[Edu-sig] PyCon Education Summit Update

Thu Aug 30 12:53:29 CEST 2012

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Hi,

This sounds exactly like what we're doing at PyconUK
(http://pyconuk.org) in a few weeks time: we have an "education" track
full of talks, tutorials, discussion and even an "educational
resources sprint" taking place on the Sunday.

Our aim is simple: we expect interesting things to happen when we
bring teachers and developers together in an event that is open to all.

We're having a Google hangout next Tuesday evening (UK time) at which
we'll be discussing / planning what's going to happen. My co-organiser
Alan 'teknoteacher' O'Donohoe gives details here:

http://teachcomputing.wordpress.com/2012/08/29/pyconuk-whats-in-it-for-me/

- From my point of view it is vital that we *don't* work in isolation
and that good education-related stuff happening at the various Pycons
around the world is shared far and wide.

We, as a Python community, are an international bunch and I don't see
why sharing educational resources and experience shouldn't be an
international effort either (speaking from experience as a teacher in
the UK, too often matters educational are only placed in a local
[national] context - an attitude that needs challenging IMHO).

As always, comments, suggestions and critique most welcome.

Nicholas.

On 22/08/12 16:06, Vern Ceder wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I just wanted to bring you uptodate on where we're at with the
> Education Summit at the upcoming PyCon. This will be a "by
> invitation only" event, so if you are interested (and I haven't
> contacted you already) or know of someone who would be really good
> for and interested in this event, please let me know about that
> interest off list. One of our reasons for going with invitations is
> that we want to be sure that we get a fair balance between the
> various education constituencies in space available, so I can't
> guarantee that absolutely everyone who wants to come will be 
> invited.... But I'll try.
> 
> Also we're looking for a keynote and panelists for the topics
> below, so if you know of anyone that you think would be good,
> please email me off list. Also if you have any other suggestions or
> questions, please let me know.
> 
> There is also a google group for announcements about the summit, so
> if you're interested, you should join that group -
> https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/pycon-education-summit
>
>  First of all, the summit blurb is the following:
> 
> "In 2013, for the first time ever, PyCon will be holding a Python 
> Education Summit. This summit will be a gathering of teachers and 
> educators from the many venues that support the teaching of
> programming in Python - schools, colleges and universities,
> community based workshops, online programs and government. These
> constituencies differ widely  in resources and constraints, in
> methods, and in goals and aspirations, yet are all working to
> address the same issue - a lack of coding literacy - with the same
> belief - that teaching programming is needed and that Python is an
> excellent way to do that.
> 
> The goal of the summit is to bring together leaders from those
> diverse constituencies to learn more about each other's efforts and
> gain useful insight from them, to form connections that might
> foster future collaboration, to identify common issues and begin
> discussing ways to attack them, and to create an enhanced sense of
> unity, purpose and community among teachers of Python, wherever
> they might be. It is also our hope that the summit will serve as
> catalyst for the rest of PyCon to encourage even more interaction -
> hallway discussions, open spaces, lightning talks, and sprints.
> 
> Anyone attending this conference will gain a broader understanding
> of approaches and issues in teaching Python, will have the
> opportunity to contribute to their discussion, and will make
> contacts with other teachers of Python from across the community. A
> high school teacher might make contacts that allow her to enlist
> the support of a community based program while a community
> volunteer might gain useful guidance on curriculum design.
> 
> In addition to active involvement in the process of teaching
> Python, the only requirement of attendees is engagement. The
> morning sessions will include panel discussions that encourage
> participation and the afternoon will consist of unconference style
> breakout sessions that demand it. So please come willing to learn,
> to teach, and to participate."
> 
> Also, I've developed a basic statement of the topics we'll be
> covering:
> 
> "As I see it there are the three core issues that most impact
> Python education today: engagement, curriculum and teaching. So I'm
> proposing that we frame the topics for the summit accordingly.
> 
> Engagement -  By "engagement" I mean getting people involved - 
> attracting learners and letting them know why they should be eager
> to learn Python, recruiting teachers, sponsors and supporters with
> the skills needed to facilitate that learning, and then keeping
> everyone involved in the community. You could also call this
> "outreach" or even "marketing". Whatever  you call it, we need to
> attract people who want to learn Python and the people and the
> people to help satisfy that need.
> 
> Topics: How are the various education communities attracting people
> to their programs? What things can each learn from other programs, 
> particularly in terms of increasing interest and involvement in
> the Python language and community?
> 
> Curriculum - The need for uptodate, accessible and appropriate 
> curriculum is felt in all aspects of Python education. Community 
> programs need free and flexible lesson plans and teaching
> materials, schools are often reluctant to offer a program without
> an established curriculum, and teachers in all areas are often
> desperate for curricula that can be leveraged with minimal time and
> effort.
> 
> Topics: What curriculum materials are currently freely available
> for teaching Python? What means can be used to increase their
> quality, coverage and availablity?
> 
> Teaching - Again, teaching is a universal issue. Schools often
> have experienced teachers, but ones who don't know Python.
> Community programs can find Python experts, but they frequently
> have little teaching experience or knowledge.
> 
> Topics: what best practices might community programs follow to
> help volunteer teachers do a better job? Are there any teaching
> guildes or hints available now? What strategies might help schools
> qualify their current experienced teachers to teach Python? How
> might we increase the number of qualified teachers generally?
> 
> Underlying themes: The two underlying and unifying themes for the
> summit are communication and collaboration."
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Vern
> 
> -- Vern Ceder vceder at gmail.com <mailto:vceder at gmail.com>,
> vceder at dogsinmotion.com <mailto:vceder at dogsinmotion.com> The Quick
> Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW
> 
> 
> 
> 
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