Wow, so following my participation in the 8th cohort of Picademy, I am now a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator! During this two day course I learnt a lot and have come away with my mind full of amazing ideas for implementing the Raspberry pi into our new curriculum.
The two day Picademy course involved us participating in various workshops and finding out about the various ways the Raspberry Pi can be utilised.
Day 1 - Workshops
Physical Computing
Involved us learning about using GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi. I used Scratch GPIO 7 to program the Raspberry Pi to make an LED light, light up. This helped me understand how the Raspberry Pi physically works and how to use the GPIO pins to control hardware. Ben Nuttall showed us how to create a program which takes selfies / time lapse projects using python and the Raspberry Pi Camera.
Sonic Pi
Involved learning how to use the Sonic Pi software to create music. I learnt how to put forward the idea of 'coding' to the kids in my class through music - an analogy which makes so much sense! Sonic Pi uses ruby to code to create music. Sam Aaron who developed the software has videos on Youtube of him using the software which are really inspiring! I can't wait to use this in my class!
Pibrella
We used the Pibrella to control more USB's, buzzers and buttons. Making the lights flash, pulse, etc. We also were able to program a spinning wheel which looked amazing with a flower on the end to add that girly chic to electronics!.
Minecraft
During this part of the course I learnt how to hack Minecraft using Python and scratch. I can now navigate around Minecraft and use python to add a block above 'Steve's' head, to make a rainbow bridge which follows Steve's movements around Minecraft and lots of other exciting hacks. I'm really looking forward to trying this in the classroom, in particular because the children in my class are obsessed with Minecraft so I'd love to inspire them with this. Martin O'Hanlon who led this part of the course has a book 'Adventures of Minecraft' which has 9 projects in for the kids to get involved with which look really great! Definitely a book to purchase on pay day for school.
Day 2 - Projects
The second day involved listening to some inspirational talks by Sam Aaron (Sonic Pi), James Robinson (Pi in the sky) and David Honess (Astro Pi) about the Raspberry Pi and it's capabilities.
Following these talks we were sent off to use all of the learning from day one to create our own Raspberry Pi projects. I've got to admit I didn't know where to start! I'd have loved to have created a robotics project as I am a very kinaesthetic learner myself and love to be hands on. I was also interested in Sonic Pi as I definitely see a place for this in my classroom. Although after some deliberation I thought of what would interest the children in my class and decided to look into hacking Minecraft using Scratch software (as this is what we have available in school at the moment). This turned out to be a lot more challenging than I first thought.
When people tell you that computational thinking is alot like problem solving - breaking things down step by step - they are not lieing! It took me all day to create 2 tiny blocks of code which created 2 seconds worth of Minecraft activity. The step by step process and the frustrating programming cycle (Plan > Create > Test > Debug) for each part of the code is not seen by the consumer, and this part takes a lot longer to create and then condense. To start with I joined forces with another guy on the course and we came up with this elaborate plan of using a temperature sensor which sends a signal to Minecraft which changes the scene which Steve is stood in according to the temperature - Hot = Sunny and sandy, Cold = Wet and snowy. This idea was diluted down to a code which involved me pressing a button to create an explosion in Minecraft (getting the robotics in there). This idea was also diluted down to more of a 'Poo in the sky' which appears and then disappears when you press a certain button. However embarrassing this project was in comparison with some of the amazing projects others had been working on, I can honestly say I learnt so much from it and have so many ideas developed from the trials and tribulations I encountered. Some of the ideas of others which really impressed me were...
Mood dictionary - Input moods / emotions into a program and the code associates certain words with certain sounds.
Minecraft keyboard - Using Sonic Pi and the various terrains in Minecraft a keyboard was made and as Steve stands on the different terrains the music in the background changes.
Magni Pi - Using Astro Pi, the idea is that the Astro Pi detects any tremors in the ground and warns people in case of earthquakes or volcanic activity.
Babbage quotes - Press Babbage's belly and a screen shows an inspirational quote.
Robotic vehicle - A robotic vehicle was made and was directed around using a program made through python and scratch which could be accessed through a mobile phone.
What's next?
So what do I do with this knowledge now?
I'm currently in the process of renewing the computing curriculum throughout school and so I will be inputting many of the projects I have encountered into this new curriculum in KS2 and KS1 too!
I'm also planning on starting 'Digital Leaders' in September and I can't wait to get them involved in all of the different projects!
