Using Raspberry Pi in Classrooms
Lovell Quiroz
I used some of Freire’s reflections on dialogics to lay my philosophical foundation:
Human existence cannot be silent, nor can it be nourished by false words, but only by true words, with which men and women transform the world. To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn appears to the namers as a problem and requires of them a new naming. Human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection. (Freire, 2000, p.86).
My conclusion is that coding can be used as language tool to give voice to students ideas and world views.
Robinson (2017) recommends that we should develop our “imagination, creativity and innovation” in order to face the challenges of our generation. Our educational practices must renew themselves constantly in order to keep our civilization relevant and prevent its disappearance.
Modern children’s lives have changed on a number of measures, often for the better. They have an array of digital tools to creatively express themselves… Education must evolve with our societies, anticipating change rather than simply reacting to problems. (Burns, T. and F. Gottschalk (eds.) (2019)
What is my role as an educator is this challenging, ever-changing society? How can I accompany children in this process? I want to walk with them in this digital journey by providing tools that are accessible and affordable. My Raspberry Pi project seeks to provide that support.
Collins et al., (1991) highlight that coaching helps to connect the most important elements of the learning process. When we coach, we are responsible for carefully choosing the tasks that we want our students to perform, scaffolding and evaluating in order to properly diagnose the problems that they encounter in the process.
As a teacher in the 21st century, I face a lot of challenges. I have to deal with educational practices that fail to place the learner in control of her education (OECD, 2015). I have seen how my students have suffered from a lack of engagement, especially in science and social studies classes because it is not relevant to them.
One of the most important takeaways from this publication is the fact that learning must be contextualized and placed properly or “situated” (OECD, 2013). What is more, learning needs to be relevant beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Sometimes I wonder if my children are applying what I teach them in their real lives.
Reflecting on my own teaching practice, I hardly think about how much my own experiences interfere with my teaching (Martinez & Stager, 2019). Sometimes I am afraid of losing control of the projects. What if the children take the activities to a level that will be hard to manage for all of us. Will I be able to provide answers to all of their questions? I also must admit that my fears and insecurities have made me relegate the learner to a passive role.
Am I giving my children the opportunities and skills that they to excel ( Winthrop & McGivney, 2018)? I am starting to incorporate my reflection into my practice in order to become a more reflective practitioner. I want my reflections to talk back to me. I wonder if I am providing the skillset that my children need to tackle the challenges of their generation?
What is the Raspberry Pi? The Raspberry Pi, sometimes referred to as the Pi, is a small, low-cost computer invented in the U.K. by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It provides an easy-to-use tool to help us learn to code in Python (the Pi part of its name came from the focus on using it to code in Python). About the size of a deck of cards, it isn’t as powerful as a laptop or desktop computer; its computing power is more similar to that of a smartphone. But what it lacks in processing power, it makes up for in its many features: ❂ Its readiness for programming in Python ❂ The many ways you can use it ❂ Its small size and cost The Pi, with its companion memory card, is preloaded with all the software you need to jump into programming in Python. Type in commands, and see what happens. Enter a program found on the Internet or in a magazine, run it, and see how it works. The Pi is made for us to learn to code by playing with it, using it, and interacting with it.
The Raspberry Pi is capable of doing all the things one would expect from a computer – everything from browsing the Internet and playing games, to watching movies and listening to music. But the Raspberry Pi is much more than a modern computer. With a Raspberry Pi we can get into the heart of a computer. We get to set up our own operating system, and can connect wires and circuits directly to the pins on its board. It was designed to teach young people how to program in languages like Scratch and Python, and all the major programming languages are included with the official operating system. The world needs programmers more than ever, and the Raspberry Pi has ignited a love of computer science and technology in a new generation. People of all ages use the Raspberry Pi to create exciting projects: everything from retro games consoles to internet connected weather stations.
The Raspberry Pi is perhaps the most inspiring computer available today. Although most of the computing devices being used (including phones, tablets, and game consoles) are designed to stop people from tinkering with them, the Raspberry Pi is exactly the opposite. From the moment we see its shiny green circuit board, it invites us to prod it, play with it, and create with it. It comes with the tools we need to start creating our own software (or programming), and we can connect our own electronic inventions to it. It’s cheap enough that if we break it, it won’t break the bank, so we can experiment with confidence.
References
Burns, T. and F. Gottschalk (eds.) (2019), Educating 21st Century Children: Emotional Well-being in the Digital Age, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b7f33425-en.
CanaKit. https://www.canakit.com
Collins, A., & And Others. (1991). Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Things Visible. American Educator: The Professional Journal of the American Federation of Teachers, 15(3), 6–11.
Halfacre, G. (2018). The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide 2018: How to use your new computer. Raspberry Pi Press.
Heitz, R. (2016). Hello Raspberry Pi! Greenwich, Connecticut: Manning.
McManus, S., & Cook, M. (2017). Raspberry Pi For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (3rd ed.). For Dummies.
Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2019). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. (2nd ed.). Torrance, CA: Constructing Modern Knowledge Press. OECD (2015), Schooling Redesigned: Towards Innovative Learning Systems, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264245914-en. Source: https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/schooling-redesigned_9789264245914-en
OECD (2013). Innovative learning environments. Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264203488-en
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum.
Robinson, K. (2017). Out of our minds: The power of being creative. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.
Raspberry Pi Foundation. https://www.raspberrypi.orgWinthrop, R., Barton, A., & McGivney, E. (2018). Leapfrogging inequality: Remaking education to help young people thrive. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.
ICI Center for Education Innovation 