Home> Blog> Macquarie Went Well

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Last week's bootcamp at Macquarie University went well: I fumbled the introduction to Python on Friday morning (which I haven't done in a long time), but with a bit of help from Eli Bressert and great crew of helpers, we got the afternoon back on track. Here's the usual good vs. bad feedback:

GoodBad
  • Understanding the syntax of Python
  • The stories
  • The flow of material
  • Cygwin
  • Linking programming to thinking
  • Understanding size of manageable tasks
  • Version control
  • Sticky notes
  • Embedding provenance in files
  • Database concepts
  • Learning good work habits
  • Coding with loops
  • Free!
  • Let people make mistakes and then correcting
  • Interactive nature of the learning experience
  • I got to show my work to real human beings!
  • Installation
  • The stories
  • Python introduction (Greg screwed up)
  • Some programs don't work on some people's computers
  • Air conditioning
  • Struggling to switch between languages
  • Bit more practice with coding
  • Python in Cygwin sucks
  • "You should only work eight hours a day" — yeah, right
  • Not enough on databases
  • Couldn't see the screen
  • Discovering R isn't as good as I thought it was
  • Not having enough examples