Building and deploying course websites with Python, Quarto, and Mkdocs

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1. Building and Deploying Course Websites with Python, Quarto, and Mkdocs Alish Chhetri and Gregory M. Kapfhammer May 15, 2025 PyCon Education Summit 2025
2. What Problem Are We Solving? Course sites as static archives rather than living resources Students view materials as products to consume rather than projects to contribute to Interactive examples require separate tools or external platforms Content becomes quickly outdated without sustainable update processes Ultimate Goal: Introduce how using packages like Quarto make it possible to create interactive and maintainable course websites PyCon Education Summit 2025
3. Building and Deploying with Quarto Quarto: Accessible markdown-based framework Python & WebAssembly: Easily run Python in the browser GitHub: Version control and collaborative workflows GitHub Actions: Automated testing and deployment Ultimate Goal: Build content-focused, interactive, collaborative course sites that instructors can maintain with minimal effort. Next Steps: Give examples of content you can immediately use! See for more details! Algorithmology.org PyCon Education Summit 2025
4. Interactive Fibonacci Sequence Python Code Start Over Run Code def fibonacci(n): """Calculate the Fibonacci sequence up to n terms.""" fib_sequence = [0, 1] if n <= 0: return [] if n == 1: return [0] # Generate Fibonacci sequence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ⌄ ⌄ ⌄ First 10 Fibonacci numbers: [0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34] Task: Try modifying the code to calculate more terms or implement a different algorithm! PyCon Education Summit 2025
5. Setting Up the Course Infrastructure 1. Create a GitHub repository with Quarto structure 2. Configure navigation, styling, and organization in _quarto.yml 3. Set up GitHub Actions for automated deployment 4. Create templates for student contributions 5. Publish to GitHub Pages or Netlify PyCon Education Summit 2025
6. Course Roles & Contributions Instructor’s Role Student’s Role Create course content structure Establish contribution guidelines Review and provide feedback Guide collaborative learning Maintain core infrastructure Fork repository for contributions Create content in assigned areas Submit pull requests for review Engage in peer feedback Create technical documentation PyCon Education Summit 2025
7. Real World Examples Course Website GitHub Repository PyCon Education Summit 2025
8. Future Improvements Browser-Based IDE Experience: Complete development environment in the browser Enhanced WebAssembly: Better error messages and debugging for Python in browser Collaborative Features: Note taking and shared whiteboarding tools Automated Feedback: AI-powered assistance for student contributions Enhanced Visualizations: Interactive data and algorithm visualizations PyCon Education Summit 2025
9. Why You Should Consider This Approach Educational Benefits Technical Benefits Student Ownership & Investment: Students become stakeholders in course content Living Educational Resources: Materials continuously evolve and improve Industry-Standard Practices: Students gain experience with professional tools Transparent Learning Process: Public materials encourage higher quality work Adaptable for All Class Sizes: Effective from seminars to large lectures Simplified Content Creation: Markdown reduces technical barriers Focus on Educational Value: Infrastructure complexity is abstracted away Browser-Based Interactivity: Code execution without local installations Comprehensive Searchability: Find content across all course materials Collaborative Development: Modern version control and workflows PyCon Education Summit 2025