Dayton Python Workshop - OpenHatch wiki

What it is

The Dayton Python Workshop for women and their friends is a free, friendly, hands-on, beginners' introduction to computer programming.

Photos from the Indianapolis Python Workshop

Who it's for

The workshop is designed for true beginners to programming - absolutely no experience is assumed.

The primary target audience is women of all ages and backgrounds. Men can participate as the guest of a female attendee - that's where the "women and their friends" part comes in. If you're a man who wants to take part, ask a woman you know to join you. Don't underestimate the power of a personal invitation - you'll never know which of your friends just needs a nudge to try it until you give her that nudge.

We're also planning a gender-unrestricted iteration of the workshop in a few more months.

Current status

The first Dayton Python Workshop has been scheduled for April 5-6 (Friday evening and Saturday) at New Horizons Dayton, 1890 Commerce Center Blvd, Fairborn, OH.

The workshop is free, but registration is required and space is limited! Please register now at meetup.com. Write Catherine with any questions!

Registration for workshop #1 is already full! Don't worry, there will be more workshops soon! If you're interested, please sign up anyway; you'll go onto a mailing list and automatically get a spot if anyone needs to drop out, or you'll get first dibs on our next workshop.

The class materials (still in progress!) are available here, but we'll provide them on CDs or USB at the workshop itself. When you arrive, open up the beginning instructions in Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux.

Schedule

Friday evening, April 5, 6-9 PM: Set up everyone's laptop to run Python programs, then go through self-paced tutorials (with each other's help) on the very basics.
Saturday morning, April 6, 9:30 AM: Mix of short lectures and self-paced work to flesh out your knowledge.
Saturday afternoon: Do a real programming project! Finish up by 4:30.
Afterward: Join the Dayton Dynamic Languages User Group for Project Nights, where you can continue your work on projects that interest you and keep learning from other programmers.

Past events and history

The workshop's format and materials were pioneered in Boston, and since then workshops have spread to Indianapolis, Columbus, Portland, Chicago, Kansas City, and now Dayton. It's a proven series that has successfully brought programming skills (and a lot of fun) to hundreds of women all across the country.

Why are we doing this?

Our goal is to increase Python community diversity through programming outreach events. Basic programming skills are so empowering and useful that we think everyone should have them, whether those skills lead to a career, a new hobby, or just a better understanding of the computers that surround us.

Read about other OpenHatch events »

With every workshop we get to dozens of women and their friends to programming in Python. We also strive to:

Show new programmers and the Dayton Python community examples of smart, confident, capable programmers of all backgrounds.
Bring new, awesome, diverse people into local Python programming communities through diversity and outreach events.
Inspire other people to run their own introductory workshops and outreach events, and to get more user groups thinking about diversity and outreach.

Huh? Python? Snakes? What?

Python is the name of the computer language that you'll learn to program in. It's a great programming language for beginners because it's easy to understand and use, yet it's also widely used for huge projects and serious professional work - it's a language you'll never outgrow.

Get involved

join us on the OpenHatch events list, where this and other workshoppers meet to share and plan outreach events.
Say hello in #openhatch on Freenode.
Follow us on Twitter and Identi.ca.
Also see the Columbus Python Workshop

Organizers

The workshop is being led by Catherine Devlin, a veteran of the Indianapolis and Columbus Python Workshop and a founder of the PyOhio Python programming conference. We're still looking for assistant teachers, so write Catherine if you've got a passion for code and a love for the community.

We're always looking for help in organizing and teaching Python workshops across the Midwest - if you're interested, join our mailing list and introduce yourself. We'd love to have you!