What is python?
Quick answer
Python is a general-purpose programming language with readable syntax and the largest ecosystem of data science and AI libraries, which makes it the standard first text language in schools.
Students meet Python around Grade 6 and use it through robotics, data projects and machine learning units.
In context
Its readability lowers the cost of the first year of learning, and its libraries mean students can do genuinely interesting work early.
It is also what they will meet at university and at work, so the skill has a long shelf life.
In a NASCA classroom
Students meet Python around Grade 6 and use it through robotics, data projects and machine learning units.
Related terms
Coding
Coding is writing instructions a computer can execute, typically starting with block-based tools in primary school and moving to text languages such as Python by middle school.
Machine learning
Machine learning is the part of AI where a model improves at a task by being shown labelled examples, rather than by being programmed with explicit rules.
App development
App development is building software people can actually use, covering interface design, logic, data storage and the testing that happens before anyone else touches it.