The Raspberry Pi – A Computer for Only £24!

The amount of technology available to this generation is staggering and children today have more access to computers than ever before. The Raspberry Pi Foundation want continue this learning journey, and make sure that ALL children in the developed AND developing world have the opportunity to use computer technology and understand how it works, which is why they have created a revolutionary computer called the Raspberry Pi.

What is the Raspberry Pi?

The size of a credit card, essentially the Raspberry Pi is an exposed motherboard, with no plastic casings and a tiny processor (compared to other computers) based on the same technology used in the iPhone 3G. This computer has been entirely stripped of any unnecessary technology and offers only the bare bones of what we would recognise as a ‘PC’, which is why they have managed to manufacture it at such an incredibly low price. Available for between £24 and £37, this is the cheapest computer that has ever been made available to the public. Originally made in China, the Raspberry Pi is now manufactured in the Sony factory in Pencoed in South Wales, which is why we were so interesting it in as that is right up the road from ELHQ in Swansea!

Original Idea

Raspberry Pi’s original conception came from general concern about how this generation interacted with computers (text taken from the Raspberry Pi website):

“The idea behind a tiny and cheap computer for kids came in 2006, when Eben Upton, Rob Mullins, Jack Lang and Alan Mycroft, based at the University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory, became concerned about the year-on-year decline in the numbers and skills levels of the A Level students applying to read Computer Science. From a situation in the 1990s where most of the kids applying were coming to interview as experienced hobbyist programmers, the landscape in the 2000s was very different; a typical applicant might only have done a little web design.”

The team wanted to create a computer that allowed children to really get to grips with the processes that were happening behind the software, which is why the Raspberry Pi is so stripped back. Its price also makes it ideal to use in schools, as if any of the Raspberry Pi’s are damaged at any point then they are cheap enough to be replaced.

Computer Programming

The purpose of the Raspberry Pi is to encourage children to become more interested in computer programming by essentially giving them a blank slate to work from, rather than a computer that relies on operating systems such as Microsoft or Apple. This computer runs on Linux, which is a free and open source operating system that allows the user a lot more freedom to look ‘behind the scenes’ at the computer’s hardwiring and experiment with their own forms of coding. The Raspberry Pi encourages users to use coding programmes such as Scratch, which can produce simple animations, and Sonic Pi, which allows you to create music.

The video below by teacher Carrie Anne, winner of this year’s London Digital Hero award for her YouTube series  Geek Gurl Diaries, shows how you can use Sonic Pi to create simple tunes:

The Raspberry Pi is an innovative and versatile piece of hardware that can be used in a variety of different ways to help children (and adults!) understand what is really happening behind their computer monitor. It isn’t only a triumph of engineering, it is also a viable way for people from all walks of life to interact with technology and learn some very valuable lessons about how technology affects our lives in the 21^st century.

For more information about the Raspberry Pi please see their website. You can purchase the Raspberry Pi at the variety of different retailers, but I would suggest that you try the Raspberry Pi shop first as they often have the best prices.