Teaching Python

In this commemorative episode, Kelly and Sean celebrate their fifth year at Teaching Python. They reflect upon the origins of the podcast, how it has evolved, successes and challenges they've faced, and valuable lessons learned over the years. This episode underscores the importance of embracing continued learning, of staying persistent, and validates the magic of teaching and learning alongside students.Support Teaching Python

In Episode 122 of Teaching Python, hosts Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes, explore the multifaceted role of AI in society together with their special guest, Cecilia Danesi. An expert in AI ethics and social impact, Cecilia shares in depth knowledge and interesting insights on the influence AI wields in different aspects of society. The episode covers a broad range of topics underlining the importance of AI in education, the concerns around algorithmic bias, the hard-hitting implications of irresponsible AI usage, the challenges and responsibilities shouldered by educators, among others. Tune in for an eye-opening episode ensuring a broader understanding of AI and the ethical standards required in its use.Special Guest: Cecilia Celeste Danesi.Support Teaching PythonLinks:The Empire of Algorithms — In today's world, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly central role in our lives.Abstract, ubiquitous and opaque: The challenges of AI regulation — Prof Cecilia Danesi discusses the ethical governance of AI and the difficulty of balance in AI regulation.El imperio de los algoritmos | Cecilia DanesiInteligencia Artificial y Derecho | Cecilia Danesi

In this episode of Teaching Python, hosts Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes dive into the world of teaching coding with their special guest, the Board of Knowledge. This unique teaching tool, a large whiteboard spanning the back wall of their computer science classroom, is a visual representation of coding concepts and serves as a valuable resource for sixth graders. Sean and Kelly explore how the Board of Knowledge reduces cognitive load, scaffolds learning, and utilizes dual coding techniques to enhance students' understanding of coding principles. They also discuss the benefits of having a communal set of shared knowledge and the impact it has on students' learning experience. Tune in to discover how this innovative teaching tool can transform your coding lessons!Support Teaching PythonLinks:Online Python Tutor - visualize, debug, get AI help for Python, Java, C, C++, and JavaScript — Python Tutor helps you do programming homework assignments in Python, Java, C, C++, and JavaScript. It contains a unique step-by-step visual debugger and AI tutor to help you understand and debug code.Welcome - Barbara Oakley

Episode 120: The Role of Failure in Learning In this episode of the Teaching Python podcast, co-hosts Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster Paredes discuss the significance of failure in learning. They assert that failure is a crucial part of development and growth, providing an opportunity to be resilient and persistent when things don't go to plan. Sean shares a personal experience where he turned a coding failure into a learning opportunity, evolving better testing principles. Also, they discuss the need for a secure environment to allow for failure and learning. They conclude by introducing their community partnership with Python Tutor, a tool that helps in visualizing Python code execution.Support Teaching Python

In this episode of our teaching series, we dive into learners and their coding journey. We spotlight the Constructivist learning approach, emphasizing its core tenets: active learning, connecting coding to real-world challenges, the crucial role of collaboration, and the sheer power of motivation. The transformative potential of this approach is undeniable. From tales of initial struggles to triumphant victories, this episode is a 15-20 minute dive into the heart of teaching Python. Support Teaching Python

Today, we'll talk about how to test students' code using automated tools. For example, the unit testing built into Replit's Teams for Education allows students to see if their code is correct, while teachers can quickly assess dozens of submissions. We'll also talk about potential pitfalls that can disrupt or distract from learning. Note: This is a shorter episode format that focuses on one specific topic, limited to 15-20 minutes.Support Teaching PythonLinks:Teams for Education - Replit — Tests and autograding Save time on grading. Free yourself up for more individual attention and increase student persistence by letting them test code before turning it in.PyBites Platform | Real World Python Exercises — Overwhelmed by tutorials? Stop consuming books and courses! The only way to really learn to code is to write a lot of relevant code. Our platform makes you a confident programmer fast.

Yasoob Khalid, author and developer at Microsoft, discusses making learning Python open and accessible and the importance of teachers and mentors. He shares his journey from blogging to creating free online resources for Python learners. The conversation also touches on writing to improve understanding and even includes a sprinkle of Club Penguin.

