From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Tue Dec  6 15:12:03 2016
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 12:12:03 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] snap shot from a random Python course (in vitro)
Message-ID: <CAPJgG3SUhYMH7ZKjXaUH5VyR_oD7CNmbPDaporRXEOO8jh-=Pg@mail.gmail.com>

I sorta flubbed showing 'em how functions preserve state between calls in
their default parameter values.  Tried to do it on the fly.  But it all
worked out, a "teach me" moment (a student helped in the chat window).

I talk about this in my lead-up to generators / coroutines (I cover send)
in that we usually think of functions folding their tents and forgetting
all state between calls, forgetting about this corner case, which I covered
for the Hubble folks at STSCI (thanks again for the opportunity).

Otherwise a smooth class.

I have this "grand unification" segment in Session 07 where they know
decorators, and then they know context managers (__enter__, __exit__), then
generators as a kind of iterator (__iter__, __next__).

Then right away, while the iron is still hot, we use a decorator to turn a
generator into a context manager!

I have this castle_game.py and castle_game2.py that do the same "can you
guess the keyword?" game, the second version employing the decorated
generator version of the quiz.

Could be the epiphany of a pythonic lifetime (about 10 minutes? -- much
shorter than a dog year).

Thanks for covering all that in your Advanced Python (OST -- course
material still on-line [1]).  There's more stuff in contextlib I want to
study before tomorrow night.

I like smoothing the edges of new concepts with more context from Standard
Library.

For example after generators, we tour in itertools, scrolling through the
docs, getting the flavor of what's there, me the babbling tour guide...

See you in 2017.

Kirby

Cc: edu-sig Archive

[1]
http://archive.oreilly.com/oreillyschool/courses/courses.html#course_id_158

On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 8:50 AM, Steve Holden <steve at holdenweb.com> wrote:

> That sounds like it could be fun - put me down!  S
>
> Steve Holden
>
> On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 4:20 PM, kirby urner <kirby.urner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Just signed up to teach Jan 17 - Feb 16-17, Tue/Thur.  I that's a night
>> you're in Portland, maybe you can co-star on that show (I run 6-10:30 PM).
>>
>> Kirby
>>
>>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161206/2c068fa0/attachment.html>

From jshaffstall at gmail.com  Tue Dec 13 09:46:34 2016
From: jshaffstall at gmail.com (Jay Shaffstall)
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2016 09:46:34 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
Message-ID: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>

I'm very pleased to announce the general release of a Python physics
sandbox targeting students in intro programming courses.  We teach Python
as a first language here and a physics simulation has long been one of the
students' favorite labs.  But the simulation we were using, while easy to
use, was pretty limited and only worked in one particular IDE.

So I wrote PyPhysicsSandbox, a thin wrapper around pymunk.  The sandbox
allows students to construct more sophisticated combinations of shapes and
joints and interactivity with the user.  It should also work in any
environment that allows installing libraries to Python using pip.

The code lives here: https://github.com/jshaffstall/PyPhysicsSandbox

It's freely available for use in your own classes.

Jay
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161213/7fee0977/attachment.html>

From ehmatthes at gmail.com  Wed Dec 14 10:40:53 2016
From: ehmatthes at gmail.com (Eric Matthes)
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 06:40:53 -0900
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>

Hi,

This looks great, and I hadn't seen pymunk before. I tried a quick
simulation, and it's working:

import pyphysicssandbox as ps
ps.window("ball", 600, 400)

b1 = ps.ball((100, 0), 30)
ps.run()

How do I give the ball a horizontal velocity?

Eric



On Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 5:46 AM, Jay Shaffstall <jshaffstall at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I'm very pleased to announce the general release of a Python physics
> sandbox targeting students in intro programming courses.  We teach Python
> as a first language here and a physics simulation has long been one of the
> students' favorite labs.  But the simulation we were using, while easy to
> use, was pretty limited and only worked in one particular IDE.
>
> So I wrote PyPhysicsSandbox, a thin wrapper around pymunk.  The sandbox
> allows students to construct more sophisticated combinations of shapes and
> joints and interactivity with the user.  It should also work in any
> environment that allows installing libraries to Python using pip.
>
> The code lives here: https://github.com/jshaffstall/PyPhysicsSandbox
>
> It's freely available for use in your own classes.
>
> Jay
>
> _______________________________________________
> Edu-sig mailing list
> Edu-sig at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161214/58717ad2/attachment.html>

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Wed Dec 14 13:53:18 2016
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:53:18 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] learning python the "best" way... (end of year overview)
Message-ID: <CAPJgG3RkGA7z4B69TScZddH7A+9HXXh-+Jw9OWdjNp+vt+H81g@mail.gmail.com>

At the PDX Code Guild, which has a Monday
night Flying Circus event, which I've been
frequenting -- though not in the last five weeks
as my teaching gig was Mon / Weds -- I hear
quite a few geeks say they've been studying
Learning Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw.

