ppt0220/cookie-python

A framework for teaching kids to program using iPython's Notebook feature

Cookies for Python

If you are a Geek Parent wanting to teach your kids to program in Python, then have we got a project for you. Cookies for Python is a project you can use to start the ball rolling (as well as add to it).

Once upon a time, Rob and Howard were talking about teaching their kids to follow in their footsteps and learn to program. After Scratch, a scripting language should be next on the list for kids to learn, but most ways of teaching languages like Python are geared towards young adults.

Specifically, we thought the following were important:

• Instructive but still fun to read
• Interactive
• Gamified (do something right, get a badge... or a cookie)

This project is our attempt. It is based on the wonderful notebook extension to iPython. You can fork, extend and even contribute this project to share with others.

What's it Like?

The easiest way to explain what it looks like is to show a screenshot from the browser (or download the first lesson as a PDF):

Installation

Installation is pretty simple. First, get a complete copy of Python. If the kids are on your iMac upstairs and your a geek, chances are good you've already installed Homebrew:

brew install python

If you've got a difficult environment, see these instructions.

Now that you have either Pip or easy_install, use one of them to grab ipython:

pip install pyzmq
pip install tornado
pip install --upgrade ipython
pip install numpy

Or

easy_install ipython[zmq,notebook]

Finally, clone this project, and you're ready.

Starting

The start-me-up script can be used to set up the iPython notebook server and bring up a browser. If it is run a second time, it attempts to re-connect to the same server (this seemed to be fairly important as my kids could start it, but didn't stop it, and I had 50 interpreters running once).

If you create a symbolic link from the Desktop to this script, set the COOKIE_PYTHON_HOME to the directory where the project has been checked out, and put this in your start up script, e.g. .profile. For example:

export COOKIE_PYTHON_HOME=$HOME/Documents/cookie-python

Using

Once things are started, it should be clear how to use it. Click on a lesson, answer the questions and solve the problems, and get a cookie reward.

Contributing

This project is intended as a collaborative project between many Geek Parents, so feel free to fork and submit patches. If you don't have a lot of time, but would like to contribute, we specifically need help in the following:

• Editing of our lessons... we're programmers not writers, and it shows.
• Freely licensed clipart images to use as rewards.
• Python unit tests for our validation code, check()