[Edu-sig] edu.pycons?

[kirby urner]

I brought up the idea of edu.pycon.org again recently.
My idea was to have more university-based events
instead of meeting in business hotels.

Chairman Steve immediately pointed out the error of
my ways.  Pycons, including us.pycons, have already
been university-based, many times.

Those of you following the various blogs (planet this,
laughing that) maybe saw how pycon.org is able to
do outreach by tying to related domains through a
subdomain.  us.pycon.org is a good example.

edu.pycon.org might map to a university that has
chosen to specialize in Python, MIT for example.
Or would that be fair?  The PSF, as the owner of
the pycon.org domain, would have to decide.

Just because MIT hosted the site wouldn't mean
the edu.pycons couldn't be somewhere else.

On another front, I've been looking into the 'dirty
jobs for academic credit' scenario, which is already
a reality for some vets.  My friend Glenn, in the
military for a spell, got credits towards a degree
at Antioch, or I believe he did, based on previous
life experience.  But this would be different, more
like a semester abroad.

One of Haverford Colleges former presidents is
an inspiration here too.  He would take other jobs
just to keep his experience base broad.  He wasn't
trying to wear a halo, he was trying to stay smart
and up to date.

What "dirty jobs" might involve you with Python?

A lot depends on what counts as a "dirty job".
In one translation, it simply means "involving
hard physical labor, such as heavy lifting, or
the need to wear special clothing to guard
against toxins or extremes of heat and cold".

Python is not so often embedded in small devices
as Java I'm pretty sure.  The Java VM has a stronger
market share.  Who wants to talk about cell phones?

If we have an edu.pycon someday, I hope there
are tracks for people from many walks of life, and
therefore with a wide variety of experience.

I'm not saying the existing Pycons, in Asia, in South
America, in North America, aren't already diverse.
They are.

Chairman Steve got to the ones in Argentina and
Brazil last year, and in Singapore the year before.
Python is sprouting up all over.

I always think of Jeff Rush as an inspiration
and mover and shaker behind the edu.pycon
idea.

Given how quickly us.pycon sold out, we might
be seeing a surge of interest in this technology.
Even more teachers are giving it a first or
second look.

Kirby