On Wed, Mar 30, 2016 at 10:24 AM, Peter Farrell <funcalcu...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello to the Group! > > I'm redesigning my math-using-Python-programming course and need your > input. > > I'd like to have the participants enter their code on a site like they do > at CodingBat or CodeWars: the site tests the code and immediately gives the > user feedback. > > You ask excellent questions. However the word "course" is underspecified in it's left to the imagination to guess if this course is (A) delivered purely virtually, (C) with a teacher in a classroom where students join in a learning process, or (B) a hybrid. Do they use CodingBat with a teacher in the room looking over their shoulders, or are they on their own in a personal workspace (like a cubicle or study carrel). You may be familiar with Michigan's Nexus Academy environment. The students enter a proctored environment with adult supervision, a cafeteria and gym may be provided, various breakout rooms and meeting rooms. However the teachers in this picture tend to patch in from remote locations, either for real time content delivery and interaction, or more asynchronously. > Has anybody done this? Is there a template available for doing this, or is > it a custom job? > At O'Reilly our approach was to spin up a workstation in the could, behind a login credential, already provided with IDE + required tools. Were I doing it today, the workstation would come with the Anaconda distribution and Visual Python, a few other bells and whistles (maybe povray). > > Is there an easier way, using an online IDE where teachers can set up > classes? Would you recommend going with IPython/Jupyter notebooks instead? > A lot depends on whether students need to do the equivalent of "passing in homework". Given we were issuing certificates, we wanted to look at aspects of style as well as substance, so even if a program delivered the correct user experience, we might send it back for a next iteration, based on lack of documentation or other such standard. Sometimes the submission would pass, but the mentor would nevertheless point out areas that could use improvement, so "pat on the back with advice". Writing programs to replace human mentors never seemed like a feasible way to go, but then there's no harm in turning students loose in entirely automated environments for workout purposes. After all, Python itself provides such an environment. At PDX Code Guild we think a student:teacher ratio of about 12:1 is ideal. But that's an intensive in-person meetup. If we factor in the distance education aspects, then the ratios may be a lot different. Not all students are active at once is the main thing, so the effective teacher caseload is not a linear function with number enrolled. A core question is whether you plan to provide a "world" behind a login, and if so what's in that world. Most educational materials come without a login. I just bought Python Programming for Biology for $60 and do not expect to need to login anywhere. But then neither will I be getting a credential for reading it. The goal is to continue improving the STEM content of my course materials. Kirby <https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig> > >
_______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
