Teaching Python
130 episodes - English - Latest episode: 29 days ago - ★★★★★ - 23 ratingsA podcast by Kelly Paredes and Sean Tibor about their adventures teaching middle school computer science, problem-solving, handling failure, frustration, and victory through the lens of the Python programming language.
Kelly Paredes has taught all over the world and specializes in curriculum design and development. She currently teaches sixth and seventh-grade computer science at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is her fifth year using Python.
Sean Tibor is a Senior Cloud Engineer at Mondelez International. He has worked in marketing and technical management roles selling toothpaste and toothbrushes, designing chemical inventory and tv media databases, enrolling online nursing students, and founding a digital marketing agency. He has taught Python to seventh and eighth-grade students at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but now supports interns and tutors students in Python.
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Episodes
Episode 129: Quickbite: Live Coding and Codealongs
March 29, 2024 04:00 - 26 minutes - 30.3 MBJoin Sean and Kelly in this QuickBites episode as they explore the technique of live coding presentations in education. They highlight the cognitive benefits, such as active learning and enhanced understanding, as well as the engagement and communication fostered through this teaching method. The conversation covers the importance of error normalization, metacognition, critical thinking, and student participation, emphasizing the role live coding plays in empowering students to solve problems...
Episode 128: From Blocks to Code with PickCode
March 24, 2024 14:00 - 41 minutes - 47.8 MBIn episode 128 of Teaching Python, hosts Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes dive into the world of coding education, focusing on the journey from block to text coding. They are joined by Charlie Meyer, co-founder and CEO of Pick Code, to discuss strategies and tools that make learning to code an engaging and enjoyable experience for students. The conversation also covers personal anecdotes from the hosts and guest, emphasizing the balance between fun and learning in coding education. Today...
Episode 127: Setting Goals
March 02, 2024 12:00 - 25 minutes - 29.5 MBThis episode of Teaching Python is a quick bite about setting goals. Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes discuss the importance of goal setting and how it can lead to personal and professional growth. They explore different types of goals, such as accomplishment goals and transformative goals, and share strategies for setting and achieving them. The episode emphasizes the benefits of goal setting in education, including improved academic outcomes, increased motivation, and the development o...
Episode 126: Projects and Portfolios
February 19, 2024 05:00 - 25 minutes - 29.4 MBIn Episode 126 of the "Teaching Python" podcast, hosts Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes delve into the fascinating realm of projects and portfolios for young coders. Expanding on the importance of showcasing coding skills, they explore how portfolios act as a powerful tool to demonstrate creativity, discipline, and coding standards. By creating a portfolio, students can present a comprehensive view of their work, allowing others to peek into their coding thought process and evaluate thei...
Episode 125: Microlearning
February 05, 2024 05:00 - 36 minutes - 42 MBIn episode 125 of Teaching Python, hosts Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes dive into the concept of micro learning, discussing its benefits in fostering long-term memory retention and profound comprehension. The hosts advocate formalizing micro learning--breaking down topics into approachable, bite-sized segments--and discuss its application in the move towards more immediate, more specific, and ultimately more impactful and rewarding feedback. The discussion also covers the idea of 'ladd...
Episode 124: Motivated with Coding in the World of AI
January 14, 2024 16:00 - 49 minutes - 45 MBIn this episode, Sean and Kelly focus on maintaining engagement in a pedagogical and professional setting during interaction with AI. They share meaningful anecdotes from their respective fields, offering a variety of methods to increase productivity and interest. Kelly, as an educator, discusses including the students in the technology integrations by letting them understand and contribute to the process. Sean, from a developer perspective, emphasizes on the importance of accountability, lea...
Episode 123: Five Year Anniversary
January 02, 2024 05:00 - 38 minutes - 44.5 MBIn 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.
Episode 122: Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
December 16, 2023 18:00 - 32 minutes - 30.4 MBIn 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 ...
Episode 121: The Board of Knowledge
November 24, 2023 19:00 - 16 minutes - 15.9 MBIn 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 tech...
Episode 120: Quick Bites: Failing
November 08, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBEpisode 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 t...
