Rush Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 or at what age would you suggest to try it? many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attaboygirl Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 We got one when my (very motivated and probably a future engineer) ds was 5. He needs help with the reading side of things, so it's usually a mama and kid project. Once we downloaded the Kano OS instead of Raspbian, it did become something he could delve into a bit more independently. I highly recommend the Kano experience, especially for younger kids. You can either buy their full Kano kit, or a regular Raspberry Pi and download their OS from their website. We haven't done much with the hardware abilities yet, but during winter break, I think we might work on making it into a Gameboy-type console. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thank you for your reply. I have two kids, 7.5 and 5.5 years olds. And the youngest into engineering too, so then I guess they could start working together. Great! Regarding the projects. I've read info about this course and I think we will follow it ourself: Build your own computer with Raspberry Pi Manage your computer with Linux Learn basic programming with Scratch Minecraft development on your new computer Java programming for Minecraft + they have lots of cool stuff on the raspberry website, but I'll check the Kano out as well. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 It depends on the kid. However, for most kids, I would wait until they're old enough to read and do projects themselves (depends on the kid, but I think most 7 yos wouldn't be quite ready to do that). Otherwise, it's going to mostly be you directing and doing and while there's learning with that, it's not as much as when they can really pick up a book or find a tutorial and tinker and discover. On the other hand, there are other things that a 7 yo could tinker and discover with like Snap Circuits or Lego Wedo, so I, personally, would want to go with something more in that vein. That's just my take. I do think younger kids could think it's cool and learn stuff - and some of the kits do bring it down to that level, so maybe you'll find something that helps it be more hands on for a younger kid. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thank you for your reply. I have two kids, 7.5 and 5.5 years olds. And the youngest into engineering too, so then I guess they could start working together. Great! Regarding the projects. I've read info about this course and I think we will follow it ourself: Build your own computer with Raspberry Pi Manage your computer with Linux Learn basic programming with Scratch Minecraft development on your new computer Java programming for Minecraft + they have lots of cool stuff on the raspberry website, but I'll check the Kano out as well. Thanks again. If the students want to learn Minecraft or Java or Scratch, it's just plain easier to do that on a regular computer. I wouldn't begin Raspberry Pi until they have some python programming under their belt. The neat thing about RasPi is you can write python programs to control things in the "real world" like a lamp or coffee maker. We created a website that you can access with your phone to turn on and off a lamp in the living room. Completely useless for us, but still kind of cool. Check out my post on Arduino and Raspberry Pi and electronics in general for more info. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share Posted December 23, 2015 If the students want to learn Minecraft or Java or Scratch, it's just plain easier to do that on a regular computer. I wouldn't begin Raspberry Pi until they have some python programming under their belt. The neat thing about RasPi is you can write python programs to control things in the "real world" like a lamp or coffee maker. We created a website that you can access with your phone to turn on and off a lamp in the living room. Completely useless for us, but still kind of cool. Check out my post on Arduino and Raspberry Pi and electronics in general for more info. Thanks for yr reply, but i've already purchased the raspberry together with a whole lot of books like: pythons/java/scratch instructions guides for kids :) Hopefully my son'll understand it. He's so excited about programming lately and asked us himself to enroll for this course or to start learning at home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Check back next year and let us know how it goes. Happy holidays! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Check back next year and let us know how it goes. Happy holidays! Agreed! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Thanks for yr reply, but i've already purchased the raspberry together with a whole lot of books like: pythons/java/scratch instructions guides for kids :) Hopefully my son'll understand it. He's so excited about programming lately and asked us himself to enroll for this course or to start learning at home. What equipment, specifically, did you huy. Not the books but the pi, can you link it please? There is a complete-looking kit on amazon but honestly my kids know more aboit it than me amd I am in no position to make a choice. I know I don't want a jail, from the r. Pi forums... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Lol jail is kano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) What equipment, specifically, did you huy. Not the books but the pi, can you link it please? There is a complete-looking kit on amazon but honestly my kids know more aboit it than me amd I am in no position to make a choice. I know I don't want a jail, from the r. Pi forums... My husband has chosen this set. He'll teach the kids and hopefully me too :) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00T538MAS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A2J6G16ZXL53GM Hope this helps. Edited December 27, 2015 by rushhush08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) What equipment, specifically, did you huy. Not the books but the pi, can you link it please? There is a complete-looking kit on amazon but honestly my kids know more aboit it than me amd I am in no position to make a choice. I know I don't want a jail, from the r. Pi forums... The Canakit kits are pretty much the standard. Looks like the ones the OP linked above, but that one is a UK company, so I'm guessing you can't get it here. Same stuff though - breadboard, etc. However, Rpi designed a great new case. We met one of the Rpi people at a meetup and he was showing it off. It's less than $10 so I'd definitely do that - it's massively better than the ones that come with the canakit stuff. Edited December 27, 2015 by Farrar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 OMG why I haven't seen it before! i think it was much better something to start from :) http://www.amazon.com/Microduino-mCookie-Magnetic-Building-Advanced/dp/B015XWR0SE is there anyone who have already tried them? Would they substitute littlebits? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I was going to say that it looks a lot like Little Bits, which is also something more suited for youngers than a straight up pi kit. It's making Arduino more accessible though, which is a little different from the pi, which is a full computer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) of course we like RPI and anyway were going to get it + GoPiGo and Brick PI later on, but we could buy this set first. i think it is so cool and even my little one, who obsessed with lego, could use it and have tons of fun too. In fact even littlebits we were planning to get for ds b'day and then mindstroms for next xmas, but now i have seen this set and i really fell in love with it. Oh, why we did not have it when we were young :) Edited December 28, 2015 by rushhush08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 The GoPiGo and Brick Pi are totally cool. Be aware that the Brick Pi was really hard for my 11 yo to build - the casing, that is. And there are definitely some bugs with it. If you don't already have an old Mindstorms set, it's not worth the money by any means, though if you do, it's a cool way to basically hack the Mindstorms pieces. My kids never liked the NXT interface or programming system much so using Scratch (and Python sometimes) with the sensors and motors was much to ds's liking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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