I finally took a look at the on-line version
yesterday and notice he's very adamant about
learning 2.7, not 3.x.  Disappointing.  Maybe
he's working on the 3.x version.

Zed does give a lot of fabulous advice about
techniques for learning, emphasizing the importance
of the hands-on practicum. Just watching videos
gives only casual knowledge.  To get it in your
bones, you need to write code, learn by doing.

He also talks about the importance of sleep
and even dreams when it comes to gaining
new skills.

"Day dream and doodle in code" is advice I give
my  own students.

I also encourage writing deliberately "demented"
code when learning, to focus on corner cases.

Update about me:  In addition to teaching Python
to adults (night school gig), I'm an instructor-
-in-training  with Coding With Kids (CwK), which
provides right-after-school coding classes, with
one Chromebook per child (work is saved in the
cloud).

Working with kids means diving into Scratch again,
as our Python students tend to come with a Scratch
background (what CwK uses with the younger
kids, not that adults can't have fun with Scratch;
it's quite engaging as many on edu-sig already
well know.

A path I'd recommend (one of many):

Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python 3
http://www.diveintopython3.net/

Allen Downey's Think Python (2nd edition)
http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/

John Zelle's excellent book is out in a 3rd
edition:  http://mcsp.wartburg.edu/zelle/python/

for beginner to intermediate, followed by

Luciano Ramahlo's Fluent Python

for more advanced concepts (e.g. coroutines
and asyncio).

I introduce Jupyter Notebooks pretty early when
working with adults.

Then it's time to branch out into more specialized
interests i.e. knowledge domains e.g. mathematics
with Amit Saha or Peter Farell, or Litvins (I've got
math stuff online, some of it even more specialized
to spatial geometry meaning lots of Visual Python).

Or physics, or bioinformatics, or stats or web apps
or...  Pymunk sure looks fun.

Geeks coming through Flying Circus on Mondays
are into all kinds of weird things; I've missed being
at the meetups. I'm going to a Hanukkah Party this
Monday now that my night gig is over until January,
then lets hope I get to Flying Circus again the day
after Christmas.

Happy New Year everyone.

Kirby Urner
4Dsolutions.net
/ocn/cp4e.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161214/0c517c7a/attachment.html>

From memilanuk at gmail.com  Wed Dec 14 21:04:56 2016
From: memilanuk at gmail.com (memilanuk)
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 18:04:56 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] learning python the "best" way... (end of year
 overview)
In-Reply-To: <CAPJgG3RkGA7z4B69TScZddH7A+9HXXh-+Jw9OWdjNp+vt+H81g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPJgG3RkGA7z4B69TScZddH7A+9HXXh-+Jw9OWdjNp+vt+H81g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <35c5506b-95e6-4187-9163-c1b1b6fb5d84@gmail.com>

On 12/14/2016 10:53 AM, kirby urner wrote:
> 
> At the PDX Code Guild, which has a Monday
> night Flying Circus event, which I've been
> frequenting -- though not in the last five weeks
> as my teaching gig was Mon / Weds -- I hear
> quite a few geeks say they've been studying
> Learning Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw.
> 
> I finally took a look at the on-line version
> yesterday and notice he's very adamant about
> learning 2.7, not 3.x.  Disappointing.  Maybe
> he's working on the 3.x version.
>

Ah... you seem to have missed the entertainment on Reddit and HN back in
November ;)

https://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/nopython3.html

"THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT PYTHON 3 IS SUCH A FAILURE IT WILL
KILL PYTHON"

https://zedshaw.com/2016/11/24/the-end-of-coder-influence/

There are any number of threads & blogs on various sites (Reddit, HN,
etc.) addressing / rebutting his comments.

