: <200907312052.n6VKqkQc026652@theraft.openend.se>
References: <kirby.urner@gmail.com>
	<f604188c0906051337w2d1deaa2nc5572b7f58e67271@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906060714.n567EmfB024212@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906060709o2d990a49qc6351f7e5d5d5739@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906062150.n56LopJA003990@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906061549u6db7a82dgcca3c5a7744301f9@mail.gmail.com>
	<200907311935.n6VJZv0l022173@theraft.openend.se> <gregor.lingl@aon.at>
	<4A734B7A.9080801@aon.at>
	<200907312052.n6VKqkQc026652@theraft.openend.se>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907311400v2a857395vd7e903405a2b1011@mail.gmail.com>

> The initial article was mine. ?I said that I would like PyCON better
> if there was some way to get a track of 'what have you been doing
> lately'. ?The sort of talks that would not get accepted to PyCON
> because they are not polished enough, or not of interest to a large
> enough segment of the community. ?Somebody suggested posters, and
> the whole topic took off from there.
>
> Laura
>

I was on the list for awhile, gave Vern a boost with all the
background as I knew it, including an idea for poster session from
Steve.

Since Pycon this year, I've been alert to other conferences with more
feelers out to schools and user groups, not just private companies.

The ESRI-sponsored GIS conference, where I was a guest speaker, stood
out in many ways, as at least half the exhibit hall is devoted to
academic projects.

I took pictures and shared them, but I think many people, Steve, Vern,
Jeff included, already know what a poster session might look like.  I
hadn't attended one, a professional one (discounting science fairs I'd
entered, some awards received) until 1st International Conference on
Buckminsterfullerene in Santa Barbara in early 1990s.

I'm assuming Vern is still on the list and he's the designated driver
for this project.  He and Jeff went to NECC conference.  PyOhio also
has something postery I think.

Another Jeff, Jeff Rush, was floating the eduPycon idea, as a spin-off
of Pycon.

It may well be that the business-oriented mindsets of the people
organizing Pycon will preclude their doing an effective job, although
it's way to early too worry about that, plus this is just the first
year of trying, so jury out until 2012 at least.

I don't have time for nuts and bolts on this, think Vern will do fine.
 I'm mostly in bed with Microsoft these days, looking at IronPython's
classroom potential.  There's a chance Portland Public will embrace
Python in a big way, with more pilots beginning this year (in addition
to pilots already completed and documented) but it's not a given that
CPython will be their first choice.

Lots to think about, big meeting Aug 7.

More soon,

Kirby

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Fri Jul 31 23:36:19 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:36:19 -0700
Subject: [Edu-sig] Pycon organizers is now talking about poster sessions
In-Reply-To: <f604188c0907311400v2a857395vd7e903405a2b1011@mail.gmail.com>
References: <kirby.urner@gmail.com>
	<200906060714.n567EmfB024212@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906060709o2d990a49qc6351f7e5d5d5739@mail.gmail.com>
	<200906062150.n56LopJA003990@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0906061549u6db7a82dgcca3c5a7744301f9@mail.gmail.com>
	<200907311935.n6VJZv0l022173@theraft.openend.se> <gregor.lingl@aon.at>
	<4A734B7A.9080801@aon.at>
	<200907312052.n6VKqkQc026652@theraft.openend.se>
	<f604188c0907311400v2a857395vd7e903405a2b1011@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907311436o4eac8834obd2b9afec00d2523@mail.gmail.com>

I should add to this that my friend David Feinstein has pioneered a
trully elegant set of software tools, in cahoots with a talented
Javascript programmer, that help judges with caucusing, the process
they enter into in order to determine the top three projects, if a
"best in show" approach is in the cards (with ISEF, that's kind of the
point).

What I don't know is whether Vern will want to move in this "dog show"
direction, with categories, e.g. "best use of animation" or "best use
of sound" (just off the top...).  I think he has some experience
around dog shows and I could see where this might be a fun direction,
as then a star teenager in Peoria could brag to her school that she
was a star, a winner, in some Hyatt Regency context, even though her
family didn't have the money to send her.  As a reward, she'll get to
attend, gratis, when she turns 17, or whatever the cutoff.

We're all free to spiel out such science fiction, offer our views.  In
my own mind, edu-sig is sort of the "community in charge" on this one,
and Vern has been playing it that way.  He's one of us.  We had that
BOF with Dr. Chuck, with Ian (sounding pessimistic about Gattegno ever
getting a foothold, and indeed he struck out after three times at
bat), with many of us here.  Got to meet Gregor, really fun.  Jeff
Rush is brilliant.  Andre, our fearless leader, a class act, and so
on.

Bottom line:  not too worried, have resources and contacts to
contribute should Pycon really become the Cirque du Soliel I think it
could be (already is -- "Rivendale" they called us, we ate that up).
I also used the pycon-organizer planning list to float my notion of
multiple Pycons, many running in parallel.  A quick check of the
website reveals its like that already, with Pycons in India, Argentina
or wherever people wanna do em.  Every one will have a chance to show
off the "poster session" idea.  My hope is we gain the benefits of any
global franchise:  quick comparing of notes across multiple venues
gives us a better experience all around.  Factor in CTE doing
something similar, add synergy, and we've got a dynamite winning hand
(maybe).

Looking forward to Atlanta, provided CSN keeps afloat, lots of people
taking pot shots, wanting us to take a dive.  People aren't really
that open to "philosophy talk" once they find out what it is.  But
that's OK.  Not everyone goes for Patti Smith either.

