This is our sharing page for our Raspberry Pi EdTech Playground at the 2018 Christa McAuliffe Conference. Welcome!
YOU and YOUR SCHOOL (yes, even YOUR school) can actually afford classroom computers! $35, a USB keyboard and mouse, and an HDMI or DVI monitor (perhaps there are some of these laying around?) will get you the power of a real computer, but for only $35. Your students will be able to test their math abilites with fun games, refine their typing skills, learn the state capitals, edit images and yes, learn to code, of course. Note that UNH does NOT endorse any vendors - you can source Pis from a variety of different vendors. What is a Pi and what software can you use? Norm Messa's nice handout for the new RPi 3B+.
Then check out Norm's excellent guide to first steps with the Raspberry Pi. The RPi people have a nice video if you need help in formatting your SD card. If you buy them with the Pi, they usually come pre-formatted, so shouldn't need to do this step. However, if you're using a brand new SD card that you bought separately, you'll need to do this.
Description of several open source, Linux-based apps to install on your Pi with the code you'll need to install them. If you stopped by our booth at CMTC, hopefully you received a color copy! These are great apps to exploit the use of your Raspberry Pi as a classroom computer.
If you're like me, you like paper books to go along with your technology. My current favorite's focus is more on the making side of things, while my old standby is an introduction to coding itself as well as an introduction to making.
One of the BEST sources of information, help, ideas, lesson plans, etc. is the Raspberry Pi Education Foundation's site. I recommend subscribing to their newsletter. Need ideas for projects from elementary to HS and beyond?
What have you done? I'd love some projects to share! Send pictures (if they have students in them, I'll need a signed release), lesson plans, quick descriptions, etc. and we'll post them here!
Enjoy your Pi!