On the one hand... I kind of agree with him, that it sure seems like it
would have been a better design decision to have made the Py3 VM
seamlessly handle Py2 code.  Other languages have done it to various
degrees.  Lord knows it's been a major schism in the community for way
too long.

That said... I personally don't care for his way of addressing the
topic... but thats just me.  He's certainly free to say what he wants.
It does somewhat raise the question of whether his material is a good
example to put forth for people new to the community.

From memilanuk at gmail.com  Wed Dec 14 21:04:56 2016
From: memilanuk at gmail.com (memilanuk)
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 18:04:56 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] learning python the "best" way... (end of year
 overview)
In-Reply-To: <CAPJgG3RkGA7z4B69TScZddH7A+9HXXh-+Jw9OWdjNp+vt+H81g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPJgG3RkGA7z4B69TScZddH7A+9HXXh-+Jw9OWdjNp+vt+H81g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <35c5506b-95e6-4187-9163-c1b1b6fb5d84@gmail.com>

On 12/14/2016 10:53 AM, kirby urner wrote:
> 
> At the PDX Code Guild, which has a Monday
> night Flying Circus event, which I've been
> frequenting -- though not in the last five weeks
> as my teaching gig was Mon / Weds -- I hear
> quite a few geeks say they've been studying
> Learning Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw.
> 
> I finally took a look at the on-line version
> yesterday and notice he's very adamant about
> learning 2.7, not 3.x.  Disappointing.  Maybe
> he's working on the 3.x version.
>

Ah... you seem to have missed the entertainment on Reddit and HN back in
November ;)

https://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/nopython3.html

"THERE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY THAT PYTHON 3 IS SUCH A FAILURE IT WILL
KILL PYTHON"

https://zedshaw.com/2016/11/24/the-end-of-coder-influence/

There are any number of threads & blogs on various sites (Reddit, HN,
etc.) addressing / rebutting his comments.

On the one hand... I kind of agree with him, that it sure seems like it
would have been a better design decision to have made the Py3 VM
seamlessly handle Py2 code.  Other languages have done it to various
degrees.  Lord knows it's been a major schism in the community for way
too long.

That said... I personally don't care for his way of addressing the
topic... but thats just me.  He's certainly free to say what he wants.
It does somewhat raise the question of whether his material is a good
example to put forth for people new to the community.


From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Thu Dec 15 14:24:04 2016
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:24:04 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] learning python the "best" way... (end of year
 overview)
In-Reply-To: <35c5506b-95e6-4187-9163-c1b1b6fb5d84@gmail.com>
References: <CAPJgG3RkGA7z4B69TScZddH7A+9HXXh-+Jw9OWdjNp+vt+H81g@mail.gmail.com>
 <35c5506b-95e6-4187-9163-c1b1b6fb5d84@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPJgG3QYvTgBMipicjT8EQsrSkD4Hu+=P+q-j7Od8yP6GmFYTA@mail.gmail.com>

On Wed, Dec 14, 2016 at 6:04 PM, memilanuk <memilanuk at gmail.com> wrote:

> I finally took a look at the on-line version
> > yesterday and notice he's very adamant about
> > learning 2.7, not 3.x.  Disappointing.  Maybe
> > he's working on the 3.x version.
> >
>
> Ah... you seem to have missed the entertainment on Reddit and HN back in
> November ;)
>
>
Yeah I missed that entirely, so much else going
on in November. ;-D

I've been doing a lot more study of the JavaScript culture
and the changes there are much bigger.

Instead of from __future__ import and backporting, they use
transpilers to write in ES6 but compile to ES5 -- not news to
many here.  That just goes with the job.

The eagerness for more Pythonic syntax [1] seems great.
The stress levels are high.

There's much to like about Zed's approach, and nothing
stopping it from being used with Py3.  At O'Reilly School, now
closed, we advocated an approach similar to Zed's but used
3.x -- I only wish we updated our version more frequently.[2]

It'll take some time for 2.x developers to realize their in the
same pickle as the rest of us:  technology continues to evolve,
if not in their shop, then in the shop down the street.

Python is a moving target.  If one has a comfortable job using 2.x,
I understand a "why rock the boat" attitude.  A lot of the new
people flooding in don't have the same attitude though. An
ancient pattern.  History repeats (but never exactly).

