[pydata-outreach-staff] pydata-outreach-staff Digest, Vol 1, Issue 6

Tue Dec 11 14:43:30 UTC 2012

Good morning! I wanted to chime in on my thoughts.

1) The invite text round 2 is looking good, I like it's emphasis on the
schedule. To avoid tardiness, it might be good to state something like "The
presentation will begin at X time. Please make sure your laptop is already
set up before this time so that you can smoothly follow along with the
presentation." Regarding your concern, would you be able to contact Chang
She for a brief description/outline of his presentation? I think it would
be ok to send out a version of the invite sooner (it's less than a week
away!) focusing on Pandas contribution and schedule, then a more detailed
version to let them know the presentation topic/contents. I know the focus
is not on numbers but it would be good to communicate to participants how
much time to allocate for the event.

2) Registration info for PyData workshop and sprint - The name can be a bit
misleading, if we want participants to RSVP by eventbrite. Perhaps it can
be something without the word 'registration' such as PyData Workshop and
Sprint attendee information. Also for the open ended questions, it can help
to provide some examples or use multiple choices with an option for other
(write in). I'd be happy to talk more about this if you need more feedback.
Also, not a huge issue with the design - I can see the relation between
running and sprinting, and it's funny but also wonder if it would confuse
anyone. It'd also be good to provide a somewhere a deadline for filling it
out so that you're not bending over backwards the night before or morning
of event getting things together. Also it's nice that it's not a
spreadsheet that lists your name/email address to the whole world (some
people might be intimidated by that).

3) Laptop set up guide - the 2 links are solid examples. The
outline/checklist format is easy to follow. Few questions for/from noobs
for your write up: does Python version matter? how can i find out my
version number? is 15 mins enough time (how long should it take)? will I be
able to do this the night before? are there screenshots i can look at to
make sure i set things up right?

4) other - For the social butterflies and to keep the event warm and
friendly (I'm thinking outside of the box for a moment, it's totally fine
if we don't execute any of these ideas) - would it be nice to have photos
of the event, ice breaker activities, holiday candy, etc?

Asheesh, I think Pivotal labs will be open when you get to the city on
Friday evening. They're usually open til about 6-6:30pm in the evening for
their typical work hours (I hear it was 9-6p) and open in the evenings for
events.... do you have their contact information? I can send it over to you
if you need it.