Kirby


On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 2:00 PM, kirby urner<kirby.urner at gmail.com> wrote:
>> The initial article was mine. ?I said that I would like PyCON better
>> if there was some way to get a track of 'what have you been doing
>> lately'. ?The sort of talks that would not get accepted to PyCON
>> because they are not polished enough, or not of interest to a large
>> enough segment of the community. ?Somebody suggested posters, and
>> the whole topic took off from there.
>>
>> Laura
>>
>
> I was on the list for awhile, gave Vern a boost with all the
> background as I knew it, including an idea for poster session from
> Steve.
>
> Since Pycon this year, I've been alert to other conferences with more
> feelers out to schools and user groups, not just private companies.
>
> The ESRI-sponsored GIS conference, where I was a guest speaker, stood
> out in many ways, as at least half the exhibit hall is devoted to
> academic projects.
>
> I took pictures and shared them, but I think many people, Steve, Vern,
> Jeff included, already know what a poster session might look like. ?I
> hadn't attended one, a professional one (discounting science fairs I'd
> entered, some awards received) until 1st International Conference on
> Buckminsterfullerene in Santa Barbara in early 1990s.
>
> I'm assuming Vern is still on the list and he's the designated driver
> for this project. ?He and Jeff went to NECC conference. ?PyOhio also
> has something postery I think.
>
> Another Jeff, Jeff Rush, was floating the eduPycon idea, as a spin-off
> of Pycon.
>
> It may well be that the business-oriented mindsets of the people
> organizing Pycon will preclude their doing an effective job, although
> it's way to early too worry about that, plus this is just the first
> year of trying, so jury out until 2012 at least.
>
> I don't have time for nuts and bolts on this, think Vern will do fine.
> ?I'm mostly in bed with Microsoft these days, looking at IronPython's
> classroom potential. ?There's a chance Portland Public will embrace
> Python in a big way, with more pilots beginning this year (in addition
> to pilots already completed and documented) but it's not a given that
> CPython will be their first choice.
>
> Lots to think about, big meeting Aug 7.
>
> More soon,
>
> Kirby
>

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Thu Jul 23 20:21:20 2009
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:21:20 -0000
Subject: [Edu-sig] Feedback sought on blog post: "Where do all the geek
	girls go?"
In-Reply-To: <37fa1dfb0907221919j46b13eaaiff42b0218e648f8f@mail.gmail.com>
References: <37fa1dfb0907221919j46b13eaaiff42b0218e648f8f@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <f604188c0907231121u3f478a6cx34ff4cd59a2d77c2@mail.gmail.com>

On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 7:19 PM, Jeff Elkner<jeff at elkner.net> wrote:
> I've just written a blog post reflecting on what a learned in teaching
> Summer enrichment classes about girls and programming:
>
> http://proyectojuanchacon.blogspot.com/2009/07/where-to-all-geek-girls-go.html
>
> Thoughts and/or feedback would be much appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> jeff elkner

Appreciate it jeff, doing a reply-to-all expecting a lot of rejection
notices, as some of these look like lists I'm not signed up for.  But
that's easier than culling.  I read through your posting with
interest, looks like you're on the right track.

I'll end with some URLs to my stash, as this has likewise been a focus
of my writings and teaching career, starting with two years right out
of college in an exclusive Catholic academy for young women, me one of
maybe just five male faculty, the rest of us nuns, lay women.

Put another way:  I've been trained by some of the best in this
business, plus this was Jersey City, so all American and
multi-cultural to boot (add in the fact that I went to high school in
the Philippines following a wild boyhood in Rome, and you see where I
might have some exotic perspectives, want to bring those to the table
for whatever they're worth).

To make a long story short: I think we're solving it in Portland,
Oregon, OS Bridge a case in point (recent conference, at the
convention center).  Once you minus the Californian spin (lots at
OSCON), add in more Canada, then amp up around local FOSS bosses, you
get scheduled talks hammering directly on this topic, and hosted by
well qualified women (as was OS Bridge itself, with all XX top
leadership I'm happy to report).

My new friend Josh from Chicago wasn't used to it, got his back up a
bit, to see Gabrielle in alpha geek mode, clearly 2nd to none, a FOSS
witch talking about her FOSS coven, where men are invited, but have to
sit in the back.  I'm just as bad, talking about this nebulous Coffee
Shops Network (CSN), branch Cult of Athena, where we have this glass
ceiling most men never see, let alone rise through.

So that's Portlandia for ya, bad to the bone (lots of
out-of-the-closet pirates), and XX-centric (she's a she, Portlandia
is).  Multiply that by Christian Science Monitor's saying we're a FOSS
world capital, and you here's your new poster child (think
"Pythonista"):

http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2008/11/wild-america.html (note CS RR in
the background)

I'm also proud of these two, some of the best pro-XO PR on the block,
consistent with the message of G1G1:

http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/01/saving-children.html

Anyway, that's enough off the top.  Here're the promised pointers.
Gabrielle and Selena had some words of advice:  stick to "world
domination" as our shared goal of our geek subculture, and we'll all
get along just fine:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157315 at N00/3639256600/in/set-72157619963850814/

Kirby Urner
in Portland

Related blog posts:
http://coffeeshopsnet.blogspot.com/2009/06/os-bridge-conference.html
(re a marketing campaign)
http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa?messageID=6769590&tstart=0   (re
Portland as hotbed)
http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2006/09/yar.html (out of the closet)


>
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>
>



-- 
?????? ??ss