Kirby

[1]  https://goo.gl/trT840
# ye old Github Jupyter NB on nbview comparing Python with ES6

[2]
http://archive.oreilly.com/oreillyschool/courses/courses.html#course_id_158
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161215/355fe91e/attachment.html>

From jshaffstall at gmail.com  Wed Dec 14 13:54:04 2016
From: jshaffstall at gmail.com (Jay Shaffstall)
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2016 13:54:04 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPX3X9dCcSc8ZNuEci_1PenEJGbkyAmJ9csjXvhM8kRmgd5KVA@mail.gmail.com>

Hi Eric,

Glad the sandbox is working for you!

You've got a couple of options for giving the ball a horizontal velocity,
depending on what effect you want.

If you want an instantaneous horizontal kick, but after that the ball
responds normally to gravity, use b1.hit and set the y part of the
direction tuple to 0.

If you want the ball to fall horizontally use b1.gravity and again set the
y part of the gravity to 0.

If what you're looking for is a constant velocity, there isn't any way to
do that right now, but you might play with the ball's gravity and damping
values to see if you can get the right effect.

This is just a first version, so if you see features you'd like, let me
know.

Take care,
Jay

On Wed, Dec 14, 2016 at 10:40 AM, Eric Matthes <ehmatthes at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> This looks great, and I hadn't seen pymunk before. I tried a quick
> simulation, and it's working:
>
> import pyphysicssandbox as ps
> ps.window("ball", 600, 400)
>
> b1 = ps.ball((100, 0), 30)
> ps.run()
>
> How do I give the ball a horizontal velocity?
>
> Eric
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 13, 2016 at 5:46 AM, Jay Shaffstall <jshaffstall at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I'm very pleased to announce the general release of a Python physics
>> sandbox targeting students in intro programming courses.  We teach Python
>> as a first language here and a physics simulation has long been one of the
>> students' favorite labs.  But the simulation we were using, while easy to
>> use, was pretty limited and only worked in one particular IDE.
>>
>> So I wrote PyPhysicsSandbox, a thin wrapper around pymunk.  The sandbox
>> allows students to construct more sophisticated combinations of shapes and
>> joints and interactivity with the user.  It should also work in any
>> environment that allows installing libraries to Python using pip.
>>
>> The code lives here: https://github.com/jshaffstall/PyPhysicsSandbox
>>
>> It's freely available for use in your own classes.
>>
>> Jay
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Edu-sig mailing list
>> Edu-sig at python.org
>> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
>>
>>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161214/1ee7832b/attachment.html>

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Fri Dec 16 11:33:42 2016
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2016 08:33:42 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAPX3X9dCcSc8ZNuEci_1PenEJGbkyAmJ9csjXvhM8kRmgd5KVA@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9dCcSc8ZNuEci_1PenEJGbkyAmJ9csjXvhM8kRmgd5KVA@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPJgG3TtDYP5zMUcO82rSbcVkuYGzreRcM3S6Bs_DO=yV7mOaQ@mail.gmail.com>

On Wed, Dec 14, 2016 at 10:54 AM, Jay Shaffstall <jshaffstall at gmail.com>
wrote:


>
> If what you're looking for is a constant velocity, there isn't any way to
> do that right now, but you might play with the ball's gravity and damping
> values to see if you can get the right effect.
>

Is gravity global to the scene?  Maybe it could be toggled on and off,
given zero-G physics as an option?


>
> This is just a first version, so if you see features you'd like, let me
> know.
>

I was gonna mention this on a physics learning list I'm on but got lost
looking for the physics engine you're using.  Something embedded in the
Calico IDE?  I'd not heard of that before, but have so far watched one
Youtube about it.

If you have any Youtubes or screencasts of your project in action, I'm keen
to view.  Could be I missed a link at your Github.

I'm mostly familiar with physics teachers using VPython, which got started
and gets maintained by the physics-oriented.