Kat

On Tue, Dec 11, 2012 at 7:00 AM, <
pydata-outreach-staff-request at lists.openhatch.org> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Pandas-specific invite text (round 2) (Asheesh Laroia)
>    2. Re: Signup info form (Asheesh Laroia)
>    3. Laptop setup guide, and questions (Asheesh Laroia)
>    4. Re: Pandas-specific invite text (round 2) (Emily Chen)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:54:04 -0500 (EST)
> From: Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org>
> To: pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
> Subject: [pydata-outreach-staff] Pandas-specific invite text (round 2)
> Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.02.1212101239280.7319 at rose.makesad.us>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII
>
> Suggested text:
>
> <text>
>
> Subject: Learn how to do science with Python, and make the tools better,
> Sun 12/17
>
> On Sunday, Dec 17, newcomers and experienced programmers will be working
> together to teach, learn, and improve data processing tools in Python.
> We'll learn about pandas, a library for loading and processing large
> numerical data sets into Python -- and then we'll get to work improving
> it, mentored by Chang She, a Pandas maintainer.
>
> This special event is intended to be welcoming to anyone with some Python
> programming experience, ranging from no experience with the above tools
> all the way up to core contributors. It's free of cost, and you're
> invited! Here's how it works:
>
> Morning:
>
> * Meet and greet, and tutorial on PyData and Pandas
>
> Afternoon:
>
> * Lunch, sponsored by the Python Software Foundation
>
> * Group work contributing code to Pandas via Github, mentored by a core
> Pandas contributor, Chang She
>
> * Self-paced contribution sprint, where you can help any PyData project by
> improving documentation, code, performance, test cases, or examples, with
> mentorship continously available.
>
> It runs from 10 AM to 5:15 PM in Manhattan. Sign up here:
> http://pydata-workshop-sprint.eventbrite.com/ (Space donated by Pivotal
> Labs; thanks!)
>
> More info here:
> https://github.com/svaksha/PyData-Workshop-Sprint/wiki/2012-NYC
>
> If you want to get in touch with the organizers, email:
> pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
>
> </text>
>
> New notes on the above text:
>
> * I kept the subject line the same; I figure vague and intriguing is OK,
> since many prospective attendees may not know what pandas is, but do
> know what science is.
>
> * I narrowed the first paragraph down to be very Pandas-y. I hope I'm
> accurately capturing and conveying what Pandas is. My sense is "yes,"
> after spending some time reading their docs.
>
> * I mentioned "performance" in the "Self-paced" part because that's a part
> I personally will find exciting, so presumably other people like me will
> find it exciting.
>
> * This fixes the bug where we said it was OK to work on non-pandas pydata
> stuff. (-:
>
> * It's a little longer than 2 paragraphs, once you add in all the bullets.
>
> * It still could be a little clearer on the knowledge prerequisites. Part
> of why it's somewhat vague is I don't know the details of Chang's lecture.
> I invited Chang to this list, so if he joins, great; if not, then we're
> flying blind on this part, which troubles me.
>
> * I added a "Thank you" to Pivotal for the space.
>
> Comments welcome! Again, I haven't sent this out anywhere but our private
> list.
>
> -- Asheesh.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:13:29 -0500 (EST)
> From: Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org>
> To: pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
> Subject: Re: [pydata-outreach-staff] Signup info form
> Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.02.1212101255470.7319 at rose.makesad.us>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
>
> On Mon, 10 Dec 2012, Vid wrote:
>
> > On Mon, Dec 10, 2012 at 12:49 AM, Vid <svaksha at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Sun, Dec 9, 2012 at 2:34 PM, Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org>
> wrote:
> >>> Hey all,
> >>>
> >>> I think these questions would be helpful for us to know the answers
> to, so
> >>> we can prepare accordingly.
> >>
> >> May I ask why we need this information? And I'll explain why below..
> >>
> >>> <questions>
> >>
> >>> One sentence: Have you used Numpy or PyData or pandas before?
> >>>
> >>> One sentence: Describe how much programming you have done in Python.
> >>
> >> If someone were new (to either Python or to Pandas), this 2 questions
> >> can seems like an entry barrier to them. They can go "I've never used
> >> any scientific packages before, does that mean I cannot do this?" or
> >> "Do I need to have 10k lines of code under my belt before I attempt
> >> thes?" and I would hate to see people turn themselves away. I'll speak
> >> for myself and say that I know the "imposter syndrome" from a very
> >> close range, struggle with it all the time, and I would discount
> >> myself if I came across those questions.
> >
> > How about a question that conveys this message "If you have a basic
> > understanding of Python, you should attend the workshop and think of
> > becoming a contributor".
>
> I share your concern about the questions, and I think the phrasing and the
> context is what will make the difference. I, too, know imposter syndrome,
