Raspberry Pi arrives in the classroom.

Swallow Hill Community College in Leeds has conducted a pilot ICT lesson using a Raspberry Pi, in an attempt to find out how the device could be used in education.
The single-board computer, which was developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has attracted much attention for the potential it could hold in teaching kids the basics of computer science. It’s the metaphorical “red pants” of the current campaign to reinvigorate the teaching of computing — so much so that Google recently mentioned it by name in a pledge to fund a rollout of these types of devices in schools, along with a push for more teachers that specialize in ICT.

Mike Powell, the technical development manager at electronics webshopelement14, which is selling the device, took children aged between 11 and 12 through the basics of building websites, using the Raspberry Pi as a web server. The objective was to demonstrate how open source applications can be used in teaching, and showcase the range available on the device.

“The Raspberry Pi is the ideal teaching aid to inspire a new generation of engineers and computer experts,”..

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Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit, be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Have you tried the new “Adafruit Raspberry Pi Educational Linux Distro” ? It’s our tweaked distribution for teaching electronics using the Raspberry Pi. But wait, there’s more! Try our new Raspberry Pi WebIDE! The easiest way to learn programming on a Raspberry Pi.