Kirby
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161216/996876ee/attachment.html>

From jshaffstall at gmail.com  Fri Dec 16 12:55:39 2016
From: jshaffstall at gmail.com (Jay Shaffstall)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2016 12:55:39 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAPJgG3TtDYP5zMUcO82rSbcVkuYGzreRcM3S6Bs_DO=yV7mOaQ@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9dCcSc8ZNuEci_1PenEJGbkyAmJ9csjXvhM8kRmgd5KVA@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPJgG3TtDYP5zMUcO82rSbcVkuYGzreRcM3S6Bs_DO=yV7mOaQ@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPX3X9fFpnaSqRjyVJxUf1XDsy-pFpVLWL0X669a_MQzN5SE-g@mail.gmail.com>

>
> If what you're looking for is a constant velocity, there isn't any way to
>> do that right now, but you might play with the ball's gravity and damping
>> values to see if you can get the right effect.
>>
>
> Is gravity global to the scene?  Maybe it could be toggled on and off,
> given zero-G physics as an option?
>

The scene itself has a gravity vector, and each object can have its own
gravity vector set.  So the scene can be set to (0, 0) gravity so
everything stays in place except for interactions between shapes.  I
haven't played with that, but I like the idea of zero-G physics
simulations.  The damping value can be modified to simulate air resistance.


> This is just a first version, so if you see features you'd like, let me
>> know.
>>
>
> I was gonna mention this on a physics learning list I'm on but got lost
> looking for the physics engine you're using.  Something embedded in the
> Calico IDE?  I'd not heard of that before, but have so far watched one
> Youtube about it.
>

PyPhysicsSandbox is independent of Calico.  Calico has a physics engine of
its own, which is based on the Farseer physics engine, which is based on
Box2d.

PyPhysicsSandbox is a layer on top of Pymunk, which is a Python binding to
the Chipmunk physics library.  The sandbox is independent of any IDE.


> If you have any Youtubes or screencasts of your project in action, I'm
> keen to view.  Could be I missed a link at your Github.
>

I have one video that was from an early version.  Creating more actual
tutorial videos is on my todo list.  Here's that one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeZMvNSH62k

Jay
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161216/75f10b62/attachment.html>

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Fri Dec 16 23:09:49 2016
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2016 20:09:49 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAPX3X9eFemmqsyf+GRdpoXZDyWK=zzSBse5MqL_Fp4KixJ3w8Q@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9dCcSc8ZNuEci_1PenEJGbkyAmJ9csjXvhM8kRmgd5KVA@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPJgG3TtDYP5zMUcO82rSbcVkuYGzreRcM3S6Bs_DO=yV7mOaQ@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9fFpnaSqRjyVJxUf1XDsy-pFpVLWL0X669a_MQzN5SE-g@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9eFemmqsyf+GRdpoXZDyWK=zzSBse5MqL_Fp4KixJ3w8Q@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPJgG3SJqEemg2U5-+r4PPdMPwYR-G=TM6vr=CJhtox36s9Uiw@mail.gmail.com>

Thanks for doing all this.  I mentioned this thread to a physics listserv
frequented by those looking in to effectively teaching same [1]. Your
project is geared to students learning to code, which could include future
physics engine designers.  Great way to get one's feet wet, not just using
the code but looking over your shoulder at how it's developed, who knows
even contributing.

Kirby

[1] called PHYSLRNR closed archive, hosted University of Buffalo.  I was
invited to join even though I'm not a physics teacher by the late Dr. Bob
Fuller, an eminent physics teacher based at University of Nebraska, Lincoln
campus.  I got to meet and work with him on what we called a "First Person
Physics" curriculum angle.


On Fri, Dec 16, 2016 at 6:05 PM, Jay Shaffstall <jshaffstall at gmail.com>
wrote:

> >If you have any Youtubes or screencasts of your project in action, I'm
> keen to view.  Could be I missed a link at your Github.
>
> I created a YouTube channel for tutorial screencasts.  Just a Hello World
> type one up there now, but over time I'll add more to explore other
> features of the sandbox.
>
> The channel's now linked in the README file on GitHub, or the direct link
> is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybNk1XwGtiPyiLVitMFmsQ
>
> Jay
> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybNk1XwGtiPyiLVitMFmsQ>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161216/4f9bd42e/attachment.html>

From jshaffstall at gmail.com  Fri Dec 16 21:05:02 2016
From: jshaffstall at gmail.com (Jay Shaffstall)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2016 21:05:02 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAPX3X9fFpnaSqRjyVJxUf1XDsy-pFpVLWL0X669a_MQzN5SE-g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9dCcSc8ZNuEci_1PenEJGbkyAmJ9csjXvhM8kRmgd5KVA@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPJgG3TtDYP5zMUcO82rSbcVkuYGzreRcM3S6Bs_DO=yV7mOaQ@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAPX3X9fFpnaSqRjyVJxUf1XDsy-pFpVLWL0X669a_MQzN5SE-g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPX3X9eFemmqsyf+GRdpoXZDyWK=zzSBse5MqL_Fp4KixJ3w8Q@mail.gmail.com>

>If you have any Youtubes or screencasts of your project in action, I'm
keen to view.  Could be I missed a link at your Github.

