I have had the pleasure this year to have been a supervisor for one of our sixth form students doing an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
The EPQ is a level 3 qualification (similar to A-level) for students to do something that they are interested in. This can be an essay or an artifact and can take a myriad of forms. In this case my student chose to do a Raspberry Pi based project which was how I became involved.
Dan had no previous experience of the Raspberry Pi or Python before starting the project. He had done some web development but wanted to try something new. He spent a large portion of the project time mastering the basics of Python and the basic hardware before moving on to getting the project up and running.
The result is the PiCycle a Raspberry Pi based cycle computer that takes the position of the rider an plots it on a map on a website. The idea was to use the device to prove the designer had completed a planned charity cycle ride across France but could be used for all sorts of tracking applications. As well as getting the device working he spent some time getting it to look good too with branded interfaces on the device and the web tracking page.
The student developed the program to collect the GPS position and store this in a file on the Raspberry Pi and then upload the data to the web to display the position(s). The design means that whilst the cyclist is in areas of poor phone reception they can still log the GPS position (assuming GPS signal) and then upload the data when the phone signal is regained.
This project was a great achievement especially considering that Dan had no prior knowledge of the Raspberry Pi or Python before he started the EPQ.
Some more information about the project can be found in his project presentation. He can be found on twitter: @DJWOOLFALL.
The title of the design challenge is "Sci Fi Your Pi" and centres around the idea of creating objects from or inspired by Science Fiction. This video explains what it is all about
I struggled initially to think of anything interesting being stuck on the suggestions made in the introduction to the challenge. However it was my search for difference that gave me the idea of looking at creating a Steampunk inspired device.
The kit for the challenge comes with a GPS model so this along with the strong adventurer spirit in Steampunk fiction I ended up with the idea of a Navigation device.
My idea has been selected from a large number of applicants among a very interesting group of projects. So far I have outlined my initial inspiration and described what I am hoping to produce for the challenge. I have received the kit and I am putting together a plan of how I am going to make it work.
For anyone not familiar with Steampunk this video gives a fairly good introduction through a number of film clips.
The spirit of adventure and exploration (as exemplified by the work of HG Wells and Joules Verne) felt like a great basis for a project where I will be trying new things and creating something a bit different to some of my other projects.
You can follow my progress on the Element 14 community with the tag steampunk_navigation.
With the last session I had discovered the difficulty of the volume of text required when using python and the CamJam Edukits for some of the younger children. I have been working on a python library to help with this but this week i decided to use a different tool to look at coding concepts.
Sonic Pi is a great tool because it allows you to teach coding and make music at the same time. It was also a good way of being able to progress in complexity with computing concepts (introducing iteration) but keeping the level of text entry required to a minimum.
Sonic Pi is freely available software as part of the standard Raspian build and is also available for other platforms (more information here on the Sonic Pi Website)
The simple nature of the commands required for the children to be able to make music means it is a really good tool for younger (or children less able to read / type).
Some of the barriers I had found in the Python session had been easily overcome by the simple nature of the commands. I think would have struggled with getting some of the children to start looping blocks of code in Python yet they were all happily making repeating tunes with Sonic Pi. I really wanted to avoid simplifying things too much and this has provided a great bridge between the simple block programming that some of the children have done before and text based languages.
Sonic Pi itself is based on Ruby so it teaching a specific code structure and language that will continue to be useful. O so it is simplified in that the tasks it is performing are much more complex than the Play and sleep combinations, but it is a really engaging and relevant way to work with code.
I have written lots before about Sonic Pi so i will try and avoid this becoming the Sonic Pi fan page. However in reducing the volume of typing required I have found another way in which Sonic Pi makes coding accessible to a wider audience.
The group seemed to really enjoy this session and it was one of the most requested areas to do more with.
I am starting to look to move away from just leading the sessions and i already have several children with ideas for their own projects. This is an idea I am really keen to explore as i feel the best way to learn about computing is by finding challenges and solving them using computing. If children can find something that interests them they are much more motivated to explore than if they are being directed by someone else.
This session with my HomeEd group I introduced some physical computing using the CamJam Edu kit .
Last time I blogged about the challenge of teaching a group with my own children (who are not used to a classroom environment). This week I had the additional challenge of my normal child swap falling through so I ended up with 3 of my own children to contend with.
