Raspberry Pi™ on the menu for S2 and S3 pupils
Raspberry Pi™ is a new initiative set up by Dumfries and Galloway Council in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland, benefitting every S2 and S3 pupil in Dumfries and Galloway.
Despite the name, this isn’t a Home Economics project. It’s an IT initiative aimed at introducing around 2,800 S2 and S3 pupils to a small computing device called a Raspberry Pi™.
During a series of full day sessions from June to September 2015, Rebecca Redden, lecturer in the School of Computing and Engineering at the University of the West of Scotland, will lead demonstrations in local secondary schools to illustrate the basic capabilities of the Raspberry Pi™ device. She’ll be joined by a small group of UWS computing students in each of the schools. Rebecca said “UWS is delighted to be introducing local secondary school pupils to the basics of computer programming using Raspberry Pi™ technology. The sessions will be interactive and fun and give pupils an insight into the range of things they can programme Raspberry Pi’s™ to do – everything from setting up cameras in bird boxes to creating smart phone capabilities and automating everyday tasks in the house. The idea is to let pupils explore the technology and inspire them to experiment with the device. I’m sure pupils will come up with new uses for Raspberry Pi’s™ during this project. We certainly hope that we inspire pupils to take an interest in computer programming.”
Education Services has high aspirations for use of technology in our schools and has purchased 200 Raspberry Pi’s™ to encourage and enable S2 and S3 pupils to learn more about computers and coding.
Derek Harris, the Council’s ICT Implementation Officer, said: “By reaching out to all 2,800 S2 and S3 pupils in the region’s secondary schools we hope to encourage and enthuse more pupils to consider a career in computing science. We’re also keen to hear from local people with interest and expertise in coding, as we hope to build on our work with pupils to develop local clubs and develop business skills and opportunities in young people.”
Councillor Jeff Leaver, chairman of the Education committee, said, “Building the local economy and providing the best possible start in life for all our children are key priorities of our Council. This is an exciting project that offers new opportunities to pupils in the region. It also helps underpin computational thinking skills, which are transferable across the curriculum, to further and higher Education, and to employment.
UWS offers courses in computing at its campuses in Ayr, Dumfries, Hamilton and Paisley. UWS is currently recruiting school leavers and adults to participate in the computing summer school at its Dumfries campus. The summer school starts on 24 August and for two weeks. It is free to all students with a genuine interest in pursuing a graduate career in computing, computing science and IT. Ideally, applicants will have 2 Highers and, on successful completion of the summer school ,may be offered a place on a full or part-time degree programme at UWS in Dumfries.
Anyone interested in attending a Raspberry Pi™ session at UWS in Dumfries should attend the UWS Raspberry Pi™ open day, details of which will be publicised soon.
