Raspberry Pi Workshop
Practical programming workshop for schools
Raspberry Pi is a powerful pocket-sized computer that enables students to learn to code with programming languages such as Scratch and Python. It is used for many projects such as building an alarm circuit, creating a file server, electronic circuits, building robots and more.
This workshop will give students a basic understanding of the Raspberry Pi by getting them engaged in practical activities. The workshop assumes students have no prior knowledge of programming or coding.
Format
2 x half day or full day,
max 40 students in a day,
contact us for bigger sessions.
Age Group
Secondary and Sixth Form
KS3 and KS4
Introduction to Raspberry Pi
The introduction covers the Raspberry Pi specifications, main components, General Purpose Input and Output (GPIO) pins and it's applications.
Control an LED
Students will learn how to build a simple circuit to turn on and off an LED using the Raspberry-Pi GPIO pins.
Programme Traffic Lights
They will also learn to build a traffic light sequence, and learn how to programme them. This will give students an understanding of real-life applications of programming. Watch the video below to see what we will create on the day of the workshop.
Learn to Use the Scratch Programming Language
All of the programming for the exercises will use the Scratch programming language. It is an easy to use drag and drop block programming language that will help students grasp the basic concepts behind coding. One of the main abilities of Scratch is that it allows us to control the GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi.
Requirements
- We will bring the Raspberry Pis (1 per each student), chargers, all necessary wires, cables and circuit components.
- The school must provide a computer room with monitors that has either a VGA or an HDMI input, keyboards and a mouse.
Typical Workshop Day
- Setup all the Raspberry Pis before students walk into the classroom.
- Introduce and explain all the main components of the Raspberry Pi to students. In particular, explain how the GPIO pins on the Raspberry-Pi function.
- Practical - Handout the breadboards, wires, LEDs, resistors and build the LED traffic light circuit.
- Practical - Introduce students to the Raspbian Operating System (OS) and the Scratch programming software. Use Scratch to build a simple programme to light one of the LEDs in the circuit for a few seconds, and test it live.
- Practical - Add more programming blocks to the programme to light up all 3 of the LEDs (green, amber and red) in sequence. Run the programme and test it.
- Practical - Programme the rest of the traffic light sequence and test the entire programme.
- Practical - The students will be given the opportunity to write and test their own programme, if there is any spare time.
- Finally, we will summarise all of the content learned during the workshop, and show students our Rasbperry Pi robots. As with all our school engagements we will end the day with a street-dance performance.
Bringing Coding and Robotics into Education
Read our blog post to find out how teachers can bring coding into schools for free here.