[Edu-sig] Python

[Jeff Elkner]

Hi Gerry,

I'm cc'ing a number of folks (and a mailing list) on this reply in order to
get you more feedback than I could alone provide.  Firstly, the Python in
Education Special Interest Group (edu-sig) is the place to start:

http://www.python.org/community/sigs/current/edu-sig

Dr. Andre Roberge is currently managing that part of the python web site,
and I've included him in the cc list.  You may want to consider joining our
mailing list.

Of interest in your deliberation may be the presentation given at PyCon 2009
by the Michigan University CS department on their decision to switch to
Python in their CS 1 course:

http://us.pycon.org/2009/conference/schedule/event/8/

(btw.  You can look for TJHSST graduating senior, Filip Sufitchi, in the
audience at the beginning of the presentation ;-)

The essence of their findings is that CS majors performance was not effected
by using Python in the first course, while everyone else (since half the
students in their CS 1 classes are not CS majors), benefitted by leaving the
CS 1 class with a tool they could actually use in their work in other
fields.  I included Dr. Charles Severance from U. of Michigan in the cc list
as well.  He has a book just out on the Google App Engine:

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596800697/

The programming language for the Google App Engine is Python, so this book
includes a good intro.  The book is very well written and easy for bright
high school students to understand.

I'm working on a free, on-line, first year text book aimed at high school
students:

 http://openbookproject.net/thinkCSpy/index.xhtml

(note: you can't view this document properly with Internet Explorer, but any
other browser should work fine.)

Since I'm not teaching CS this year, work on the book has slowed down, but I
should be able to work on it during the Summer.  The first 12 chapters are
finished, making it a perfectly usable resource with which to start out.

I hope this all helps.

Thanks, and good luck!  Please let me know if there is anything else I can
do to help.

jeff elkner


On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 1:45 PM, Berry, Gerry J <GJBerry at fcps.edu> wrote:

> Hope things are going well and that you are enjoying your job. I retired
> from TJ this past June but I am still doing some teaching there.
> I have received request for info on what a good first course in CS would
> be. After working with you and Shane Torbert, I think that for most high
> school students Python makes a lot of sense. Can you direct me to some good
> web sites that might help schools who want to set up a Python course at high
> school or middle school level. Any ideas would be appreciated.
>
> Hope you have a terrific summer.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20090531/29b68ffb/attachment.htm>