GNUnify2010 and my python workshop
GNUnify2010 was the first for me. Started a bit early to the venue, Rahul was along with me. His talk was in top of schedule. I slowly moved to the lab where my python workshop was scheduled.
The main target of the workshop was to show/teach the basics of the python programming language. I hear mostly students asking “How to start working on a project?” but as the learning curve is not so easy in most of the things, they run away. The only students we have from India who are contributing to any FOSS projects are the people who came in their own interest. I found programming with python can be an easy entry point for the general students and they can become better programmer in life. This is the main reason behind my python workshops in different places.
No need to buy books, great online community, projects working on different dimensions, all of these can generate interest in the students.
Coming back to my workshop, I generally try to follow my own book (which I have to update). Slowly going through simple examples and showing that it is not difficult. I ask the students to solve the lab works they do in any programming lab in python. This will help them to understand the basics of the language. The workshop lab was supposed to have 30 students, but many more came so I had to ask them to seat in groups in the computers (most of them was running Fedora ). The basic feedback I got, states that it was easy, but how the students are going to use this, I have no clue. Btw, most of the students in my workshop were from Pune University Maths department, I told them to attend Ramki’s workshop in the second half as his workshop was about explaining how to solve mathematical problems.
At the end of the workshop I showed few applications written in python and talked about job opportunity in market. 2 students contacted me after the event.
Full set of the event photos can be found here.
Coming month, I will be in Durgapur, doing another python workshop , I will also conduct a Django workshop.
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10 Comments to GNUnify2010 and my python workshop
You write “The basic feedback I got, states that it was easy, but how the students are going to use this, I have no clue.”
Which has me confused. Do you mean that the students do not know how to use Python in their daily life or, do they not understand the relevance of being proficient in Python from a career perspective ?
As usual, you rock man! Keep the good work continue. Hope that someday I’ll be able to invite you for workshop here..
@Kartik if you have a workshop planned in advance let us know. We may be able to take care of the travel and lodging expenses
good work dude.. i am learning python and pyside these days.. to program my n900
Nice work! Did Ramki use Project Euler http://projecteuler.net/ ? I have always found those set of problems be very nice start to programming. Especially one can see the way a well written code works faster than a not so good code. Keep up your ever enthusiastic nature. You rock!
kdFebruary 26, 2010
Both I think. They only find the learning process is easy.
kdFebruary 26, 2010
@Aanjhan: I ask students to use that site, nice problems.
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