Columbus Python Workshop

What it is

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

• Photos from the Indianapolis Python Workshop
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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.

Register

Space is limited, so sign up at the Central Ohio Python Meetup site. Write Catherine if you have any questions.

Class material

The material we'll be working through at the first workshop is here. Direct download here

Schedule

The second Columbus Python Workshop will take place Oct. 18 and 19, 2013.

1. Friday evening (Oct. 18), 6:00 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.
2. Saturday morning (Oct. 19) setup, 9:30am-10am: settle in, get your laptop set up, and review Friday's material. We will start the lecture promptly at 10.
3. Saturday morning (Jan. 19), 10:00 AM: Mix of short lectures and self-paced work to flesh out your knowledge.
4. Saturday afternoon: Do a real programming project!
5. Afterward: Join the Central Ohio Python User Group for Project Nights, where you can continue your work on projects that interest you and keep learning from other Python programmers.

See the weekend's materials at Columbus Python Workshop 1

Sponsors

Thanks to Leading EDJE, providing food to our participants!

Thanks to Pillar for hosting the workshop at The Forge, their brand-new workspace in Columbus' Short North! It's in the Smith Bros. Hardware building, 580 N 4th St. Suite 190

The workshop is presented by [PyOhio], and donations will be tax-deductable.

Past events and history

The workshop's format and materials were pioneered in Boston, and since then workshops have spread to Indianapolis, Portland, Chicago, Kansas City, and now Ohio. It's a proven series that has has successfully brought programming skills (and a lot of fun) to hundreds of women all across the country. This is the second run of the Columbus Python Workshop, and we're incorporating insights from Columbus #1 as well as Indianapolis and Dayton.

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 Columbus 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 Dayton Python Workshop

Organizers

The workshop is completely volunteer-run. Catherine Devlin, a veteran of the Indianapolis Python Workshop and a founder of the PyOhio Python programming conference, will be teaching. 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!