LNC Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Rasberry Pi - programming Arduino - electrical circuits ???? Is that accurate, or is there overlap? 1. Could a 12 yo learn these on his own with books and websites? Minimal help from me. Or would a $500 4 month class for Rasberry Pi be necessary? 2. Which would you start with? I'm giving him the rest of the schoolyear to become more proficient with Mindstorms. These would be for his bday in May to work on next summer. Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Raspberry Pi is a microcomputer, about the size of an Altoids tin. The base price is only about $35, but you'll need a screen of some sort, a keyboard or input device, some kind of case, various cables, and other peripherals. I would just order a kit, so you have everything you need in one place, rather than order a bare Pi, then try to find all the bits and pieces separately. Arduino components are microcontrollers. They include things like light, sound, & motion sensors, ways of making things move, make noise, etc. (I once saw a project where a guy built a device that would sense the presence of methane and change the TV channel if someone passed gas, lol.) There are tons and tons of books of Arduino projects, with step-by-step instructions, as well as kits with all the components already included. I think Arduino is a bit easier for beginners and nonprogrammers because it's more modular and kit-like. I think an interested 12 yo could teach himself whatever he needed to work with either type of project. Personally, I would not pay $500 for a class for the Pi; the whole idea behind the Pi was to give kids a cheap microcomputer they could just mess around with and figure out for themselves. OTOH, if you think your DS would be frustrated by that, then you could pay for the class and just think of it as an online computer science class, which happens to use the Pi as a lab component. If you decide on the Pi, you'll need to stalk the websites that sell them (like MakerShed or Adafruit) and order one as soon as it's in stock, because they don't last long. I had a Pi kit in my shopping cart at Maker Shed, got distracted, and when I went to check out a couple days later, it was already out of stock again. :( Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Rasberry Pi - programming Arduino - electrical circuits Our interpretation is Raspberry Pi - a no case CPU. if you have an old laptop or PC that you are not using, you can let your son use that for programming. Arduino - electronics and programming, some soldering is required and plenty of books to learn from. We were debating what to get for our kids so I got my hubby who is the electrical engineer to compare them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Our interpretation is Rasberry Pi - a no case CPU. if you have an old laptop or PC that you are not using, you can let your son use that for programming. Arduino - electronics and programming, some soldering is required and plenty of books to learn from. We were debating what to get for our kids so I got my hubby who is the electrical engineer to compare them. Are you saying you are going with Arduino? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 which arduino to get though??? Uno? Nano? Leonardo? What are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 which arduino to get though??? Uno? Nano? Leonardo? What are they? I haven't even gotten that far. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Are you saying you are going with Arduino? We are going with Arduino. Our local Radioshack carries them. We will most likely get the Arduino Uno REV 3 for a starter. I had read the programming guide and the syntax is very similar to C programming. We have a few five year old laptops that my boys can use for programming. For C, Java, Python programming an old laptop/computer would be sufficient. There are many members on this board whose kids are using Arduino. I'm sure you will be able to get all your Arduino questions answered. ETA: My boys have already "played" with breadboard and I can solder if they can't wait for daddy to be home from work. ETA: Hubby also suggested that instead of Raspberry Pi, he can teach our boys to build a PC from the ground up: choose our own motherboard, casing, graphics card and all that. ETA: Raspberry PI is running off a Linux operating system. If you have a spare computer, you can load Linux on that for your child if you want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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