Host, run, and code Python in the cloud: PythonAnywhere (original) (raw)
Python is a great language for teaching, but getting it installed and set up on all your students' computers can be less than easy. PythonAnywhere provides an environment that's ready to go — including a syntax-highlighting, error-checking editor, Python 2 and 3 consoles, and a full set of batteries included. Avoid all the hassles of getting Python installed on everyone's laptop, and making sure everyone can pip install all the right packages.
Distributing assignments and monitoring progress is easy
Once a student has nominated you as their teacher, you can see their files and Python consoles, so you can help them more easily. You can copy files into their accounts so that you can give them a starting point for their assignments, and you can see their solutions.
We can even create student accounts in bulk for you, and pre-populate them with files that you provide —just let us know!
All your students have the same environment
The same operating system, the same console, the same text editor — save yourself from having to customise your lessons and instructions for Windows/Mac/Linux, and from having to debug issues in different shells and editors.
...and they can work together
Your students can choose to share their consoles with each other, too — so they can work on group projects remotely, or help each other in-class.
I teach large worldwide online courses that cover Python, Django, and PostgreSQL ... By using PythonAnywhere beginner accounts in those courses there is nothing to install and everything works in a browser. PythonAnywhere is a great resource that lets me teach these these courses to over 100,000 students around the world for free.
Chuck Severance
25 October 2020
I would like to sincerely thank you for your service. I am a university professor in Pakistan and we are unable to host servers for our research. We have been using PA for hosting our programs in the field of biomedical informatics and data science. It has significantly improved our quality of research with a very limited budget.
Fayyaz
13 May 2019
Thank you for the wonderful platform! Our students really enjoyed working on the platform this semester.
Vasundhara
19 December 2018
PythonAnywhere education help pages »
Start work at work or at school, and continue at home
Because PythonAnywhere is web-based, it can follow you around on any computer (or iPad, or Chromebook) with a browser, so you or your students can work from wherever you like.
What does it cost?
It's free! Our basic accounts are free, and we only charge for more advanced services (like professional web app hosting, or big number-crunching requirements), none of which are needed for basic "intro to programming" type courses. If you need larger amounts of processing power, thenget in touch — you can also get an idea of our prices on the pricing page.
Limitations
Our education support is evolving rapidly, and there are a few limitations right now; check outthis help page for the current list.