Computing & ICT
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Computing & ICT Blog
Students Light Up with Raspberry Pi
Year 10 bright sparks from Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy (OSSMA) had a great day learning how to connect up a Raspberry Pi computer and write code in Python to control physical objects. The students were challenged to write the code in order to simulate a traffic light sequence and then develop this into a pelican crossing. The group were also taken on a tour of the College’s state of the art facilities and enjoyed lunch in the College’s Food Hall. Mr Smart, Head of Curriculum and Timetabling at OSSMA, said ‘It was great having a ’hands on’ day. The taster was well delivered in terms of content and the level pitched at!’
Callum Lawton, OSSMA Year 10, said ‘I never knew about Raspberry Pi but it was great fun setting it up.’ The pupils all rated the session ‘good’ or ‘very good’ on their feedback forms!
If you are a pupil or teacher and would like a group from your school to attend a taster at Newcastle-under-Lyme College please contact School Liaison on 01782 245347 or email schools@nulc.ac.uk.
If you would like to learn more about Raspberry Pi NULC is hosting its third event at the College on Monday 12th May. To find out more visit http://northstaffsrjam1.eventbrite.co.uk.
First Raspberry Jam a huge success
The evening started with a talk from Carl Plant from BitJam all about the 'Internet of Things' including some uses of Raspberry Pi in in-house health care. Jonathan Westlake from Staffordshire University followed this up with a useful talk on his progress in running outreach sessions in schools introducing Raspberry Pi and also discussed some of the resources he has used such as the Raspberry Pi Emulator. James Wade wrapped up the talks by discussing the Potteries Hackspace including some of the cool projects being done there such as Raspberry Pi powered arcade machines.
Two introductory sessions ran this evening, which gave attendees the opportunity to set up a Raspberry Pi and learn some basic programming.
Paul Simmons, Curriculum Leader for Level 1 and 2 Vocational Computing at NULC organised the event. He said: "I got the impression that everyone learned some good programming skills and had fun taking their first steps into Raspberry Pi."
He added: "The event was such a success, we're now in the process of planning another event in 2014."
There was a lot of interest in the demos especially the Quake 3 demo and the arcade machine but there was also a large crowd round Jonathan Westlake’s demo all evening as he answered questions and showed off some physical computing.
To find out more about studying Computing at NULC contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk.
Raspberry Jam Event
Raspberry Jam's are events set up to allow people of all ages and abilities to come together and share knowledge and ideas related to the use of the new mini-computer, the Raspberry Pi.
What’s a Raspberry Pi?
The 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.
Who can attend the NULC Raspberry Jam?
There are sessions for beginners as well as opportunities to share projects and ideas related to computing using the Raspberry Pi mini-computer. As with all the other Raspberry Jam events, we welcome people of all ages, backgrounds and experience; mums and sons, dads and daughters, teachers, developers and enthusiasts. Of course, we particularly want children to attend, so this will be a ‘family-friendly’ event.
What will I learn at the NULC Raspberry Jam?
Attending a Raspberry Jam allows you the opportunity to learn more about the Raspberry Pi mini-computer as well as share ideas and projects you have been working on. In essence, it is all about learning new skills and sharing your enthusiasm and ideas with others.
The skills and knowledge which can be gained through coming together to discuss Raspberry Pi can be used to help change your career, gain a better understanding of programming or help your children or friends/family to learn new computing skills.
You don’t need to have a Raspberry Pi to attend, just an interest in what you can do with it. Some people bring the Raspberry Pi and any projects along to show others, some come along to discover more about the Raspberry Pi computer.
The NULC Raspberry Jam will take place on Thursday 7 November 2013, from 6.00pm -9.00pm. For more information or to book your place click here.
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