Python is a text-based computer programming language available on a wide variety of computing platforms. To design, develop, and test Python code in the classroom, there are typically two major ways to access a Python integrated development environment (IDE):
Device-installed — Use Python installed (either with the operating system or by administrators), including numpy, pandas, matplotlib, and seaborn, and an installed IDE. A recommended IDE is Visual Studio Code — though there are several available (PyCharm, Wing, Eclipse, IDLE). Python, its libraries, and the IDEs are available without cost. For the 2023-2024 academic year, MacOS 14.3 and Windows11 23H2 have Python 3.9 installed by default.
Browser-based — Use Python running entirely in a browser tab, which is a preferred method of using Python and its libraries on a Chromebook. A recommended browser-based environment is Google Colaboratory Jupyter Notebooks — though there are several available (Github Classroom, Trinket, OnlineGDB). Google Colab Notebooks are available without cost (though the Google for Education administrator may need to enable that capability). For the 2023-2024 academic year, Google Colaboratory Jupyter Notebooks use Python 3.10.
Either of these solutions will enable student design, development, and testing Python data-science code in the classroom (including for assessments). It will depend on the information-technology infrastructure available in the school district.
When installing or using Python for the 2023-2024 academic year, it is recommended to use Python 3.6 as the minimum version. Though none of the features of the most recent Python versions are required for data-science, it is important that students use largely up-to-date systems. The main feature enhancements of Python versions from 3.6 are:
(Though much code found on-line is written in Python 2, it has been sunsetted since 2020/01/01.)