[python-advocacy] vaporclass: a bring-your-own-project Python workshop

[Cameron Laird]

On Fri, Jul 14, 2006 at 10:25:57PM -0400, Catherine Devlin wrote:
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> Here's how it would go.
> 
> Before the workshop, attendees decide on a program they'd like to create,
> something they'd genuinely appreciate for their own use.  They e-mail this
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> The big difference with regular workshops is the bring-your-own-project
> aspect.  My hope is that this would help show people that Python will be
> useful -to them-, in the work they care about.  It's really hard to move
> patiently through a demo while thinking "I'll never actually need to use
> this", and demo projects that somebody has pre-decided (and pre-solved) lack
> that excitement of ownership and creation.  It makes the whole thing a lot
> less deterministic, not knowing which directions the students will be going
> in, but I think that's an acceptable price - maybe even a good thing.  Sure,
> the instructor will be stumped sometimes, but "how to research for
> solutions" will be part of the class, too!  (That's definitely an important
> topic usually neglected by texts, anyway.)  And maybe students will be even
> more excited if the students around them aren't just competitors to race
> against toward the single finish line, but examples of flowering and diverse
> creativity.
> 
> Thoughts?  Personally, I'd like to do one of these in my area as soon as I
> can muster the time (ha!) and the courage (ha!) - maybe in time for the Ohio
> LinuxFest on Sep. 30 (ha!).  If anybody would like to drive out to Columbus
> to help with that, I'll take you to Ben & Jerry's.  :)
> 
> The concept also needs a clever name.  Everything in open-source needs a
> clever name.  And an animal mascot.
> 
> Thoughts, anyone?
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Briefly:
1.  It can work;
2.  It takes a LOT of preparation on the instructor's
    part.  More than you think.  Maybe more than you
    can imagine.  A lot.  Really;
3.  Along with all the structure you've already provided,
    an easy upgrade is to ensure that the instructor 
    provides, in his first announcement, a few examples
    of problems that would be feasible;
4.  What's the motivation here?  The impression I get is
    that you see students who are relatively unmotivated.
    My interest, in contrast, is to promote deep learning.
    Be aware that this approach, if I understand you 
    correctly, leads to a class that "misses" many topics:
    they don't "cover" an entire systematic syllabus.  
    Other pedagogues seem to worry about that--"coverage"--
    more than I.
5.  You can charge money, if you choose.  Decision-makers
    sometimes respond to the complete-a-working-program
    slogan.