I created a YouTube channel for tutorial screencasts.  Just a Hello World
type one up there now, but over time I'll add more to explore other
features of the sandbox.

The channel's now linked in the README file on GitHub, or the direct link
is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybNk1XwGtiPyiLVitMFmsQ

Jay
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybNk1XwGtiPyiLVitMFmsQ>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161216/611fba34/attachment.html>

From kirby.urner at gmail.com  Mon Dec 19 14:01:41 2016
From: kirby.urner at gmail.com (kirby urner)
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2016 11:01:41 -0800
Subject: [Edu-sig] the Descriptor pattern (new wrinkle in 3.6+)
Message-ID: <CAPJgG3S9CWMm1gAuokUTN0eRAkfOYt2VJufp+YmWRVP52gVVXQ@mail.gmail.com>

What I like about staying the course on the 3.x track (versus adhering to
the 2.7 terminus of the 2.x line), is each new version is an opportunity to
catch up on features that have joined over several versions.  My capacity
to catch up inevitably lags the actual path of Python's evolution, not a
tragedy, an opportunity.

For example, I've recently pushed a lot more into Descriptor territory and
in my last class for adults, spent time with a Python source code
implementation of the property callable.  As a built-in, it's written in C,
however what it does may be modeled in pure Python.  You may be familiar
with this passage.  Here's a Jupyter Notebook:

https://github.com/4dsolutions/Python5/blob/master/Descriptors%20and%20Properties.ipynb

The Property class is what's critical.  I then use it to decorate code in
other modules, proving that the pure Python class and the builtin do the
same work.  I've shared my "Prop Circle" before (since adding
circumference, the logical next step):

"""
Created on Thu Oct 20 15:43:14 2016
Modified Wed Dec 7, 2016

@author: Kirby Urner

Related reading:
https://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/2016-October/011548.html
"""

from model_property import Property as property
import math

class Circle:
    """setting either the radius or area attribute sets the other
       as a dependent value.  Initialized with radius only, unit
       circle by default.
    """

    def __init__(self, radius = 1):
        self.radius = radius

    @property
    def area(self):
        return self._area

    @property
    def radius(self):
        return self._radius

    @property
    def circumference(self):
        return self._circum

    @circumference.setter
    def circumference(self, value):
        self.radius = value / (2 * math.pi)

    @area.setter
    def area(self, value):
        self._area = value
        self._radius = math.sqrt(self._area / math.pi)
        self._circum = 2 * math.pi * self._radius

    @radius.setter
    def radius(self, value):
        self._radius = value
        self._area = math.pi * (self._radius ** 2)
        self._circum = 2 * math.pi * self._radius

    def __repr__(self):
        return "Circle(radius = {})".format(self.radius)

# Circle may be imported from prop_circle without all this noise.
if __name__ == "__main__":
    the_circle = Circle(5)
    print("the_circle:", the_circle)
    print("Area: ", the_circle.area)
    the_circle.area = 50
    print("Radius when Area=50:", the_circle.radius)

I'm also experimenting with new namepaces for terminology,
though in general I'm quite happy with the Python lingo.
A Descriptor is this miniature unit of bookkeeping, wherein reading and
writing operations, also being named at birth, register within the guts of
the thing, triggering __set__ and __get__ (and now __set_name__).

What if I use the word "Clerk" for "Descriptor" in some passages, and
picture something Monty Pythonesque from a Charles Dickens like milieu.
For a specific Lesson Plan, such imagery might reinforce comprehension of
design pattern possibilities.

A class (type) may wish to contract out come of its attributes to this
professional bookkeeping class, called a Clerk, actually a Descriptor, that
has reprogrammable behavior around setting and getting a value.

Introduce these to your own classes as class-level inclusions if you wish.
Compose, don't subclass.

