If you have never written Python, you’re missing out! I’m typically a .NET developer, and I really appreciate the offerings from Microsoft (especially of late). I found myself, however, feeling a little restricted in my daily programming work. Thankfully, I needed to learn Python to successfully complete a project in Summer 2019. It’s not that Python is revolutionary (or maybe it is, but that’s not the point); I just needed different paradigms to exercise my brain.
It’s was so therapeutic for me that I wanted to share the language with others. I was not opposed to learning Python before, but I simply never had the need or the time to explore Python as a language. Once I acquired a need, I made the time.
This workshop is a very basic introduction to programming, integrated development environments, and Python. I have facilitated this workshop at tech conferences and high schools around the world.
This workshop is so popular that I am proud to announce a new stand-alone version of it!
Evan Smith
If you’re looking for workshop resources, head on over to the dedicated Python Workshop page. There, you’ll find links to resources, slides, source code, and anything else I find useful in the future.
First, I absolutely love speaking at conferences, and I will continue presenting this workshop at conferences. It’s a volunteer gig, but I really enjoy meeting other speakers and attendees. It’s totally worth it! The conflict is that I have a limited amount of free time to spend away from work and family. I simply cannot attend all the conferences I come across (how awesome would that be, though?!).
I still want to spread the love for and knowledge of Python, though.
Introducing the stand-alone Python workshop! You can now buy a half-day or full-day workshop. Simply contact me via this website’s Contact page, on Twitter, LinkedIn or any other method, and we’ll work out the details.
As mentioned above, I will continue to deliver shorter versions of the workshop at tech conferences. My goal is simply to add more availability in my schedule to deliver the workshops.
Two reasons I charge for the stand-alone version:
- Time away from work is expensive. It just doesn’t make sense to take days off work without compensation.
- Time away from family is hard. I don’t spend enough time with my family as it stands, so maybe workshop compensation will pay for a family experience we can share.
The conference version will never be as good as the stand-alone version for several reasons:
- Time: there is typically not enough time to cover everything sufficiently in a conference slot; stand-alone workshop can go for as long as you need.
- Platform: most virtual conferences use platforms that are not conducive to interaction between the facilitator and the attendees; stand-alone workshop uses platforms that encourage seamless interaction between me and the attendees
- Cognitive load: conference attention is split between all the sessions you attend; stand-alone workshop is a focused period of time for the workshop material only
Please continue to support conferences! They are absolutely needed for community building and knowledge sharing.