Raspberry Pi Pod and micro:bit base

Tutorial and code that uses the Minecraft API and Python to auto-create bridge blocks as you walk.

Raspberry Pi – Minecraft – Auto Bridge.

I love Instructable. Sometimes you get some really cool projects with really clear instructions.

Here’s another one! This is a project for Arduino and Raspberry Pi to make an Internet Radio.

“Raspberry Pi runs mpd music player daemon to receive and decode the internet radio stream. ALSA running on the Raspberry Pi provides the sound through either the Jack Socket or the HDMI output. Arduino runs a nanpy interface code to interface with Python, providing Text output of the Radio Station playing and Button inputs to control Playback.”

Arduino / Raspberry Pi Internet Radio.

Exciting news from the Raspberry Pi Foundation today. They have granted a licence to Egoman Technology Corp to produce and distribute Pis in China and Taiwan. In order to distinguish between the Chinese models and the Rest of the World, they will be red in colour. Collectors in the Rest of the World will be unable to obtain them legally as they do not carry FCC/CE marks.

I daresay a black market will now spring up overnight. However, these boards are identical except for colour and the standards marks, so I wouldn’t get too excited about getting hold of one!

They’re very pretty though, aren’t they!

Red Pi at night | Raspberry Pi.

Interesting ‘beginners’ video of Foundation engineer Rob Bishop presenting the Raspberry Pi at BETT 2013. Once again he feels he needs to mention that he’s a paid member of staff (not too sure why there’s such a ‘thing’ about that!) but the rest of it is interesting as he goes through some beginners experiments with the GPIO.

Computer science has been added to the list of core subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) qualification, which is used as a measure of success for school league tables in England.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said today: “It is great news that Google is helping the brilliant Raspberry Pi project. We are replacing the old-fashioned ICT curriculum with a Computer Science curriculum. This will combine with the Raspberry Pi project to spread teaching of computer coding which is so educationally and economically vital.” A full statement from the Department of Education can be read here.

More details on ZDNet: Raspberry Pi and Comp Sci: Is IT teaching back on track? | ZDNet.

Whether this has any relevance for the Raspberry Pi remains to be seen. In fact, it relies a lot on the Raspberry Pi Foundation and it’s efforts to get the Pi recognised as a realistic tool for the teaching of computer science in schools. The recent appointment of Clive Beale as Director of Educational Development at the Foundation can only help to enhance their efforts. I wish him well in taking on the Department of Education and the education community as a whole.

For myself, I believe that the Pi has a good chance of being recognised in this fashion. It is, as has been said over and over again, a cheap platform that is very accessible to those who are serious about computer science. If a student chooses Computer Science as a core subject for the EBacc, I would expect them to have a reasonable commitment to studying it, and the Pi is not only gadget-y and ‘cool’ but also easily available now, thanks to the sterling efforts of Farnell (in particular).

If anyone reading this blog is intending to bring the Pi into their Computer Science courses, please feel free to comment – it’d be great to engage with people in education. I’m a strong believer in the power, so to speak, of the Pi in education and would love to hear of some success stories, or even some valiant attempts!