Don't worry though: when these clerk-monitored attributes are actually used
by your instances, that instance will be a known object, passed in to the
Clerk, and usable as part of a key to keep values specific to where they
came from right down to the instance level.

IF that's your goal.

Blog post that's more casual, with some screen shots
showing source code.

http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2016/12/back-on-that-python-train.html

Kirby
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161219/194da12d/attachment.html>

From jurgis.pralgauskis at gmail.com  Fri Dec 23 02:22:31 2016
From: jurgis.pralgauskis at gmail.com (Jurgis Pralgauskis)
Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2016 09:22:31 +0200
Subject: [Edu-sig] PyCharm Edu courses
Message-ID: <CANDo6Ey6XaBTzJUCKRpYDEAoSbOtf4ZR8gs2PcGNwAF+mgsZag@mail.gmail.com>

Hi,

Seems nteresting concept:
https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm-edu/concepts/
as you can also publish the course
https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm-edu/quickstart/getting_started_educators.html#publish_stepic

Standart courses are opensource:
https://github.com/JetBrains/pycharm-courses/

-- 
Jurgis Pralgauskis
tel: 8-616 77613;
Don't worry, be happy and make things better ;)
http://galvosukykla.lt
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161223/f6471104/attachment.html>

From jshaffstall at gmail.com  Wed Dec 28 14:13:32 2016
From: jshaffstall at gmail.com (Jay Shaffstall)
Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2016 14:13:32 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Python Physics Sandbox released
In-Reply-To: <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAPX3X9e=u1S3cWV_w+LWN9Amc2jBKOAWh2GkYubvs9nDbJWG0Q@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAH-3OQ4SSkCAYS7_7ZQzWyzkzWHmNpTFPpTu0=nygojAk3s4ww@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAPX3X9d6ituOGqe2po8d5QAiY31BNAEXrTzuqinSukSQ0quzug@mail.gmail.com>

>How do I give the ball a horizontal velocity?

The 1.4 development branch on github now  has the ability to set a constant
velocity for a shape.  For example, to move it horizontally right you could
use:

    ball1.velocity = (50, 0)

I won't be releasing 1.4 to PyPi until I've tracked down a bug with custom
shape gravity, but you can clone the repository and copy the files over to
your site-packages/pyphysicssandbox directory to use the newer version.

There are also a lot of screencasts on the YouTube channel covering most
aspects of the version 1.3 sandbox:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybNk1XwGtiPyiLVitMFmsQ

Jay
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161228/5aa3a9b5/attachment.html>

From mamckenna at sch.ci.lexington.ma.us  Thu Dec 29 12:01:02 2016
From: mamckenna at sch.ci.lexington.ma.us (Marianne McKenna)
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2016 12:01:02 -0500
Subject: [Edu-sig] Edu-sig Digest, Vol 161, Issue 9
Message-ID: <fc.0119ed2a065f5b963b9aca0077ab0f52.65f5b97@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us>

I am currently out of the office.  If you need help, please contact
building tech support.  If it's an immediate need, please contact Paul
Musto or Patty Hunter.  I will respond to your email as soon as I am able.
Thanks

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161229/1314d353/attachment.html>

From chalmer.lowe at gmail.com  Sat Dec 31 07:54:42 2016
From: chalmer.lowe at gmail.com (Chalmer Lowe)
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2016 12:54:42 +0000
Subject: [Edu-sig] Submit talks for Python Education Summit: Jan 3rd deadline
Message-ID: <CACZqgB6GZOmKMBCva3=872Hm7ciBb3OUV4kbLYvvitdJmbv0Tg@mail.gmail.com>

Do you teach? Do you Python?

The deadline to submit your talk proposal to speak at the Python Education
Summit is on January 3rd. More details on the submission process here:
http://bit.ly/2hxv4HO

We can't wait to hear what works (and what doesn't) in teaching Python,
whether you teach in a classroom or teach through the written word.

Join us for an awesome day full of Python AND Education with educators from
around the world @ the annual Pycon Conference.

Respectfully,

Chalmer | Jessica | Meenal | Ria

-- 
Chalmer Lowe, MS

PyHawaii
Dark Art of Coding
Booz Allen Hamilton
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/edu-sig/attachments/20161231/e7eddd61/attachment.html>