This episode dives into the multifaceted realm of Natural Language Processing (NLP) with a guest expert, [Ines Montani](#). The discussion revolves around the use of Python in the context of NLP, the complexities of language, the design of label schemes, and how educators and students can dive into this intriguing area. The conversation also touches on tools such as Prodigy and Spacy, as well as practical applications, including a humorous digression on the popular game, Fortnite. Teachers are encouraged to explore NLP with their students, emphasizing the importance of hands-on experience and data annotation. There's also a mention of a fascinating project involving a "magic mirror" powered by Raspberry Pi.Special Guest: Ines Montani.Support Teaching PythonLinks:ines.io — Hi, I’m Ines. I’m a software developer working on Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing technologies, and the co-founder and CEO of Explosion. We’re the makers of spaCy, one of the leading open-source libraries for Natural Language Processing in Python, and Prodigy, a modern annotation tool for creating training data for machine learning models.Explosion — Company co-founded by Ines, specializing in AI and NLP developer tools.spaCy · Industrial-strength Natural Language Processing in Python — A leading Python library for NLP, designed to help process and understand large amounts of textual data.Prodigy · Prodigy · An annotation tool for AI, Machine Learning & NLP — An interactive annotation tool for AI and machine learning, mentioned extensively in the conversation.MagicMirror² — The open source modular smart mirror platformOur Patreon — The Patreon page where listeners can financially support the podcast.

In this captivating episode of Teaching Python, Kelly and Sean sit down with the innovative mind behind DroneBlocks.io, Dennis Baldwin. As a child, Dennis was deeply fascinated with remote control cars and airplanes. That childhood passion translated into a profound interest in engineering, as he delved deep into the intricate world of building, wiring, and programming flight controllers for his RC planes and quadcopters. Alongside, Dennis maintained an active presence on YouTube, making sure to share a majority of his research, development, and findings with an eager audience. 2010 marked a pivotal year for Dennis when he discovered the ArduPilot project and was deeply inspired by the dynamic developer community that supported it. This newfound inspiration set him on a journey of countless hours in the garage, experimenting and constructing a myriad of autonomous drones. This includes everything from hexacopters and VTOL aircraft to delta wings and mini quads, leveraging APM and Pixhawk flight controllers. 2014 saw him crossing paths with Marisa at Walnut Springs Elementary School in Dripping Springs, TX. A chance collaboration led to Dennis introducing students to the wonders of quadcopters, which further transitioned to the integration of DJI SDK upon students' intrigue in aerial photography. Fast forward to 2015, Dennis established a groundbreaking concept—melding block programming with the DJI SDK. This innovation birthed DroneBlocks, a platform cherished by students for its intuitive approach to conducting autonomous missions with DJI hardware. Today, DroneBlocks boasts an app, a comprehensive curriculum, and an ever-growing community of users sharing their mission code globally. As a graduate from The Citadel with a BS in Electrical Engineering and with a rich history of co-founding multiple tech ventures, Dennis, along with Marisa, aspires to integrate DroneBlocks into every STEAM classroom across the world. Tune in and soar with us on this incredible journey of passion, innovation, and educational revolution.Special Guest: Dennis Baldwin.Support Teaching PythonLinks:DroneBlocks App & Curriculum - Learn to Code with Drones! — DroneBlocks teaches STEM and the real-world application of drones, robots, and sensor technology through our apps, drone coding curriculum, simulator, and professional development.DroneBlocks Robo-Dog GO1 - Classroom Bundle — DroneBlocks — The DroneBlocks GO1 EDU+ bundle comes pre-equipped with two onboard Jetson Nanos and one onboard Jetson NX, this increased processing power gives you the capability of adding Lidar units in the future.ArduPilot - Versatile, Trusted, Open — ArduPilot is a trusted, versatile, and open source autopilot system supporting many vehicle types: multi-copters, traditional helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, boats, submarines, rovers and more. The source code is developed by a large community of professionals and enthusiasts.Dennis Baldwin - YouTube — I'm Dennis Baldwin, an electrical engineer by degree but fell in love with software engineering many years ago. I started building RC cars with my dad as a kid and now build UAVs (aka drones). I'm fascinated by the autonomous aspect of UAVs and spend a lot of time tinkering with Pixhawk and the APM code. Hopefully you learn something from my channel and hopefully I learn something from you as well. Thanks for tuning in.DroneBlocks Curriculum — Check out the full set of Droneblocks courses online

Way back on Episode 13, we interviewed Josh Lowe, then 15 years old and the creator of EduBlocks. When Josh was 12, he started a Saturday afternoon project to make a block-based coding IDE that generated Python code. Flash forward seven years and Josh still maintains EduBlocks as a software engineer on behalf of Anaconda. This week, Kelly and Sean caught up with Josh to learn about his educational journey since we last spoke with him, the latest developments on EduBlocks, as well as the new direction enabled by Anaconda's purchase of EduBlocks in May 2023.Special Guest: Josh Lowe.Support Teaching PythonLinks:Edublocks — EduBlocks is a free tool by Anaconda that helps anyone learn how to code with text-based languages like Python or HTML using a familiar drag-and-drop blocks systemAnacondaAnaconda Press Release Announcing Purchase of EduBlocks — Anaconda Inc., provider of the world’s most popular data science platform, today announced the acquisition of EduBlocks, a free, web-based, drag-and-drop coding platform built to help K-12 students learn fundamental skills. With EduBlocks, Anaconda expands its reach and offerings for K-12 schools as well as for beginner-level professionals.