Key takeaways
- Raspberry Pi empowers individuals by providing accessible computing resources for learning and problem-solving.
- The device is a low-cost, high-performance computer that can function like a traditional desktop.
- Raspberry Pi supports programming education in languages such as Python and Scratch for all age groups.
- It facilitates interaction with the physical world, proving useful in various applications like weather stations and music machines.
- Initially aimed at educating basic computer science, Raspberry Pi has evolved through several generations since its launch in 2012.
While there are smartphones and laptops to make things easy for people, there are a few like Raspberry Pi Foundation that are conferring the power of digital making into the hands of people.
What is it exactly doing? It's leveraging low cost, high performance computers to help people learn, solve problems and have fun. In short its enabling a lot of them access to computing and understanding the complex digital world. And how is it been done? By developing free resources to help people learn and by training educators who can guide other people gain knowledge.
Raspberry Pi, that it is commonly known as, is a low-cost ARM GNU/Linux box. Hardly the size of a credit card, this single board computer developed in the UK can be plugged into a computer screen or TV and can function on a standard keyboard and mouse.
This little wonder device can help learners of all age group to explore computing and even learn programming in languages like Python and Scratch. And if you thought if they were any less than the usual desktops, it’s time to get facts cleared. It can do everything that a normal computer can- play song, play videos, make spreadsheets, word processing, browsing and much more. That's not all, it can also interact with the outside world which it has proved by its utility in music machines, weather stations, parent detectors and more.
Launched with the basic idea to educate basic computer science in schools and developing countries, several generations of Raspberry Pi have been released till now. With their first release in the year 2012 (Pi 1) in basic model A and a higher specification B, its second generation (Pi 2) was released in 2015 followed by Pi 3 in Feb 2016. These boards are available in various price ranges from $6 to up to $100 and even more based on various features.
