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Hi all, My daughter is turning 5 in a few weeks and she has shown a lot of interest in computers (she likes to play Minecraft with me). I would like her to learn the backbone of computers and how coding works (basics are fine). So the obvious answer is to get a Raspberry Pi. But here is the problem: I took one coding class in college and it was for C++. Will I be able to teach her how to code for the Pi? What are some easy things to shoot for that she can see results (essentially keep her excited about the Pi and wanting to learn more). I was thinking along the lines of she could write some code so she can watch Netflix on it or maybe play a video game with me. The Pi will be hooked up to our main TV and I am planning on getting her a wireless keyboard/mouse/controller combo. Note - How hard is it to build a lego case? I was planning on getting this kit but I saw someone post a NES lego case they built and thought she would love to make some kind of pink case for it. Thank you so much in advance!
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Sep 29, 2017 22:30
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 21:34 |
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huhu posted:Ooof man. After a year of playing around with Arduino and Linux I still didn't want to go near a RaspPi. I'd start her off with just like the Scratch programming language and let her play around with that. fishmech posted:Don't do this. Just use coding environments that exist on the computers you already have. Oh my. Is it really the difficult? I was thinking it would be learning what each word means in a line of code and following what others have done. Or even just downloading whatever OS is for the Pi and letting her fiddle around on it. She has those toy computers where you learn your ABCs and 123s and those drive me crazy lol.
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Sep 29, 2017 22:53
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fishmech posted:I wasn't joking about using minecraft to introduce basic computing concepts either though - it's a great way to lay out an easily visible set of circuitry and see how it affects things. Oh I know. I will look into that. I never got into red dust in minecraft (for daily things). Had a few disappearing walls and stuff but that took a long time to figure out. Did not think circuits were similar to coding though.
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Sep 29, 2017 23:14
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Magnus Praeda posted:Sure, if you've got a spare laptop kicking around, that's fine. And yes, the Pi is not "graphically capable" really in any way. But it does have a lot of easy to use resources available for parents, teachers, and students because it is specifically and explicitly a learning tool. Yes there are plenty of programming and even hardware courses out there designed to be used on an x86 machine but the Pi, for all its shortcomings, has basically one (well, one per generation) hardware profile and, assuming you start with a Pi and an SD card with NOOBS, you can basically just follow along with the learning exercises and then expand out to projects. The Pi's strength lies in the fact that it's the de facto standard. Even within the realm of basic single-board computers, there are arguably better, much more powerful systems. But none has the community support or aftermarket hardware availability. Similarly, yes, you could use an old Core2 laptop but there are so many more variables even within a single hardware range. Integrated or discrete graphics, how much ram, what OS, what processor, what network card, sound card, etc. It's a hell of a lot more powerful, sure, but that added complexity can be intimidating when you're first starting out. Holy balls I want to do that with her and I know she will get a kick out of it! I know she isn't going to truly get what is going on. My hope is that she sees what coding can do gets excited for it. And yes, I want it to be "her computer". Give her a sense of responsibility. She practically shares everything with her little brother. I remember that and really enjoying things I could call just my own. On the topic of keyboard/mousepad combos is this a good choice? It looks to fit her hands perfectly while me still being able to use it. Can the two D-pads be used for minecraft or will that need a standard mouse and keyboard? Or even a controller?
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Sep 30, 2017 08:07
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Everything should be here tonight. I have one real quick question. I got a 32gb micro sd card. Will that be enough to start? My daughter wants to be able to watch Netflix and play Minecraft on it. I would like to put Retropie on it. Think it would be fun to play games I grew up on with her. Also looking at doing the Santa Alert project too. Side question, what is a good controller (wireless/bluetooth preferred) for NES/SNES games?
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Oct 3, 2017 16:47
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tater_salad posted:I got a PS4 controller works fine. Do you mean limited in that it only runs old versions of it? If that is the case not worried. Or is the FPS bad?
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Oct 3, 2017 17:00
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I guess I am not doing a good job explaining. I'm not looking for the BEST minecraft experience or Netflix experience from the Pi. What I'm planning is for her to have her own computer and one that she has to learn to use. Yes we will do some coding projects, and yes they may not be perfect or the most optimal. But that isn't the point. My hope is for her to see what a computer can do and the backbone of software. The Pi may not be the best/optimal choice, but its the one I chose. I really enjoyed the Santa Detection project and looking for more things like that to do. Or even just software to put on the Pi that she can enjoy (like Minecraft and Netflix). I don't plan on forcing this on her, but she is already showing excitement. We went to the lego store to pick out pieces to build a "rainbow" case for her computer. We have a reward system for her to earn time on it and she is already mapping out good behavior so she can use it. If she starts to get bored or frustrated we can move on to something else. The last thing I want to do is discourage her from using/learning/understanding computers and electronics.
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Oct 3, 2017 23:46
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ante posted:You're doing a fine job of explaining it, we're just telling you that it's not really a great solution for any of your use-cases. Ah. Well yes I think it is cool. I initially looked at the Pi when the NES classic came out as a substitute but couldn't justify it. I don't mind her using my computer but felt her having something she can call her own would be more special. I'm not the smartest software guy out there, I am more interested in hardware. So projects and fun things to do with her on the Pi is what I was hoping to get some tips on. I really do appreciate the feedback. The Pi is just something within a budget I don't feel bad about, as well as space.
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Oct 4, 2017 00:05
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 21:34 |
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Successfully installed Rasbian with daughter onto the Pi. She was very excited, but confused. She quite literally jumped up when she saw Rasbian had Minecraft on it. While she was playing the keyboard lost power and she could only dig down...and kill herself lol. Showed her scratch and she saw the cat on the screen and made the connection between our new kittens and the computer cat. Told her she will get to tell the computer cat what to do. She seems excited. She was a little down that our Lego case didn't work (it wouldn't let the HDMI and power be plugged in).
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Oct 9, 2017 03:36
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