Mastodawn

Part 6 of my "let's make a client-side Python teaching tool" series.

https://headtilt.me/cat-herding-wasm-python-06/

This week I added a record-replay feature (short vid in the post) where after a successful run, students can walk back through their program's execution. The UI needs to be a bit more obvious, but it's working nicely (so far!).

WASM Python - Cat Herding 06 | Headtilt

Pre(r)amble This is part of a(n aspirationally) series of posts documenting some of the process of (building|cat herding an AI agent to build) an easily hosted Python teaching tool built with just front-end JS and a WASM port of MicroPython. You can find Part 1 here You can find Part 2 here You can find Part 3 here You can find Part 4 here You can find Part 5 here This is Part 6! I have a (somewhat) up to date version of this tool running on the site. Things might occasionally be broken, things might not work the same way as they did before.

Rob has moved.Sep 23

warkolm Sep 23

this is glorious and I encourage everyone to start rolling your own license and maybe ignoring pure #opensource ones

https://aria.dog/barks/forklift-certified-license/

via @daedalus

Introducing the Forklift Certified License—Aria’s Barks

It's not following the OSI definition of open-source because i don't give a damn how capital defines its needs.

Rob has moved.Sep 23

Opened up the repo for my little side project from the last few weeks: Clipy (pronounce or capitalise it however you want).

It’s a 100% client-side app for presenting (micro)Python problems to students requiring just a static web host. Problem authors can define feedback rules and create unit tests and students can do them, loaded up from a CORS-friendly host (like raw Github content).

https://github.com/zarify/clipy

Still a WIP, but I think it’s pretty neat so far.

GitHub - zarify/clipy: Experimenting with client side python problems with wasm micropython

Experimenting with client side python problems with wasm micropython - zarify/clipy

GitHub

Rob has moved.Sep 21

clarebee Sep 19, 2025

From the country that brought you Boaty McBoatface comes Network Rail's leaf-removal train:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/19/train-named-ctrl-alt-deleaf-leaves-uk-tracks-network-rail

Rob has moved.Sep 21

Little bit of an update on my WASM Python teaching thingy (good name eh?!).

https://headtilt.me/cat-herding-wasm-python-05/

Bit of a mix of improvements to authoring (can load problem sets, define feedback rules that depend on other feedback rules) and student experience (persistent success indicators for passed test suites, nicer feedback presentation, added markdown admonitions).

Link to it in the post if you want to have a play. Meant to finish some docs this week but it got busy.

WASM Python - Cat Herding 05 | Headtilt

Pre(r)amble This is part of a(n aspirationally) series of posts documenting some of the process of (building|cat herding an AI agent to build) an easily hosted Python teaching tool built with just front-end JS and a WASM port of MicroPython. You can find Part 1 here You can find Part 2 here You can find Part 3 here You can find Part 4 here This is Part 5! I have a (somewhat) up to date version of this tool running on the site. Things might occasionally be broken, things might not work the same way as they did before.

Rob has moved.Sep 13, 2025

Linda McIver Sep 12, 2025

love you, #PyconAU!
(see? easy done! take note!)

Rob has moved.Sep 12, 2025

✏️ I wrote a thing. Week 4 of my adventures building a teaching tool with an LLM agent.

https://headtilt.me/cat-herding-wasm-python-04/

I have a link to the app itself in this post, since I'd shared it with a few people beforehand and just not told anyone.

This week was about teacher feedback through hashed test suites, and files in testing and userspace, as well as some introspection about using Micropython in the project.

WASM Python - Cat Herding 04 | Headtilt

Pre(r)amble This is part of a(n aspirationally) series of posts documenting some of the process of (building|cat herding an AI agent to build) an easily hosted Python teaching tool built with just front-end JS and a WASM port of MicroPython. You can find Part 1 here You can find Part 2 here You can find Part 3 here This is Part 4! NEW: I’ve been keeping a reasonably up-to-date version of the app here on the website, but hadn’t really publicised that it was there. I still don’t have any docs written for it, so authoring might be a bit of an adventure for anyone playing with it. I’m hoping to have some of that coming in a week or two since I’m starting to focus on it being a usable thing now rather than just an interesting side project.

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Rob has moved.Sep 7, 2025

@lindamciver SUCH a good one!

The bit about understanding of probability was so true. I was running away on the treddy listening this morning and it was “oh there’s every conversation I hear from people about AI plagiarism detection!”

Rob has moved.Sep 7, 2025

Linda McIver Sep 2, 2025

A spectacularly fabulous conversation with Dr Emily Kahl from Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre.

"I wanted to use the tools of maths and science and the life of the mind and thinking about things rigorously to make things better for people and to help people out.”

https://adsei.org/podcast/dr-emily-kahl-on-pretty-much-everything/

#STEM #DataScience #HPC #AI

Dr Emily Kahl on pretty much everything!

Amazing conversation with Dr Emily Kahl from Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, on everything from the need for a humanities education in STEM, the application of Marxist and Feminist Lenses to…

ADSEI - Teaching Kids to Change the World

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Rob has moved.Sep 7, 2025

@zaicurity @hacks4pancakes 100% - I’ve found scorpions in my shoes before, but never in my thongs!

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