Episode 119: Quick Bites: Constructivism and Coding
October 24, 2023 04:00 - 22 minutes - 25.2 MBIn 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.
Episode 118: Quick Bites: Testing Student Code
October 21, 2023 12:00 - 15 minutes - 17.5 MBToday, we'll talk about how to test students' code using automated tools. For example, the unit testing built into Replit's Teams for Education (https://replit.com/site/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.
Episode 117: Intermediate Python With Yasoob Khalid
October 11, 2023 20:00 - 58 minutes - 67.5 MBYasoob Khalid is a blogger, developer at Microsoft, and author of Practical Python Projects and Intermediate Python. Growing up in Pakistan, he saw that there was a lack of resources for learners in developing countries, so he started to blog about what he was learning. Over time, this grew into free online books and resources that anyone around the world can use to learn Python. During our conversation, we talk about everything from making learning open and accessible, to the role that teac...
Episode 116: NLP with Ines Montani
September 09, 2023 19:00 - 1 hour - 71.8 MBThis 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 (https://prodi.gy/) and Spacy (https://spacy.io/), as well as practical applications, including a humorous digression on ...
Episode 115: DroneBlocks with Dennis Baldwin
August 24, 2023 21:00 - 55 minutes - 63.1 MBIn 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...
Episode 114: The EduBlocks Evolution and Josh Lowe
August 06, 2023 13:00 - 51 minutes - 59.2 MBWay back on Episode 13 (https://www.teachingpython.fm/13), we interviewed Josh Lowe, then 15 years old and the creator of EduBlocks (https://edublocks.org/). 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 (https://www.anaconda.com/). This week, Kelly and Sean caught up with Josh to learn about his educational journey...
Episode 113: ChatGPT and Studying Teachers
July 31, 2023 12:00 - 56 minutes - 64.6 MBThis week we are joined by Philip Guo and Sam Lau, researchers at the University of California, San Diego. Philip and Sam have recently published research on how computer science instructors use artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot in their classrooms. Join us to learn more about the data behind how generative AI is changing the way we teach computer science and coding. Special Guests: Philip Guo and Sam Lau.
Episode 112: Dash, Plotly, and Learning
July 14, 2023 19:00 - 45 minutes - 51.8 MBIn this episode, Kelly and Sean meet with Adam Schroeder, community manager at Plotly and author of The Book of Dash. We'll talk about how teachers can use data visualization in the classroom with Dash to bring data to life for their students. If you're not familiar with the Dash and Plotly Python libraries, you can get started here with us! Dash is a library for building web-based dashboards to visualize your Python data. It uses Plotly, a library for making beautiful visualizations of data ...
Episode 111: Generative AI with Eric Matthes
July 01, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 73.8 MBEpisode 111: Exploring Generative AI in Education In Episode 111 of the Teaching Python podcast, join special guest Eric Matthes and your hosts Kelly and Sean as they dive into the intriguing world of generative AI in education. Coming fresh from the Education Summit at PyCon 2023, they provide a comprehensive recap of the event, highlighting the successful speaker topics, the ideal room size, and the engaging breakout sessions that made the summit a resounding success. As an extra resource, ...
Episode 110: CircuitPython with Kattni Rembor
June 23, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 73.8 MBShow Notes Introduction Welcome to this week's episode, entirely devoted to CircuitPython. We're excited to have Kattni Rembor from Adafruit as our special guest, who has contributed extensively to the CircuitPython platform, from beginner guides to advanced projects. Kattni's Win of the Week Kattni shares her current project, a guide for creating a keyboard key switch with NeoPixels underneath. Each key press generates a random LED color. Our Wins of the Week Kelly Schuster-Paredes, currentl...
Episode 109: What We Did on Our Podcast Sabbatical
May 30, 2023 04:00 - 32 minutes - 37.7 MBShow Notes: Personal Updates Sean Tibor shares his excitement about meeting his overseas team members for the first time. He also expresses pride at watching his first batch of students graduate and choose to study in computer science and related fields. Future Learning Journeys Kelly Schuster-Paredes reflects on the exciting learning opportunities the students will undertake. She expresses hope that these students will return to share their experiences and insights (Teaching Python website (...
