The First 96 hours with Raspberry Pi

It hasn't been 96 continuous hours. More like, a little here and a little there.

I ordered my Raspberry Pi from Amazon. I got the Complete Kit which included the Model B Raspberry Pi, power supply, 8GB SD card with NOOBS pre-loaded, and a Wi-Fi dongle. I found an old Apple keyboard, Apple Pro Mouse and an even older Emerson 13" composite television to rig up my first 'maker' computer.

I watched the videos from Raspberry Pi Foundation and hoped for a successful first boot up. I was a little concerned that my 13" composite might not do the trick, since it only had coaxial input. I used an RCA to coaxial converter that I had in the garage. I tested it with a VCR to be sure that it worked.
The first boot up was not a success. Nothing but static on the screen. The RasPi's LED was lit, but it was not sending any signal to the TV. I retested all my other hardware and checked the cables, but still had no luck.

I decided to relocate to my living room to try it on my HDTV. SUCCESS! And it was beautiful to see it in all of it's HD glory! After NOOBS booted,  I loaded Raspbian for the OS. It took about 15 minutes or so to load. Once everything loaded, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I poked around the OS to get a feel for how things worked. It was very similar to any graphical user interface. I hadn't planned on keeping my RasPi in the living room, so immediately got to work on trying to solve the problem of why my RasPi wouldn't send a signal to my old 13" TV.

Many reviewers on Amazon complained that their composite output was broken on delivery. The RasPi FAQ, however, explained that all their devices were factory tested. Considering they were made in the UK, I theorized that it was more of an NTSC/PAL issue, than a faulty jack. My theory was correct, but I didn't really have the skills to correct it.

I had to learn how to work with the config.txt file in the boot partition of the SD card. This required me to learn a little about Linux and how to comment out a line of code. I tried for several hours to modify the code but never got it to work. I gave up and went to the RasPi forum. I got a couple replies fairly quickly. I downloaded a newer version of NOOBS, erased the SD card, reloaded NOOBS, and rebooted while connected to the 13" TV and held Shift-4. SUCCESS! Raspbian had to be reloaded but I was happy to have finally have solved the problem after 24 hours.

I poked around for a bit while connected to the 13" TV. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. There is a reason why there are so many free composite televisions on craigslist. The image quality is dreadful. It is even worse to try and read computer text on a composite TV. However, one of my goals for my RasPi was to create a vintage gaming console that played NES, SNES, and Genesis games. I'd peeked a great tutorial for creating that project and concluded that 8-bit and 16-bit games would look fine on my old TV.

But before I could get to that, I wanted to connect my RasPi to the internet. My kit included a USB WiFi dongle and I read some tutorials about connecting to WiFi. Unfortunately, I have a hidden home network and my Linux skills weren't sharp enough to make the attempt. So, I decided to hardwire via ethernet to see if it worked. SUCCESS! Seeing the Google homepage load on the old 13" composite was magical. Kind of. 13 standard definition inches is not enough to view the most basic web page. I checked out a couple blogs and could hardly read a thing. There was some lag as pages loaded, but it wasn't unbearable. Connecting my RasPi to the internet proved a couple things. I either needed a HD monitor or start building the vintage gaming console.

I opted to download and install the Minecraft Pi Edition instead. Thankfully, there were multiple tutorials online for getting this done. Downloading was easy. However, I needed to launch my first LXTerminal session to decompress the file and load it. SUCCESS! Before long, I wasplaying Minecraft. Unfortunately, I know nothing about playing Minecraft. I figured out how to dig a hole and created a cave. I soon discovered that my 'vintage' Apple Pro mouse lacked a right-click button to allow me to build blocks. Normally, I would just use control-click but RasPi didn't respond. No worries. My cave was beautiful.

To more savvy Linux (and Minecraft) users, this is probably the most pathetic blog post ever written. Honestly, I am a little ashamed of my self for having become such a passive computer user. I used to connect all kinds of weird devices together with skill and ease. I was a web designer who could automate multiple tasks in Photoshop and creatively use HTML an Javascript to create interactive web pages. But that was 1990's and I have not maintained my skills. The past 96 hours have been a pleasure. I've been actively solving problems that lead to new ideas and creativity. And isn't that the point?

I can't wait to share this experience with my students next year.

The Debate About Coding In Schools

As the school year winds down, I often begin planning for the next school year. Thanks to Invent to Learn, I could not be more excited about the process. I even dug some old eMacs out of the closet and have started to prepare them for next year. I'm hoping to plug some Makey Makey's into them so that children can create their own game controllers for vintage video games like Pac-Man and Frogger.

While preparing for a PLC last week, I noticed this in my Facebook newsfeed.

Adorable, right? And marketed brilliantly to moms and dads like me. If it weren't for the price tag, I probably would have pre-ordered it immediately. And that got me thinking. How much does this device truly promote creativity, coding and computational thinking? Or, is it simply a toy polished in edtech jargon and marketed to parents who would love to see their kid grow up to be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg?

Yesterday, I noticed that the New York Times had a debate going about whether to teach coding in schools. Some columnists mentioned concerns about the trendiness of coding, developmental appropriateness, the validity "computational thinking", and the loss social and emotional learning. There was also the concern that art, music and physical education would suffer from the introduction of coding to the elementary school curriculum. While some of the concerns were valid, many seemed uninformed not only about the types coding tools available to young children, but also the nature of contemporary elementary education itself. Then there was the comments section. Ugh.

I have been teaching Hopscotch to my 3rd and 4th graders for the past 3 weeks. The energy and engagement in my classroom has been absolutely electric. I gave my students very few instructions. I taught them how to draw a line and how to make an object change direction. Their first assignment was was to draw a square. Next, they converted the square into a rectangle. Then they added a triangle to create a house. They added windows and doors to complete the house. Their final challenge was to add a sun to the sky. With this assignment, I've seen collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity on a level that is far above many of the other units that I teach. I watched my students cope with the failure of bad code and try again with smiles on their faces.