> but you're newer to Python than I am, and so it's hugely helpful to hear
> your perspective.
>
> First I'll zoom out and answer the "why" question, which I'm glad you
> asked! I think that it will be extremely helpful for Chang to know who
> he's talking to. If he's talking to an audience of 100% NumPy core
> contributors and daily users of pandas, then he can go into great
> technical depth on pandas' performance optimizations. And if it's the
> opposite, then spending a substantial amount of time explaining what
> pandas is, and how fits into the broader pydata picture, would be a better
> strategy.
>
> It'll also be useful to know when we+Chang are identifying good first-time
> bugs for people. For example, at a previous workshop I ran, generally
> about getting involved in open source, one student indicated she had no
> experience with open source but thought Biopython was a cool idea. So I
> found a documentation bug that suited her before the workshop began, and
> we worked on that and she submitted a patch that landed. Getting a sense
> of the attendee can really help with finding tasks that are motivating.
>
> For one extreme example, if attendees are split 50/50 between super-newbie
> and super-experienced, then maybe it would be best for us to email the
> people with a lower degree of experience a quick "cheat sheet" so we can
> have a more in-depth lecture but bring those people up to speed another
> way. Or maybe we can tell the more experienced people to come slightly
> later, or at least tell them before hand which parts might be review.
> (That's just an example of how to address the problem of retaining
> people's enthusiasm in a room wiht different experience levels with only
> one lecture; it's not an actual proposal.)
>
> That's the "why". Hopefully you agree that the background that the
> audience has should affect the information in the lecture and how it is
> delivered. If not, then I'd like to keep discussing that so I can better
> understand where you're coming from.
>
> Given all that, I think it'd be good to get some information along these
> lines from people. We could change the questions to:
>
> "We're looking for people will all sorts of experience levels in Python.
> In a sentence, can you summarize yours?"
>
> and
>
> "We're looking for newcomers and old-hats alike. In a few words, can you
> summarize if you have used Pandas before, and what you used it for (if at
> all)?"
>
> I am totally on board with the idea of ratcheting up the friendly level
> until everyone feels welcomed. Text suggestions very welcome.
>
> (Also if IRC is speedier, I can be reached on #openhatch-unlogged )
>
> >>>
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFVKUzVTMGxTc0diYXN2S3NLeEh1OHc6MQ
> >
> > Does eventbrite allow us to email attachments to people?
>
> I'm not sure I understand the question.
>
> >From what I understand, eventbrite gives us a list of email addresses, and
> then we can send them emails ourselves using our own email accounts. So if
> we wanted to send an attachment, we could.
>
> Having said that, the survey link is not an attachment; it's just a link,
> so I'm not sure why you're asking about attachments.
>
> >>> * Vid, would it be OK to grant me access to the EventBrite backend so
> I can
> >>> send this out to people as they sign up, including the people who have
> >>> already signed up?
> >>
> >> Need your  login-id and the email you use (I am not sure which one I
> >> need to grant access)
>
> Right-o! asheesh at asheesh.org is the email address. I think that's what
> Eventbrite uses for login IDs as well; I don't see any other indication
> of a login ID on the site.
>
> And do know that I won't send anything to attendees without getting your
> approval!
>
> -- Asheesh.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:23:17 -0500 (EST)
> From: Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org>
> To: pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
> Subject: [pydata-outreach-staff] Laptop setup guide, and questions
> Message-ID: <alpine.DEB.2.02.1212101811370.7319 at rose.makesad.us>
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; format=flowed; charset=US-ASCII
>
> I'm working on preparing a laptop setup guide for the event, and I wanted
> to run a few ideas by y'all.
>
> First of all, other events I've organized, we try to dedicate some time
> before the event for laptop setup. That way, everyone can totally hit the
> ground running when things start. Here are two samples:
>
> * 2-3 hours, the night before:
> https://openhatch.org/wiki/Boston_Python_Workshop_7/Friday
>
> * 15-45 min, as people roll in:
> https://openhatch.org/wiki/Open_Source_Comes_to_Campus/JHU/Laptop_setup
>
> I think something short should be fine for us, but I definitely do want
> people to be fully prepared by the time lecture starts. That way, we
> minimize the number of environment-related questions that the lecturer
> gets, and let him focus on the core teaching he wanted to do.
>
> So here's an outline for what I think we'd need before the lecture:
>
> * Make sure the computer has Python installed
>
> * Make sure you know how to get into a Python interpreter
> prompt
>
> * A text editor installed that they know how to use
>
> * Pandas installed locally
>
> For the group collaboration section, people will need:
>
> * A github account
>
> * Git installed and configured on their laptops
>
> * An IRC client (probably? seems like a good idea to me)