Episode 108: Hardware for Learning
March 12, 2023 21:00 - 43 minutes - 50.9 MBKelly and Sean interview Ryan Dehmoubed, co-founder of JuiceMind (https://www.juicemind.com/), a startup focused on hardware and software for the K-12 computer science education market. Their initial products focus on the AP Computer Science curriculum with a goal of making coding more engaging while showing students the practical applications of coding. In this interview, we'll cover everything from the shortage of computer science teachers to smart doorbells to going beyond Kahoot! to tools...
Episode 107: AI In The Middle School with Dr. Nisha Talagala
March 05, 2023 18:00 - 47 minutes - 54.8 MBHave you ever wondered how Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant can understand and respond to our commands? Or how Netflix or YouTube recommend the next video for us to watch? The answer lies in Artificial Intelligence (AI), a branch of computer science that allows machines to perform tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, image processing, and decision-making. In this episode of The Teaching Python podcast, Dr. Nisha Talagala, the founder and CEO of AIClub (ht...
Episode 106: Interview with Al Sweigart
February 23, 2023 05:00 - 56 minutes - 64.7 MBAfter years of being atop our "must-have guests" list, Kelly and Sean finally get to interview Al Sweigart, author of Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, as well as many other books and courses that help people learn Python more effectively Join us as we talk about everything from our favorite teaching examples, the process of book writing, fostering cats, and more. Special Guest: Al Sweigart.
Episode 105: PyCon Education Summit!
February 08, 2023 14:00 - 11 minutes - 13 MBKelly and Sean are organizing the PyCon US Education Summit for 2023. Join us to learn more about the summit, what we've learned from attending, and how you can get involved.
Episode 104: What We're Reading
January 24, 2023 23:00 - 43 minutes - 49.9 MBIn episode 104 of the Teaching Python podcast, Kelly and Sean discuss their wins of the week and announce they are co-chairing the PyCon US Education Summit in April 2023. The episode features a segment on book recommendations, where Kelly and Sean share some of their recent reads that they found particularly useful for Python programmers. One of the recommended books is "The Missing ReadMe" which is a guide for new engineers to understand and navigate open-source projects. Another book recom...
Episode 103: ChatGPT and Learning
January 05, 2023 13:00 - 49 minutes - 56.7 MBThis episode description was written by ChatGPT. What do you think? In this episode of the Teaching Python podcast, Kelly and Sean delve into the topic of ChatGPT and its potential impact on computer science education. ChatGPT (https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/) is a new artificial intelligence tool developed by OpenAI that has generated a lot of buzz in the tech industry. The hosts consider both the potential benefits and drawbacks of using ChatGPT in the classroom, and discuss how it could b...
Episode 102: The Learner Variability Project
December 24, 2022 19:00 - 49 minutes - 57.4 MBIn Episode 102 of the Teaching Python podcast with Kelly and Sean, the topic is learner variability, based on an article by Jessica Jackson of the Digital Promise Project. This episode discusses how to effectively teach programming to a diverse group of learners, and how to adapt to the individual needs and learning styles of each student. One key point discussed in the podcast is that students learn at different times and at different rates, and it is important for teachers to recognize and ...
Episode 101: 2022 Holiday Gift Guide
December 11, 2022 20:00 - 48 minutes - 55.7 MBWelcome to Teaching Python, the podcast all about sharing tips, tricks, and insights on teaching and learning the Python programming language. In this episode, Kelly and Sean are giving you a list of 10 gift ideas for computer science teachers and learners. Whether you're a teacher looking for some inspiration for your holiday wishlist, or a student looking for a gift for your favorite computer science teacher, this episode has you covered. From practical tools like an online course about Pyt...
Episode 100: Celebrating Motivation (with @mkennedy & @brianokken)
November 05, 2022 16:00 - 46 minutes - 52.9 MBAfter 100 episodes of Teaching Python, Kelly and Sean invite some friends of the show to share how they stay motivated. We're joined by Michael Kennedy (https://twitter.com/mkennedy) and Brian Okken (twitter.com/brianokken) from the Python Bytes (https://pythonbytes.fm/) podcast to talk about the ways we stay motivated. Listen in for tips and strategies from a variety of sources. How do you stay motivated? Special Guests: Brian Okken and Michael Kennedy.
