[Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG - Panel

[Vern Ceder]

On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 11:24 PM, Zac Miller <zmiller at gsc.edu> wrote:

> Hello Vern,
>
> The scribbler robots seem to be pretty popular from the replies I've been
> getting here.  We bought one of the robots to experiment with and the
> students really enjoy working with it.  How many of the robots do you use?
>  What kind of robot to student ratio?


I have seven students and each has their own scribbler and dedicated laptop
(they're old, retired laptops running Debian Linux) since having a dedicated
laptop cuts down on the hassle/time of pairing the bluetooth board.

Most of those students are new to programming and we're using the scribblers
for the whole semester, sort of following the same process as GA Tech does.
A couple of the experienced programmers are moving on to more advanced
projects, though. In working with the scribblers, they've learned if
statements, functions, loops, how to create and use separate modules, share
code, and now are getting to the point of using the camera to grab and
process images and use that information to control the robots. A couple of
the advanced kids have written multi-threaded apps to both drive the bot and
have it automatically avoid obstacles. It depends on what you want to do,
but scribbler/fluke combo has a lot of potential.

I think that a panel discussion with an established program like yours and a
> start up like mine may be interesting, maybe we could add a third and work
> out the details in private email.  Anyone else interested?
>

+1


> I'm interested in doing a poster as well.  I will be working it all out
> this week since the talk proposal deadline is 1 November.
>

Good. The final poster submission deadline is January 19, but we have a
limit of 35 posters and are accepting them on a rolling basis. Acceptance of
a poster is not tied to whether or not a talk is accepted.


> -J. Zachary Miller
>
> Cheers,
Vern




>
> ________________________________
> From: Vern Ceder [vceder at canterburyschool.org]
> Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 7:55 PM
> To: Zac Miller
> Cc: edu-sig at python.org
> Subject: Re: [Edu-sig] Joining my first SIG
>
> Hi Zac,
>
> On Sat, Oct 23, 2010 at 6:39 PM, Zac Miller <zmiller at gsc.edu<mailto:
> zmiller at gsc.edu>> wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I've just joined this SIG, my first, and looked over a few of the archived
> threads from last few months.  My name is Zac Miller and I am currently
> teaching Python programming to college and middle school level students.
>
> I am curious if there are many K12 educators involved in this SIG?  I am
> looking for people to discuss my student's progress with and it seems to be
> hard to find others using Python in this setting.
>
> I'm the technology director and programming teacher at Canterbury, a
> private school in Ft Wayne, IN. We've been teaching at least a little Python
> to every single 8th and 9th grader in the school since 2001, as well as
> offering electives in Python, Java, C, etc.
>
> Right now, our Python class is using the same robot/bluetooth board that
> Georgia Tech uses (http://wiki.roboteducation.org) which has been a blast.
> I'm also teaching an online Python enrichment course to middle school kids
> through Northwestern University's Gifted Learning Links program (
> http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/gll/courses/enrichment/courses/), using
> Warren and Carter Sande's _Hello, World!_.
>
> As André mentioned there are a few of us on this list, so go ahead and
> raise your questions.
>
> I am also considering putting together a talk proposal for PyCon 2011.  So
> far my ideas for a talk would be a brief introduction of myself and my
> experiences learning and teaching Python in the past year.  I attended PyCon
> 2010 as student.  Beyond that brief introduction I would like to discuss the
> state of programming in K12 education in the state of Georgia, as much of it
> as I have been able to untangle, and ideas for improving it.
>
> I've completed a few open record requests to the Georgia Department of
> Education pulling enrollment number for programming and computer science
> courses for the entire state.  What would make for an interested PyCon talk
> on K12 education involving Python?  Does anyone have similar data or a
> summary of programming education for another state they wouldn't mind
> sharing for me to use as comparison?  Anyone interested in doing a Panel
> proposal?
>
> I'd be available for a panel, and would be willing to work on a proposal,
> but don't think I have the time to be a main organizer of one... Also, as
> the chair of PyCon's poster session, let me encourage you to consider
> presenting some of your findings as a poster. Even if you submit a talk or
> panel (and even if they get turned down) you can still submit a poster
> proposal.
>
> Cheers,
> Vern Ceder
>
> Thanks!
>
> -J. Zachary Miller
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
> --
> This time for sure!
>   -Bullwinkle J. Moose
> -----------------------------
> Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
> Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
> vceder at canterburyschool.org<mailto:vceder at canterburyschool.org>;
> 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137
>
> The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW
>
>


-- 
This time for sure!
   -Bullwinkle J. Moose
-----------------------------
Vern Ceder, Director of Technology
Canterbury School, 3210 Smith Road, Ft Wayne, IN 46804
vceder at canterburyschool.org; 260-436-0746; FAX: 260-436-5137

The Quick Python Book, 2nd Ed - http://bit.ly/bRsWDW
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