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Posted on 28 Jan 2022

PYTHON WORKSHOPS, FOCUSING ON TEACHING PYTHON TO GIRLS AND TEACHERS

Thanks to a generous grant from the Python Software Foundation, Spoonbill Nest Innovation Center presented 3 Python Workshops this January, focusing on teaching Python to Girls and Teachers.  On January 15th, we presented in two 2-hour sessions for girls, and on January 22nd, we held one 2-hour session for teachers.

These workshops were presented to help address the low number of girls engaging in digital careers in Albania, compared to other parts of the world.  Local ICT Programs also report low female enrollment, which cuts girls off too soon from valuable employment opportunities in a growing economic sector.

On both Saturdays, participants were introduced to the benefits of the Python language and learned some basic code. Teachers were also given tips on how to explain and teach Python to their students.  The sessions in the computer lab room of “Salih Çeka” Professional School, a local VET high school. A total of 32 girls, age 13-15, and 10 educators were introduced to Python through these workshops, and the Teacher session was predominately women.

The courses were taught by Andi Toçi, who has a master’s degree in ICT and teaches Java at Aleksander Xhuvani University. Mr. Toçi also works as a senior software developer for Elite Travel Group, and for their Elite Academy, where he trains and mentors young ICT students and interns.

Many of the girls who participated in the workshops were very attentive and eager to learn. They were actively participating and asking questions. Feedback from the teacher workshop indicated they would have liked a longer session with even more Python coding knowledge, as they sometimes struggle to keep up with their students and have few opportunities to brush up on their coding skills. For this reason, Spoonbill Nest Innovation Center is looking to offer additional and more advanced Python classes this Spring.

We’d like to thank the Python Software Foundation, as well as our partners, Elite Academy.  We’d also like to thank “Salih Çeka” Professional School, for letting us use their campus and the ZVA of Elbasan for getting the word out to students and teachers about this opportunity.

Quotes/Feedback from the workshops:

“My name is Salvina Pëllumbi. I work as a teacher in the 9-year school "Naim Frasheri" in Elbasan. The training was very good and gave the trainers maximum appreciation.”
Salvina PëllumbiTeacher
“The python experience was a wonderful and memorable experience. Everything was very fine, and communication and understanding as well!”
Ester S.Student
“Regarding the training, I am very satisfied. It was very appealing, interesting, so much so that it made me ask for more about the programming. I would love to have other sessions to progress.”
Enisa M.Student
“The Python training on Saturday was very good for me and it helped me a lot to be more informed about programming languages, especially Python.”
Ornela CviloTeacher
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