Episode 99: LIVE: The Art of Searching It Up
October 28, 2022 04:00 - 48 minutes - 55.2 MBThe Teaching Python podcast speaks about how the Google Cycle can help support learning in Code. Teaching kids to “embrace the research side of Coding (and become great at this skill)” “Now we aren’t talking about googling for solutions. But smart googling with a big perspective.” → Kelly is starting a Boot camp, the prework module actually says and explains: “If you get stuck, remember that you can usually get help by searching online.” THere are guidelines to how to search and how to read S...
Episode 98: Robotics with RobotLab
October 20, 2022 04:00 - 49 minutes - 56.3 MBThe Teaching Python podcast speaks with Elad Inbar, founder of RobotLab and Robots for Education and how to improve student engagement by using robots. Special Guest: Elad Inbar.
Episode 97: Beyond Computer Science Classrooms
September 19, 2022 04:00 - 46 minutes - 43 MBSri Kundurthy, a student and EuroPython speaker joins Kelly and Sean to talk about bringing Python to other subject areas. From physics models to data manipulation to advanced algorithms, we talk about a wide range of applications for computer science outside of the computer science classroom Special Guest: Srivatsa Kundurthy.
Episode 96: Decoupling Grading
September 03, 2022 12:00 - 50 minutes - 70.3 MBKelly and Sean discuss how grading and learning are often confused with each other. We settle in for a chat about everything from intern projects to class challenges to communicating actual learning through grades. Settle in for an episode with just the co-hosts of Teaching Python!
Episode 95: Managing Your Teacher Workload
August 22, 2022 04:00 - 49 minutes - 67.6 MBThe Teaching Python podcast speaks with Pete Dring and the tools he has created to manage his workload while teaching computer science and Python. Join us to learn more about these tools and how you can use them to shift your workload from boring to exciting! Special Guest: Peter Dring.
Episode 94: Anaconda in Education
August 01, 2022 16:00 - 1 hour - 88.6 MBSean and Kelly speak with Anaconda and their outreach program. Anaconda supports educators and learners with the ability to understand and interpret data. This leads to better decision-making and a world where people are empowered to create positive change. Episode Errata: * The hackday event referenced in the episode was related to Pyscript and more information will come out on that shortly. * The data science competition for high school students referenced in the episode is called Data Sci...
Episode 93: Mission Encodeable
July 20, 2022 04:00 - 44 minutes - 61.3 MBHarry and Anna are high-school students who are passionate about coding, engineering, and design. When they’re not doing their homework, they’re busy writing tutorials, designing website wireframes, and planning the next courses for Mission Encodeable. Special Guests: Anna Wake and Harry Wake.
Episode 92: Let's Talk Teaching
July 13, 2022 04:00 - 50 minutes - 69 MBIn this episode, Sean and Kelly talk with Computer Science and STEM teachers about our wins, our failures, and all about teaching Python. We're joined by teachers Dottie Holland, Andre Chmielewski, and Andy Colley to talk about everything from our favorite teaching resources, what it's like to teach after the exams are over, why Python over other languages, and more.
Episode 91: The New Beta Python Micro:bit Editor
May 31, 2022 04:00 - 48 minutes - 55.8 MBIn this episode, we will learn about the new features of this great alpha product for the micro:bit. Its main goals are to make coding with Python per se and Python on the micro:bit more accessible: * An appealing user interface with bright colours * Contextual help and autocomplete * Example snippets of code you can browse and insert, like browsing blocks in MakeCode or Scratch * Simple code structure highlighting to aid understanding about indents in Python * Explanation of features of Micr...
Episode 90: Equitable Learning
May 12, 2022 04:00 - 56 minutes - 64.3 MBWe welcome David Cavallo an entrepreneur in using technologies to improve learning and promote social equitable development. Our topic this week is equitable computation learning and the reasons and methods for it. Special Guest: David Cavallo.
