Teaching Python

We're two middle school teachers learning and teaching Python

About the show

A podcast by Kelly Paredes and Sean Tibor about their adventures teaching middle school computer science, problem-solving, handling failure, frustration, and victory through the lens of the Python programming language.

Kelly Paredes has taught all over the world and specializes in curriculum design and development. She currently teaches sixth and seventh-grade computer science at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is her fifth year using Python.

Sean Tibor is a Senior Cloud Engineer at Mondelez International. He has worked in marketing and technical management roles selling toothpaste and toothbrushes, designing chemical inventory and tv media databases, enrolling online nursing students, and founding a digital marketing agency. He has taught Python to seventh and eighth-grade students at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but now supports interns and tutors students in Python.

Teaching Python on social media

Episodes

  • Episode 82: Helping Kids Navigate the Online World with Richard Culatta

    January 3rd, 2022  |  1 hr 4 mins
    coding, computer science, digital citizenship, education, teaching

    In this episode of Teaching Python, Kelly and Sean speak with Richard Culatta CEO of International Society for Technology in Education and author of the book, “Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World and discuss ways that we can keep kids coding and being “active citizens” in their online and physical world!

  • Episode 81: Holiday Gift Guide

    December 13th, 2021  |  35 mins 29 secs
    games, gifts, technology, toys

    It's the most wonderful time of the year as Kelly and Sean put together a gift guide for techie kids! From transformable robots to glowing toys to soldering stations, we cover the items on our lists for the holidays. Check the show notes for links that support the podcast!

  • Episode 80: Reaching for the Stars with Dr. Becky Smethurst

    November 29th, 2021  |  45 mins 46 secs
    astrophysics, education, python, science, space

    This week Sean and Kelly are joined by Dr. Becky Smethurst from Oxford to talk about code and science. Dr. Becky is an astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Each week, she publishes a video on her YouTube channel explaining a bit about space,

  • Episode 79: Working with Student Data

    November 18th, 2021  |  39 mins 58 secs
    data, education, python, student data, teaching

    This episode is all about working with the data we generate for students, whether it's in the classroom, your school, or your district. Special guest star Rusti Gregory joins us to talk about his transition from the classroom to the data manager role.

  • Episode 78: Python Hardware in the Classroom

    November 3rd, 2021  |  1 hr 5 mins
    circuitpython, hardware, micropython, python, teaching

    Kelly and Sean revisit some of our favorite hardware that we use to teach Python. From the various versions of the BBC micro:bit to the ecosystem of CircuitPython boards, we talk about all the pros and cons!

  • Episode 77: The Power of Bots in the Computer Science Classroom

    October 15th, 2021  |  46 mins 1 sec
    finch, python, robotics, teaching
  • Episode 76: Current Teaching Experiments

    September 28th, 2021  |  37 mins 45 secs
    code reviews, coding, python, teaching, testing

    Kelly and Sean discuss their latest experiments in the classroom, including student peer code reviews, testing code for correctness, and creating comfy environments for coding.

  • Episode 75: Lunch with Kelly & Sean

    September 9th, 2021  |  47 mins 5 secs
    livestream, python, teaching

    A lunchtime livestream with Kelly and Sean talking about setting up learning environments for students, coaching and setting high expectations for students, and the new tools we're using this year for teaching code.

  • Episode 74: Bringing CS Standards to Life

    August 5th, 2021  |  53 mins 35 secs
    computer_science, csta, teaching

    With the new school year upon us, we're talking about CSTA standards and how they can be applied to the classroom environment. Join Kelly and Sean as they talk through ways to plan, deliver, and assess CS student standards.

  • Episode 73: Designing Curriculum with Quinten Sheriff

    July 23rd, 2021  |  56 mins 17 secs
    curriculum, python, teaching

    The Teaching Python podcast speaks with Quinten Sheriff COncordia , an Instructional Designer, e-learning implementation specialist, and curriculum developer with global experience on four continents. A systems thinker who uses instructional models such as ADDIE, AGILE, SAM, ARCS.

    In this episode, we will explore topics such as designing curriculum for the next year, and what it means to design for instruction versus designing for content.

  • Episode 72: Catching Up

    July 6th, 2021  |  1 hr 5 mins
    learning, machine learning, python, teaching

    It's been a few weeks since we recorded, so this week's episode is all about catching up on listener questions and mail. Highlights include the new AWS machine learning course we're taking, whether we'd rather be teachers or coders, and the new Adafruit hardware we're trying.

  • Episode 71: Summer Professional Development with John Mikton

    June 21st, 2021  |  1 hr 16 mins
    learning, professional development, python, summer, teaching

    With summer finally here in the northern hemisphere, Kelly and Sean meet with John Mikton from the Principals Training Center to talk about professional development resources for teachers during these long summer days. From technical resources to pedagogical research to classroom layout ideas, we'll talk about some of the things we're excited to learn this summer.