Education Summit

In 2024, PyCon US will be holding its 12th annual Python Education Summit in person!

• When: Thursday, May 16, 2024
• Time: 9 am to 4 pm
• Where: David L. Lawrence Convention Center - Room 403/404

The Summit is a gathering of teachers and educators focused on bringing coding literacy, through Python, to as many learners as possible. We invite educators from all venues to join the discussion, share insights, learn new techniques and tools, and share their passion for education. We invite educators from across the globe and from every educational sector to join us in sharing, learning, and innovating at the intersection of Python and education. In addition to a wide array of engaging speakers, we will also create collaboration opportunities and hands-on learning sessions.

Expanding Educational Frontiers

The theme for this year will be "Python Anywhere, Python Everywhere" which highlights an era where Python's dominance stretches across a multitude of fields, from data science and artificial intelligence to web development and beyond, its widespread adoption marks a significant shift in the coding landscape and therefore in coding education. This year, the advent of new coding assistants, such as Anaconda Assistant, PyCharm AI, Copilot, and ChatGPT has marked a significant advancement in how we teach, learn, and engage with code. We are calling on educators to share how Python is taught, ensuring that anyone, anywhere, can harness the power of coding.

These lessons could include, but are not limited to:

• Simplifying complex coding tasks, making Python more accessible to beginners.
• Offering real-time feedback and suggestions, enhancing the learning process.
• Facilitating a deeper understanding of coding principles through interactive assistance.
• Enabling educators and learners to focus on creative problem-solving by reducing the initial barriers to entry.

You are welcome to freely interpret Python Anywhere, Python Everywhere!

PRESENTING

We will have a track of talks during the morning session and a series of collaboration and tutorial sessions during the afternoon. We invite anyone interested in Python and education to submit proposals. Talks/collaboration ideas will be selected by a review committee.Talks: 20-minute talk + 5 minutes of questions (the schedule allows for an extra 5 minutes in case things run over)Collaboration/tutorials: These will be 30-60 minute work sessions, designed by a proposer. These may include:

• a working group to review/edit some open-source material
• to outline the needs or structure for a specific set of best practices
• forming a plan for ongoing
• a short workshop on a tool or technique, etc.

Examples: using Python-based hardware for learning, reviewing modules or assessments in an open-access book, discussing best practices for certain teaching techniques, etc.

Submit a proposal to speak at the Education Summit.

GOALS

The goal of the Summit is to bring together leaders from multiple educational venues to:

• learn more about each other’s efforts
• gain useful insight from each other
• form connections that might foster future collaboration
• identify common issues and begin discussing ways to address them
• create an enhanced sense of unity, purpose, inclusion, and community among Python educators

It is our hope that the Summit will serve as a catalyst leading into the rest of PyCon US to encourage even more interaction - hallway discussions, open spaces, lightning talks, and sprints.

Anyone attending this summit will gain a broader understanding of approaches, issues, resources, and challenges in teaching Python. They will also have the opportunity to contribute to the discussion and make connections with other teachers of Python from across the community.

SCHEDULE AND FORMAT

The Education Summit takes place on Thursday, May 16th.

Our current schedule is below, all in Pittsburgh (Eastern) time:

Morning Session

• 9:00 - Opening remarks
• 9:15 - Rise to the Challenge: Ariel Ortiz
• 9:45 - Introduction to Python for Lawyers: Morgan Gray and Wes Oliver
• 10:15 - The Source of Change: Kattni
• 10:45 - Coffee/Tea/Snack/Stretch Break
• 11:00 - Build a Textbook AI Assistant with Python: Husni Almoubayyed
• 11:30 - ChatGPT, the Abacus, and Coding Education: Charlie Meyer
• 12:00 - Lunch Break

Afternoon session

• 1:00 - Afternoon Welcome
• 1:15 - Lightning Talks
  • Dr. Marshall Miller
• 2:30 - Extended Sessions
  • All of Our Students Belong in Tech: - Dora Palfi
  • Invent with PyScript: Nick Tolervoy, Josh Lowe and Martin
  • Birds of a Feather
• 4:00 - Closing

Informal social events to follow

WHAT TO EXPECT?

We encourage all attendees to engage in the dialogue. We are excited to hear your questions, see your ideas, and experience your passion for education and Python. So please come willing to learn, participate, and teach.

If you have questions, please contact us.