Edited from this article on the OCR website.

OCR has joined with Google in their initiative to hand out thousands of free Raspberry Pi computers to schools across the country.

To help teachers and students get started with the Pi and to explore its potential for creativity with resources that map directly to the curriculum, OCR has developed a key package of learning support which the awarding body will supply free of charge with each Pi.

OCR’s learning support pack is designed to offer essential help so the free device is well used by students and teachers alike. It includes a hard copy ‘Getting Started’ tutorial booklet which provides a clear introduction to using the computer, plus links to a variety of OCR resources – such as classroom challenges and advanced tutorials – and links to useful resources on the internet, on a pre-loaded SD card.

What surprises me is that there has been no mention of the Raspberry Pi Education Manual which was announced by the Foundation on 2nd January. This would seem the perfect opportunity for some joined-up thinking and using the Education Manual as a core text. However, I think that it not being an “official” Foundation publication may prove it’s undoing. What makes this lack of co-ordination worse is that Clive Beale, one of the minds behind the Manual, was recently appointed as the Foundation’s new Director of Educational Development.

I’m sure there is a good reason why the Manual hasn’t been mentioned, but it seems like a lost opportunity to me.

I hope, however, that OCR sees fit to release the materials it produces to the wider community rather than just for the lucky 15,000 recipients of Google’s grant Pis. There will be numerous groups and individuals who will benefit from such a move and it would likely be folly not to.