Instructor Notes

Overall approach

This module is for complete beginners. Each Python notebook takes 15 to 25 minutes and covers one idea, with an exercise and its solution at the end. In a live session, teach the episode page briefly, then let learners work through the notebooks while helpers circulate.
Suggested timing for a full day: Introduction 30 min; Python Basics (notebooks 2a to 2f) 2.5 hours; Working with Data (3a, 3b) 1 hour; Geospatial Python Basics (4a to 4c) 1.5 hours. Getting Started with QGIS (about 1.75 hours) works well as a separate session.
Ask everyone to Save a copy in Drive before running anything.
The examples use Indiana counties and Lafayette food stores throughout, so the same data reappears in later modules (Data Collection, Case Studies).
The Python notebooks were rewritten for beginners from the Workshop 2026 Session B notebook (intro_python.ipynb), which stays in its own repository unchanged.

The “Which tool?” challenge is a good opener: there is no single right answer for the visual check.

Normalize errors early: run the deliberate SyntaxError and NameError cells in notebook 2a together and read the last line aloud.
The “numbers stored as text” idea (2b) comes back in every Census notebook and in the join notebook (4c).

Point out that describe() averages the FIPS codes (3a). It is a memorable way to show why identifiers should be text.
The log scale in the scatter plot (3b) is often new; show the same chart without it first.

The wrong-CRS demonstration in 4b (Indiana ends up near the equator) makes the difference between set_crs() and to_crs() stick.
In 4c, the failing join is deliberate. Let learners read the error before showing the fix.
58 of the 64 food stores lie inside the city limits; all 17 supermarkets do.

Moved here from the Data Visualization module in October 2026. Data is loaded from this repository’s data/ folder by URL.
The OpenStreetMap basemap needs an internet connection; on a slow network, skip it.
Loading from a web address (Layer > Add Layer > Add Vector Layer > Protocol: HTTP(S)) avoids file downloads and path problems. If a network blocks it, the same GeoJSON files can be downloaded from the repository’s data/ folder and loaded as files.
In QGIS, the OpenStreetMap basemap works normally. (In Colab it does not, which is why the notebooks use an Esri basemap.)
Learners often press OK instead of Apply while comparing classification modes; encourage Apply so the dialog stays open.
Remind learners to rename layers before making a legend.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
`NameError`	A cell was skipped	Runtime > Run before
Colab forgot variables	The session disconnected	Reconnect and run all cells from the top
`HTTPError` or timeout when reading data	Network hiccup	Rerun the cell
A merge fails with “object and int64 columns”	ID types differ	Convert both with `.astype(str).str.zfill(5)`
QGIS layer shows nothing	Off screen, or behind the basemap	Right-click > Zoom to Layer; drag the layer above the basemap