[Edu-sig] PyCon poster session and Edu-sig pages

Sat May 2 00:32:18 CEST 2009

On Fri, May 1, 2009 at 4:12 PM, Vern Ceder <vceder at canterburyschool.org>wrote:

> Hi Kirby, Andre, everyone,
>
> Sorry for the late reply - things have been busy here...
>
> I was also thinking we need a short mention and a link on the edu-sig
> home page to some info about the PyCon education/poster session.
>

This (and the more detailed information below) sounds like a great idea.  I
will try to work on the edu-sig home page again soon, incorporating
additional links to book (and probably reorganizing the book and tutorial
section).  However, if may take a little while (perhaps a couple of weeks)
as this is a busy time of the year for my regular "day" job.  Rather than
bore you with details, I'll leave it up to your imagination (for those that
know what I do).

André

>
> I haven't pitched this to the PyCon organizers yet, so we don't need to
> act immediately, but I'm thinking/hoping to have something more formed
> by the middle of the summer. Then we can link from the the edu-sig page to
> a wiki page on the PyCon site.
>
> The general idea is to provide a space at PyCon for educators to show
> off what they've been doing with Python, whether or not they can attend
> PyCon. This not only would raise the profile of Python in education, but
> would also give us all a target to aim for and a way of recording/sharing
> our gains.
>
> Right now what I'm thinking about suggesting/asking for is:
>
> 1. Display space in fairly public place. I'm thinking space for posters,
> a few tables for demos, some standing-around-and-talking space, etc.
>
> 2. Offer poster spots to anyone with an educational project, whether
> they can attend or not. Of course, if they can attend and stand around
> their poster during a designated session time, so much the better. OTOH, if
> they can't attend they might be able to recruit a stand-in from those
> attending, and at the very least they will be able to get the word out about
> what they are doing.
>
> BTW, I would see a "poster space" being anything from a chunk of wall space
> for displaying a couple of posters to some table space for demos, etc. The
> details of that will depend on what the PyCon organizers will be able (and
> willing) to offer.
>
> Other ideas include graffiti posters for attendees to add projects, notes
> and comments, ala PyOhio (see
> http://wiki.python.org/moin/PyOhio2008/PosterSession), encouraging
> lightning talks, and submitting a "State of Python in Education" talk for
> consideration in the regular program.
>
> Cheers,
> Vern
>
>
> kirby urner wrote:
>
>> Another thought is maybe edu-sig page is appropriate place to
>> provide contact info for Vern Ceder.  The thought there is to have
>> someone to help coordinate a more academically flavored poster space
>> wherein we showcase interesting applications of Python where the
>> sponsor (helping pay for hotel floorspace) might not be a private
>> company booth exhibitor but a university or NGO or publisher or
>> whatever.
>>
>> User groups might have their own contests why not?
>>
>> I'm not saying the edu-sig page should get into all this, as it aims
>> to stay brief and uncluttered, just thinking we need some way to
>> suggest the "science fair" aspect of future Pycons (the idea
>> originates with Steve Holden in response to BOF-expressed desires to
>> get teachers more involved, Pycon having a predominantly business
>> flavor, with Jeff Rush going so far as to suggest a whole separate
>> EduPycon, which idea I've continued to float, as worthy of
>> consideration, including in edu-sig threads why not?
>>
>> These slides from some random GIS conference in Oregon, where I talked
>> about Python (familiar through ESRI), show what a conference is like
>> when split between private companies and academia, I'm sure a familiar
>> site to most of you already, just not quite what Pycon has been like
>> (which is where Vern comes in):
>>
>> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/04/gis-2009.html
>>
>> Somewhat unrelated, I'd welcome any comments on my What is a Scripting
>> Language? answer, something I might point to in a kind of FAQ mode
>> (emailed question about Python being "a scripting language").
>>
>> BTW I'm glad the edu-sig page still points to Software Carpentry under
>> Miscellaneous (where we also link to my stuff) as I think we're also a
>> gateway for system administrator types who choose a non-CS degree path
>> (similar to the math track people we're tagging with the aforesaid
>> title mentioned below).
>>
>> http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/04/whats-scripting-language.html
>>
>> CP4E and/or P4E never meant turning everyone into CS majors right?  We
>> should make sure that the "education" in edu-sig is far broader than
>> CS departments reaching out, advertising they teach in that language
>> (among others), although they're welcome to do that of course (we
>> welcome "converts" or whatever).
>>
>> Kirby
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 9:15 AM, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Both, per the back cover:
>>>
>>> """
>>> Some students may choose to study AP Computer Science in high school,
>>> or major in CS in college.  Others may decide to go into math,
>>> science, law, art, social sciences, or humanities.  Regardless of your
>>> goals, Mathematics for the Digital Age and Programming in Python will
>>> help you gain a better understanding of the computerized world around
>>> you.
>>> """
>>>
>>> ... definitely looking at high school in Oregon, on a math track, not
>>> a CS track per se, as the Silicon Forest lobby here is working with
>>> our state legislature to have discrete math alternatives that segue to
>>> college and private industry tracks, e.g. we could use this in place
>>> of Algebra 2.
>>>
>>> Kirby
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 9:12 AM, Andre Roberge <andre.roberge at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 1:07 PM, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> http://www.skylit.com/mathandpython.html
>>>>>
>>>>> I have desk review copy, think many will appreciate the quasi-seamless
>>>>> blend of old and gnu world typographies, i.e. sigma and set notation,
>>>>> with concepts of iterator, types, functions etc.
>>>>>
>>>> Would this be appropriate for high school students, or as a first CS
>>>> course
>>>> for non Computer Science majors ?
>>>>
>>>> André
>>>>
>>>>  Reminiscent of 'Concrete Mathematics' though less difficult and
>>>>> explicitly Python based.
>>>>>
>>>>> For those training to read algebra, higher math, this is a friendly
>>>>> introduction (no cartoons or comics though -- gets you prepared for
>>>>> the somber dryness of the ambient literature).
>>>>>
>>>>> Kirby
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Edu-sig mailing list
>>>>> Edu-sig at python.org
>>>>> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>>>>>
>>>>
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