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.

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.

Past events and history
The [Indianapolis Python Workshop 1 | First Indianapolis Python Workshop] took place April 13-14 at Indiana LinuxFest. Thanks to
 * Python Software Foundation for generous sponsorship
 * Fewer Hassles for generous sponsorship
 * Indiana LinuxFest for providing the locale
 * DirectEmployers for supplies and equipment

The Boston Python Workshop provided both our inspiration and an incredible teacher in the form of Jessica McKellar. Read about them in their archive.

Upcoming events
We're catching our breath before setting a target date for the second Indianapolis Python Workshop. Want to get involved in the next workshop, as a participant, volunteer, and/or sponsor? Sign up to IndyPy and watch for announcements, or contact us at .

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 &raquo;

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. 

Schedule
The workshop will run from 6pm-9pm on Saturday and 9:30am-4:30pm on Sunday.

Friday

 * 6pm-9pm: set up your development environment, learn how to execute Python code from a file and interactively from a Python prompt, and learn about printing and using Python as a calculator.

Saturday

 * Saturday morning setup, 9:30am-10am: settle in, get your laptop set up, and review Friday's material. We will start the lecture promptly at 10.
 * Saturday morning, 10am-noon: a 2 hour lecture-based introduction to the language.
 * Saturday lunch, noon-1pm: we'll provide lunch. Please e-mail us  with dietary restrictions as you RSVP.
 * Saturday afternoon, 1pm-4pm: break out into groups to practice Python through short projects on a variety of fun and practical topics.
 * Saturday wrap-up, 4pm-4:30pm: wrap-up, next steps, and upcoming opportunities for learning and practicing Python.

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 workshops meet to share and plan outreach events. Say hello in #openhatch on Freenode. Follow us on Twitter and Identi.ca.</li> Post our flyer</li> Also see the Dayton Python Workshop</li> </ul>

Materials
The material we'll be going over is at Indianapolis Python Workshop 1

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!

Sponsors



 * Fewer Hassles for generous sponsorship!




 * DirectEmployers provided the 1GB thumbdrives.




 * Our visiting (experienced!) instructors come from the Boston Python Meetup.