Indianapolis Python Workshop

What it is

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

Upcoming events

The first Indianapolis Python Workshop will run Friday evening and Saturday, April 13-14, 2012 at the Wyndam Indianapolis West Hotel alongside Indiana LinuxFest. Sign up for the workshop at the IndyPy Meetup page - and don't forget to register for Indiana LinuxFest. Contact Mel with any questions!

Photos from the Boston event that inspired this Indianapolis workshop

Who it's for

The workshop is designed for true beginners to programming - absolutely no experience is assumed. We are hoping to arrange childcare for attendees to make it easier for parents to attend - watch for more details.

The workshop's primary target is women of all ages and backgrounds. Men may 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.

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 »

Most directly, with every workshop we get to introduce 30 or 40 women and their friends to programming in Python. We also strive to:

Show new programmers and the Indianapolis 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.

Past events and history

The Indianapolis Python Workshop is inspired by - and done in partnership with - the Boston Python Workshop. Read about them in their archive.

Get involved

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

Organizers

The workshop is being taught by Catherine Devlin and Mel Chua, two female open source geeks with a passion for teaching, a love of Python, and a vision of the powerful impact open source could have with a larger and more diverse community of contributors.

We're grateful to IndyPy for acting as teaching assistants and helping with fundraising and publicity, to Boston Python Workshop organizers Jessica McKellar, Asheesh Laroia, and Ned Batchelder for their mentorship and support, and the event simply wouldn't be happening without the backing and logistical support of Indiana LinuxFest organizers, especially Matt Williams and Michael Schultheiss.

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!