2025-09-12 –, Ballroom 3
Frustrated at the inevitable paralysis of "which GUI library will my students hate the least", excited about the possibilities of a new toy in Streamlit and drunk on the power of having recently learned about Github Codespaces, our intrepid educator ventured out on a journey of discovery and (mis)adventure. Would interactive data dashboards be the key to unlocking engagement? Would students ever learn to commit their work? Would the tiniest little technical snag derail entire lessons?
Streamlit is a rapid development environment designed primarily for data scientists to build quick, interactive web apps to showcase their wares. It is great at getting applications online with relatively little fuss - an approach that makes it a fun candidate for building students' coding skills in an environment that provides some quick reward for effort.
I gave this a go with a group of Year 10 students in a digital technology elective with a group with wildly varying engagement and Python skills and think I learned enough for it to be worth sharing the results. Since trying this in 2024 with Year 10 I have used the same tool for a Year 12 VCE Data Analytics class with additional insights I'd love to share with you.
This presentation will discuss Streamlit and some benefits that might make it work well for the secondary classroom environment; some of the pedagogical and technical obstacles that popped up (and you might be able to avoid) as well as some broader discussion on just trying things out in the classroom. I'll also cover the use of Github Classroom and Codespaces as a way of getting Streamlit running for students.
Geoff is a passionate public school teacher who enjoys coding for work and pleasure. He currently works as the Head of Middle Years, STEM and Data leading teacher and he spends the rest of his energy as the father of three girls.