With this in mind my plan was for more independent work with some supporting materials to make it easier for the children to work without my direction all of the time.
I also planned to manage the situation by placing my offspring carefully either side of me in the room so I could switch between the instruction and paying them attention. This worked much better for me to be able to manage the session. Although at one stage it did mean carrying 2 of my children whilst trying to explain things on the board (using my daughter to point out the relevant bits whilst I talked).
I had decided that I did not want to over simplify things for the children by using scratch. We had also been mainly working at the command line so it made sense to progress with this and use nano to create python files to control the components. This also followed the CamJam worksheets so I could use those to provide additional guidance so the children could refer back to the instructions.
As the group is very mixed (5-15) there was a range of experience in the group but most had not used electrical components in a breadboard before. After a quick introduction they were all setting up the simple LED and resistor circuits.
Most of the group managed to get as far as getting the lights lit but it did take some time to get there. The real limiting factor I found with using python with the younger children was the speed they were able to type the code was very slow compared to the older students (as they are still working on their reading skills this is actually quite a hard task).
There was no apparent problem understanding the concepts and adding text to control things, but the amount of text that needed reading and adding to the code was a problem. To make it easier for these younger students (and any students who find reading / typing difficult) it would be useful to reduce the volume of typing that is required to produce a result.
That said nearly all of the children had at least lit the LEDs by the end of the session even if this had involved a bit of help with typing from the adults in the room.
Last year the BCS South Yorkshire Branch decided it would be good to host some more interactive events. We normally host speakers and have a very similar audience for our talks. The idea was to bring some more people to the BCS and do something a bit different.
There had not been a Raspberry Jam in Sheffield for sometime and this looked like a good way to engage with a different community of computing enthusiasts. We set the event up for our march event which would also fall in science week.
A call out on twitter and contacting some of our contacts in the Raspberry Pi community gathered a few projects together to get things rolling. The crowd favorite was the Scalectrix set up that could be controlled by an attached variable resistor, code on the Raspberry Pi, or over the internet.
Paul from Pimoroni also came along to show of some of their products and talk about what can be done with hardware projects.
The event drew in a fair number of new faces and there was a great deal of questions for the showcase projects and this led to discussions and questions between the attendees about what they had seen and about interesting ways to use the Raspberry Pi and to teach people about computing.
There is also a renewed enthusiasm for Raspberry Jam in Sheffield and there is now a team keen to run regular events (the next is on the 28th of march at the access space and can be booked here) the twitter account is back up and running @PiJamSheffield where you can find information about future events.
Having introduced the basics of computing this week the plan was to get the children setting up the Raspberry Pi and starting to program.
There was a little setup confusion with the venue meaning that there was a delay getting everything out and a much less ordered start to the session as kit was quickly located and brought out to us. We also discovered that the table arrangement we were using did not allow for enough power outlets to be available. A swift rearrangement of table and we had everyone near enough to a plug or extension to get running.
This was a completely new experience for me as I am used to arriving in my classroom that has all of the kit stuck on tables ready for me when I arrive and just moving cables around between the desktop and the Raspberry Pi. With the help of Jeremy (one of the other parents with an IT background) and Hamish from the University of Sheffield (who had come to see the Pi Bank kits in action) the children were all eventually up and running.
After the kit arrived we had to tackle the normal issue of setup with failed memory cards and trying to sort out which display option would work best. This was where the Pi Bank kits really helped. The range of connection options included meant that even with a collection of different monitors of differing ages we were able to get all the children connected and logging in.
It was at some point during the effort to help all of the children that I was shown the possible horror of teaching my own children. As a Home Educator I spend a large amount of time teaching my own children but not normally in a large room with other children to share the attention.
I think the sharing of my attention is something that will remain a challenge for my children to get used to and for me to work around, I need to find a way to channel my children's natural desire for my attention in a way that does not affect the groups progress.
Despite these distractions and the issues with the equipment we did manage to get everyone logged in to the Raspberry Pi. In fact we managed to move on and get the children started with looking at the file system and starting to create basic programs. The children used `ls` to look at the files and folders then `mkdir` to make their own folders. We then had a go at the traditional "Hello World" program in python using nano. Some even managed get the program prompting for user input.