PyConUS 2022 Debrief!
May 01, 2022 19:00 - 36 minutes - 42.6 MBKelly and Sean debrief on PyCon US 2022 on Sunday morning before flying home. From the Education Summit to the Expo Hall to the Talk Track, we cover it all. Most importantly, we cover the best food and coffee to check out for next year in Salt Lake City! Note - this is a live debrief with no editing. Enjoy!
Episode 89: FinTech Careers
April 20, 2022 04:00 - 46 minutes - 53.5 MBIn the 2007 film, Shift Happens, Carl Fisch (later modified by Scott Mcleod) stated that “The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” Although the 65% figure has been debunked quite often and the data that was used during the video cannot always be verified, it is safe to say that the jobs of today, h...
Episode 88: Data Science Careers
April 05, 2022 04:00 - 48 minutes - 55.1 MBIn the 2007 film, Shift Happens, Carl Fisch (later modified by Scott Mcleod) stated that “The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” Although the 65% figure has been debunked quite often and the data that was used during the video cannot always be verified, it is safe to say that the jobs of today, h...
Episode 87: Cybersecurity Careers
March 23, 2022 04:00 - 42 minutes - 39 MBIn the 2007 film, Shift Happens, Carl Fisch stated that “The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” While the data that was used during the video cannot be completely verifiable, it is safe to say that the jobs of today have evolved quite a bit since 2004. In addition, a lot of these fields are glob...
Episode 86: Thinking Globally
March 07, 2022 03:00 - 56 minutes - 64.4 MBIn this episode, Sean and Kelly talk about the future. Looking into the past 20 years+ years of teaching and looking back at how we were taught as children, what has changed? Just as our teachers prepared us for our present, how are we preparing our students? We should no longer try to prepare our students for jobs that may not be there when they enter the workforce. Instead, we should focus our preparation on how they can take advantage of the emerging technologies that are coming into exis...
Episode 85: Teaching the Basics with Requests
February 16, 2022 18:00 - 43 minutes - 49.8 MBMost people think of Requests as an intermediate or advanced area of Python, but what happens when we turn it loose on beginner programmers? Spoiler - lots of learning and surprises! Requests is a popular Python library for making HTTP requests in a simplified, elegant way. As the one of the top 10 most downloaded packages on PyPI.org, it's used across Python to interact with web APIs, scrape websites, post webhooks, and more. In this episode, Kelly and Sean talk about different lesson plans...
Episode 84: Global Computer Science with Will Richardson
January 31, 2022 05:00 - 46 minutes - 53.1 MBContinuing on conversations about tech for good, helping our students build global competence, and preparing our children to be successful in an ever increasing digital world, Kelly and Sean speak with Will Richardson, founder of the Big Questions Institute. “Are we preparing students to identify and confront problems they care about, collaborate beyond classroom walls, and overcome the false dichotomy between local versus global? Do we see our work as educators as the work of building a bet...
Episode 83: 2021 Year in Review (or something)
January 17, 2022 19:00 - 51 minutes - 59 MBThis week, Kelly and Sean look over all that happened in 2021 for Teaching Python and commit to some bigger goals for 2022. What were the highlights according to our co-hosts? From the great guests to the wins in the classroom, Kelly and Sean catch up and kick off the new year together.
Episode 82: Helping Kids Navigate the Online World with Richard Culatta
January 03, 2022 05:00 - 1 hour - 74.4 MBWe sometimes make assumptions when it comes to students and using technology, that students are savvy tech users. Although coding curriculum lends itself easily to incorporating many digital citizenship (https://www.teachingpython.fm/articles/digital-citizenship) skills, even the best Computer Science course may not focus as much as you think on directly teaching these important skills. Furthermore, it is a lot of pressure for just one class to bear. In this episode of Teaching Python, Kell...
Episode 81: Holiday Gift Guide
December 13, 2021 05:00 - 35 minutes - 40.6 MBIt's the most wonderful time of the year as Kelly and Sean put together a gift guide for techie kids! From transformable robots to glowing toys to soldering stations, we cover the items on our lists for the holidays. Check the show notes for links that support the podcast!