Raspberry Pi / Computer Club
What is the Raspberry Pi?
The Raspberry Pi is credit-card sized computer that costs $35. They are manufactured in the UK. The purpose of the Pi is to encourage students to get involved in the creation of digital content, rather than just be the consumers of such. It is also a simple and fun way to learn about computer hardware and software.
The Pi runs much like any other computer; it can surf the internet, run office software (like word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, etc) and play simple games. More importantly, the Pi can be used to create many different projects. For example, students could program the Pi to be a media server, to take pictures from a webcam and broadcast them online, to run Minecraft or to learn computer programming language such as Python.
Out of the box, the Raspberry Pi is just a simple computer circuit board with inputs for HDMI, SD Card, power input, RCA input, audio input, Ethernet and two USB ports. Using the Raspberry Pi is truly a hands-on device that encourages users to problem solve, be creative and learn about Computer Science. It does not even come with an operating system! It is up to the user to provide the necessary peripherals as well as decide which operating system (free) they would like to install and run.
How much money is required?
It would be ideal to start with a purchase between 15-20 Raspberry Pis.
In addition to the actual Pi itself, other equipment is needed. Much of this could be collected by repurposing old computer equipment around school and from home.
Items required are the following (bolded items are considered essential):
- USB Keyboard
- USB Mouse
- SD Card (4 gig or higher)
- Micro-USB charger (similar to that which charges an Android or Blackberry)
- Monitor, LCD, any size with DVI or HDMI ports
- USB Hub (one that plugs into a wall)
- Webcam
- Router
- Ethernet Cable
- Powerbar with on/off switch
The plan would be to order the Raspberry Pis from a distributor (likely in the US), and purchase additional supplies from Canada Computers (Waterloo).
What will the program look like?
A group of up to 20 junior/intermediate students (working in pairs) could be invited to participate in the Raspberry Pi / Coding Club.
They would be provided access to the Raspberry Pis as well as enough information required to get started with the basics of the Raspberry Pi, the operating system, care of the device and the various programs that can created or installed. Using an inquiry model, students would learn about the world of computer science--both hardware and software. Students would be able to follow project plans freely available online, watch tutorial videos from YouTube, work with other students in the club and receive additional support from the supervising teacher.
The group could meet during lunch/recess times as well as scheduled after-school meetings.
Examples of activities could include:
- learn to program in Scratch or Python,
- run, install and ‘hack’ Minecraft for Pi
- run and install office software
- create programming for robotic control
- create a working media centre
- create a retro gaming system
The project will be documented by keeping a blog and Twitter account of weekly activities, projects, images and video of working programs. Other educators, students and parents could follow us and learn more about the project (and hopefully get involved!).
Connections to the Ontario curriculum (Math, Language, etc) would be encouraged whenever possible.