Overall we managed to achieve the objectives even if it was not as calm and organised as I would have liked. However comparing this with the setup lessons I have taught in school is a favorable comparison, We normally teach this in Y8 (12/13 year olds) and I find that normally I can expect to only get the class as far as making their own folders then needing to pack up the kit. This is with all the extra parts all setup on desks. With our mixed ability and age group we have been able to progress to making a simple program. With some tweaks to the organisation and a reduction in distractions i am expecting the group to progress fairly quickly.
To this end I have changed the setup plan for next week and the tables should be arranged near to the power outlet and the venue have promised to have the monitors, keyboards and mice setup and waiting for us. This should allow us to get started more quickly and move on to the physical computing experiments I have planned. I have also purchased and burned a fresh set of SD cards that I will be assigning to the children to use and save their work on each week.
I have been talking for some time about starting a Computing / STEM group for home educated children in Sheffield.
We home educate our 7 year old son and there is a large community of home educators around Sheffield. As computing can be quite equipment heavy it is not something that is easy to do at home and until now there hasn't been an alternative.
The difficulty was finding a venue and some equipment that I could use to run the sessions. Fortunately I had seen a post about a lending library of Raspberry Pi equipment that had been set up at Sheffield University - The Pi bank. Fortune was smiling on me as this also led to the rediscovery of the Access Space. They charge for the space but they have an ideal flexible teaching space ideal for this sort of group. A few phone calls, Facebook posts and emails later and the group was all set
The group is a very mixed group with children raging from 5 to 15 with a different levels of prior knowledge of computers and programming. This presented a different challenge to my normal classes but makes for interesting class dynamic. I say class but the plan is to try and not be too school like and see how we can follow the children's interests as we progress. We have a few structured 'lesson' type activities planned but after that I am hoping to split the group down and work on projects that they are interested in.
Today I ran the first ever session with a focus on how computers work and an introduction to algorithms.
First we made a human computer with the children forming the components and passing information around the computer to first perform simple sums.
The children took on roles with one student acting out each part of the computer and several (the more active and excitable younger boy mainly) passing the information between the components.
The user, although not too keen to hold on to the human mouse moved the mouse around our ( A4 paper calculator display) and the mouse driver reported the position. This was passed to the processor stored in memory and also displayed on the monitor (children with with pencil and paper and whiteboard and maker respectively).
This was repeated for each of the movements of the mouse to complete the sum. I had planned on simple single digit arithmetic for our volunteer processor but the user had other plans (I did managed to keep it to 2 digits, but I think she would have gone for more if left to her own devices). The processor then calculated the answer and passed that to the monitor and memory. In this case the user forgot to save (or i forgot to ask her to) so we talked about what would happen to the information and then pretended we had saved to pass the information to the hard drive (child with paper and a pen).
After that we simplified our computer, using just a camera/computer combination, lots of willing active information conduits and a rather excitable printer (my Son Toby) we experimented with how computers see and describe images using binary. To keep things simple we used a simple 1 bit black and white image which was only shown t the camera. The camera passed the appropriate 1 or 0 (each an A4 sheet with 1 on the front and black on the back or 0 with white on the back) to the information carriers and the printer started to put the image together on the floor.
This was really great as the first stages were rendered accurately but as the information carriers gained confidence and enthusiasm we started to see some arriving out of order which corrupted our image slightly. This gave us an opportunity to talk about the importance of the data arriving in the correct order.
After getting everyone sat down again I introduced our next activity which was the Sandwich making robot by Philip Bagge. I explained the activity and handed out the sheets to allow the children to plan their Sandwich making algorithms.
After donning the special robot uniform (pink pinny borrowed from home) i took on the role of robot and we tested some algorithms. We didn't get as far as a full sandwich but we learnt some good lessons about how to think through a problem. We also took the opportunity to talk about debugging.
I was surprised by how many children though that cutting the bread bag was the way to open bread until at the end someone mentioned there was no open on the instruction set. I thought this was an error until I watched the videos again and noticed that Phil starts with his bread bag open.
Overall I am quite happy with how the session went and the children seemed for the most part engaged in the activities. I now need to go off and plan for next weeks introduction to Raspberry Pi and programming in python.
Thank you to Computer Science Unplugged and Philip Bagge for the inspiration for the activities for the session.