>
> I like the idea of separating "Morning laptop setup" and "Afternoon laptop
> setup" so that we can delay the lecture as little as possible.
>
> I think dedicating 10-15 minutes in the morning to it (10:15 to 10:30?),
> and telling people there are 10-15 minutes after lunch dedicated to it,
> seem like a good idea to me.
>
> Curious what other people think. I'm very flexible on the precise timing,
> and very open to others' ideas. (Am I missing anything? Is there part of
> the above that's unnecessary?)
>
> If the above outline seems reasonable, I will get working on it tomorrow
> morning, and should have a draft of the above instructions ready by
> tomorrow around this time, with support for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
> (Debian+Ubuntu) machines.
>
> vid, maybe what I'll do is put the draft into your
> https://github.com/svaksha/PyData-Workshop-Sprint/wiki/2012-NYC wiki,
> under a page called "Laptop setup (DRAFT)" and then if you approve, I can
> rename it to "Laptop setup"? Otherwise I can just submit the draft files
> here to the email list for review.
>
> -- Asheesh.
>
> P.S. Didn't want to start yet *another* Asheesh thread on this list, but I
> did book my travel, and I'll be arriving by train on Fri 4:25 PM, so if
> Pivotal Labs is still open, great, and if not, then so be it. Departing
> Monday morning.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 23:48:30 -0500
> From: Emily Chen <emchennyc at gmail.com>
> To: "pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org"
>         <pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org>
> Subject: Re: [pydata-outreach-staff] Pandas-specific invite text
>         (round 2)
> Message-ID: <489AA014-4BC8-40FE-BEC4-42744B15EDBB at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=us-ascii
>
> This looks good to me. Should I go ahead and send it out to the Pyladies
> and CU-WiCS lists tomorrow morning?
>
> On Dec 10, 2012, at 12:54 PM, Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org> wrote:
>
> > Suggested text:
> >
> > <text>
> >
> > Subject: Learn how to do science with Python, and make the tools better,
> Sun 12/17
> >
> > On Sunday, Dec 17, newcomers and experienced programmers will be working
> together to teach, learn, and improve data processing tools in Python.
> We'll learn about pandas, a library for loading and processing large
> numerical data sets into Python -- and then we'll get to work improving it,
> mentored by Chang She, a Pandas maintainer.
> >
> > This special event is intended to be welcoming to anyone with some
> Python programming experience, ranging from no experience with the above
> tools all the way up to core contributors. It's free of cost, and you're
> invited! Here's how it works:
> >
> > Morning:
> >
> > * Meet and greet, and tutorial on PyData and Pandas
> >
> > Afternoon:
> >
> > * Lunch, sponsored by the Python Software Foundation
> >
> > * Group work contributing code to Pandas via Github, mentored by a core
> Pandas contributor, Chang She
> >
> > * Self-paced contribution sprint, where you can help any PyData project
> by improving documentation, code, performance, test cases, or examples,
> with mentorship continously available.
> >
> > It runs from 10 AM to 5:15 PM in Manhattan. Sign up here:
> http://pydata-workshop-sprint.eventbrite.com/ (Space donated by Pivotal
> Labs; thanks!)
> >
> > More info here:
> https://github.com/svaksha/PyData-Workshop-Sprint/wiki/2012-NYC
> >
> > If you want to get in touch with the organizers, email:
> pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
> >
> > </text>
> >
> > New notes on the above text:
> >
> > * I kept the subject line the same; I figure vague and intriguing is OK,
> since many prospective attendees may not know what pandas is, but do know
> what science is.
> >
> > * I narrowed the first paragraph down to be very Pandas-y. I hope I'm
> accurately capturing and conveying what Pandas is. My sense is "yes," after
> spending some time reading their docs.
> >
> > * I mentioned "performance" in the "Self-paced" part because that's a
> part I personally will find exciting, so presumably other people like me
> will find it exciting.
> >
> > * This fixes the bug where we said it was OK to work on non-pandas
> pydata stuff. (-:
> >
> > * It's a little longer than 2 paragraphs, once you add in all the
> bullets.
> >
> > * It still could be a little clearer on the knowledge prerequisites.
> Part of why it's somewhat vague is I don't know the details of Chang's
> lecture. I invited Chang to this list, so if he joins, great; if not, then
> we're flying blind on this part, which troubles me.
> >
> > * I added a "Thank you" to Pivotal for the space.
> >
> > Comments welcome! Again, I haven't sent this out anywhere but our
> private list.
> >
> > -- Asheesh.
> > _______________________________________________
> > pydata-outreach-staff mailing list
> > pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
> > http://lists.openhatch.org/mailman/listinfo/pydata-outreach-staff
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> pydata-outreach-staff mailing list
> pydata-outreach-staff at lists.openhatch.org
> http://lists.openhatch.org/mailman/listinfo/pydata-outreach-staff
>
>
> End of pydata-outreach-staff Digest, Vol 1, Issue 6
> ***************************************************
>
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