Picademy was amazing CPD and I strongly recommend you apply to be apart of it if you can! There are Picademies happening in Leeds every month for the next 6 months so get involved if you can!
The two day Picademy course involved us participating in various workshops and finding out about the various ways the Raspberry Pi can be utilised.
Day 1 - Workshops
Physical Computing
Involved us learning about using GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi. I used Scratch GPIO 7 to program the Raspberry Pi to make an LED light, light up. This helped me understand how the Raspberry Pi physically works and how to use the GPIO pins to control hardware. Ben Nuttall showed us how to create a program which takes selfies / time lapse projects using python and the Raspberry Pi Camera.
Sonic Pi
Involved learning how to use the Sonic Pi software to create music. I learnt how to put forward the idea of 'coding' to the kids in my class through music - an analogy which makes so much sense! Sonic Pi uses ruby to code to create music. Sam Aaron who developed the software has videos on Youtube of him using the software which are really inspiring! I can't wait to use this in my class!
Pibrella
We used the Pibrella to control more USB's, buzzers and buttons. Making the lights flash, pulse, etc. We also were able to program a spinning wheel which looked amazing with a flower on the end to add that girly chic to electronics!.
Minecraft
During this part of the course I learnt how to hack Minecraft using Python and scratch. I can now navigate around Minecraft and use python to add a block above 'Steve's' head, to make a rainbow bridge which follows Steve's movements around Minecraft and lots of other exciting hacks. I'm really looking forward to trying this in the classroom, in particular because the children in my class are obsessed with Minecraft so I'd love to inspire them with this. Martin O'Hanlon who led this part of the course has a book 'Adventures of Minecraft' which has 9 projects in for the kids to get involved with which look really great! Definitely a book to purchase on pay day for school.
Day 2 - Projects
The second day involved listening to some inspirational talks by Sam Aaron (Sonic Pi), James Robinson (Pi in the sky) and David Honess (Astro Pi) about the Raspberry Pi and it's capabilities.
Following these talks we were sent off to use all of the learning from day one to create our own Raspberry Pi projects. I've got to admit I didn't know where to start! I'd have loved to have created a robotics project as I am a very kinaesthetic learner myself and love to be hands on. I was also interested in Sonic Pi as I definitely see a place for this in my classroom. Although after some deliberation I thought of what would interest the children in my class and decided to look into hacking Minecraft using Scratch software (as this is what we have available in school at the moment). This turned out to be a lot more challenging than I first thought.
When people tell you that computational thinking is alot like problem solving - breaking things down step by step - they are not lieing! It took me all day to create 2 tiny blocks of code which created 2 seconds worth of Minecraft activity. The step by step process and the frustrating programming cycle (Plan > Create > Test > Debug) for each part of the code is not seen by the consumer, and this part takes a lot longer to create and then condense. To start with I joined forces with another guy on the course and we came up with this elaborate plan of using a temperature sensor which sends a signal to Minecraft which changes the scene which Steve is stood in according to the temperature - Hot = Sunny and sandy, Cold = Wet and snowy. This idea was diluted down to a code which involved me pressing a button to create an explosion in Minecraft (getting the robotics in there). This idea was also diluted down to more of a 'Poo in the sky' which appears and then disappears when you press a certain button. However embarrassing this project was in comparison with some of the amazing projects others had been working on, I can honestly say I learnt so much from it and have so many ideas developed from the trials and tribulations I encountered. Some of the ideas of others which really impressed me were...
Mood dictionary - Input moods / emotions into a program and the code associates certain words with certain sounds.
Minecraft keyboard - Using Sonic Pi and the various terrains in Minecraft a keyboard was made and as Steve stands on the different terrains the music in the background changes.
Magni Pi - Using Astro Pi, the idea is that the Astro Pi detects any tremors in the ground and warns people in case of earthquakes or volcanic activity.
Babbage quotes - Press Babbage's belly and a screen shows an inspirational quote.
Robotic vehicle - A robotic vehicle was made and was directed around using a program made through python and scratch which could be accessed through a mobile phone.
What's next?
So what do I do with this knowledge now?
I'm currently in the process of renewing the computing curriculum throughout school and so I will be inputting many of the projects I have encountered into this new curriculum in KS2 and KS1 too!
I'm also planning on starting 'Digital Leaders' in September and I can't wait to get them involved in all of the different projects!
Picademy was amazing CPD and I strongly recommend you apply to be apart of it if you can! There are Picademies happening in Leeds every month for the next 6 months so get involved if you can!