Resources
A literary slice of Raspberry Pi T
he Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC, which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. The manufacturers want to see it being used by students all over the world to learn computer programming and they might just get their wish. Google recently announced its intention to purchase 15,000 Raspberry Pi’s for schools throughout the UK and to assist with the study of these tiny devices, Haynes has published a Raspberry Pi cookbook: ‘Raspberry Pi Manual: A practical guide to the revolutionary small computer’ by Gray Girling, is designed to be the perfect introduction to the programming unit. Education Today takes a look at the manual and finds out if it really is as nice as pie…
What does the publisher say? “In the foreward, Raspberry Pi founders Eben and Liz Upton explain that ‘given a small amount of the right knowledge, you can build anything,’ and this book is full of the stuff, providing a collection of ingredients that will help to remove the barriers between any motivated person and his or her desire to tinker with a Raspberry Pi in as many ways as possible.”
That Raspberry Pi founders, the Upton’s, have provided the forward demonstrates their support for the guide, and that’s not something to be sniffed at.
Any downsides?
Whilst the manual is aimed at those switching to the device for the first time, our reviewer felt that a reader might benefit from a little background knowledge before starting to ‘cook’. A complete programming novice may struggle to grasp some of the concepts, although it is written in plain English and technical terms are explained. Our reviewer suggests the book is best suited to students aged 14 and up, so if you’re thinking of buying this for the classroom, you might want to bear that in mind.
What’s the book really like? Education Today gave its copy to a programming enthusiast to get a true user’s opinion. The response was a sweet ‘thumbs up’. The book is hugely informative, giving a good overview of how to connect with a Raspberry Pi and the various uses it can be put to. The guide serves as a great introduction to programming in Python and C languages and also provides interesting background information on the history of computing.
Should I buy it?
This cook book isn’t just for students, it’s for teacher’s too, with just enough information to get you started on the road to computer programming. It includes ‘recipes’ (aka projects) such as programming the game of snake and making Yoda provide Twitter alerts, as well as creating an MP3 server or home media centre. With great emphasis being placed on the teaching of programming skills in schools, this is one resource you don’t want to miss.
u‘Raspberry Pi Manual: A practical guide to the revolutionary small computer’ by Gray Girling is available from publishers, Haynes, priced £17.99. Visit
www.haynes.co.uk for more information.
Enlivening the primary curriculum through song
Twenty best practice videos designed to help primary teachers enliven the curriculum through song and on-demand training services, form part of Sing Up’s recently improved membership package. Sing Up, providers of complete singing solutions to enhance learning in the classroom, is placing a renewed focus on support for singing as an integrated element of learning and teaching across the curriculum, with a particular emphasis on maintaining high quality standards.
Also featured in the resource package are some inspirational classroom teachers, sharing their best practice and experiences of what can be achieved using Sing Up.
These latest enhancements to the membership package give staff far greater control over their own personal career development. As well as being able to choose when and where to train, teachers can avoid the hassle and expense of organising cover during lesson time. The not-for-profit music education organization is offering a special spring discount on its regular membership prices. For a small school Sing Up costs £95 (normally £135) for a medium-sized school £150 (£195) and for a large school £195 (£245).
uFull details are available at
www.singup.org/discount 24
www.education-today.co.uk March 2013
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