We reflected on the projects yesterday. I asked students why they enjoyed working with Hopscotch. Their answers were fantastic.

"It helps me to get better at problem solving. That's something I've never been very good at."

"Building the triangle helped me to understand more about angles. That helped me a lot in math."

"I liked trying to solve problems in my own way."

When I asked them if they ever got bored trying to debug their code, all but two students said no.

Considering that there is already a debate about coding in schools, it would appear that there has not been enough advocacy for computer programming. This is strangely shocking considering the success of the Hour of Code. But I'm not sure that the debate has been entirely honest or well informed.

A rich technology education program should have a variety of components including creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, digital literacy, digital citizenship and active computing. The ISTE NETS.S standards have served as a great roadmap for providing this kind of program. Coupling these standards with quality project based learning units, 21st century learning can happen in truly transformative ways. And that is the point. Coding promotes the essential skills of learning and problem solving. The need for these skills is not debatable.

Nobody could or should expect that teaching young people to code will produce the next Mark Zuckerberg. Nobody is advocating that our elementary schools become factories of young coders. However, 21st century learners are different. We need to understand that and start meeting students where they are at. Coding is one part of the equation, if we truly want to create 21st century schools.

Invent to Learn

This book is what I've been looking for, for a long time. Go buy it now!

I just got to the part about 3D printers, physical computing, and programming. I've been actively teaching coding via iPads since December. We use Kodable in K-2 and Lightbot and Hopscotch in 3-4.  I tweeted last week that the energy in my room has been absolutely electric while working with these tools. It's been so easy to see the benefit of teaching coding to young children.

Prior to reading the above, 3D printing didn't seem like something that would have a place in K-4. However, to be honest, I wasn't really clear on the practical applications of 3D printing either. Invent to Learn opened my eyes. A local high school recently acquired a 3D printer with the help of my friend Tony Youngblood. He also hipped me to iOS based CAD programs soon to be released by Makerbot. After a little more research, I've decided my classroom needs one. The 3D printer is the kiln of the 21st Century art room.

But physical computing is the technology that has me the most excited. Littlebits caught my eye a while back, but somehow I completely forgot about it. I've been describing them as electric Legos to my co-workers. These should be in every 3-4th grade science kit. I'm really interested in the Korg set for my own personal amusement. 

Although it is capable of so much more, I've also been familiar Arduino as tool for interactive art projects. I'm not sure how accessible it would be for my students, but it's definitely worth more research.

But Raspberry Pi. Oh my. So yummy. A $25 no-frills credit card sized computer that runs various useful computing tools. It also runs Scratch. Incredible. I have this idea about having my fourth graders building multiple Raspberry Pi stations for creating a Scratch lab in my classroom. I'm not sure how do-able this project is, so I'm gonna pilot the idea on my own in my garage this summer. After tweeting my ideas, I was also introduced to Kano. Wow.

3 more days of TCAP. Yeehaw.

The Truth About Learning to Type in the K-4

I attended a PLC for K-4 technology/computer teachers today and the subject of typing programs came up. In my opinion, this is probably the most controversial issue to talk about with K-4 technology/computer teachers. It opens up such a huge can of worms.

I continue to stand by the notion that typing in K-4 is not developmentally appropriate for students and it should not be taught. Keyboards are not designed for little hands. They are designed for adult hands with fully developed muscles and bones. The ergonomics of the keyboards are barely healthy for adults. Keyboarding, over time, causes carpal tunnel syndrome. As a former web designer, I can attest that it is painful and makes the use of one's hands difficult. Why would we want to force this practice on young children?

I tweeted an abbreviated form of this idea during a technology conference last week and was met with the reply that kids need to start somewhere when it comes to typing. Eighth graders should not be hunting and pecking. I didn't disagree. But I've found K-4 students to be more productive typing on an iPad, than a desktop or laptop. The traditional desktop or laptop keyboard has too many keys for young minds. It is too much data to process. It also requires students to look in two different places as they type (three places, if they are typing from a piece of paper). iPad typing is so much more kid-friendly. The keyboard is nicely compressed with only the essential keys for expressing their ideas. There is also the simplicity of working with one surface and seeing both the input and output on one screen.

But nevermind ergonomics, why do K-4 students NEED to learn to type. Typing is not a skill of 21st century learning. At least, it won't be for long. 20 years ago, we could not have imagined technologies like Siri, AutoCorrect, Predictive Searching or even the accessibility of video chat. In 20 years, it is reasonable to believe, we will have entirely new tools that allow us to express our ideas and emotions through technology in ways we can't yet imagine.

So again, I ask, why do K-4 students NEED to learn to type. The answer? So they can take a test. Another high stakes, standardized test that may or may not measure their learning over the course of a school year. This is not a productive use of technology in a K-4 classroom. This does not promote learning or thinking. This is doing more of the same with a higher price tag. If we truly want to promote learning and thinking, not only do we have to change the way we are teaching, we also have to change the way we are assessing. Online assessments are the way of the future. If we can create technology tools that allow us to differentiate our instruction in countless ways, surely the testing companies can develop tools that allow us assess student learning in the same way.

It's time to differentiate the test.

PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators Program

With great excitement, I have been accepted to the PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators program. I am now part of 100 nationwide teachers that were selected to participate in a year long professional learning network. Through this program, I will get access to materials and trainings that will help me develop my program even further. I will also have a network to further share the work that my students and I have already done. This is a tremendous opportunity.

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/digitalinnovators_2014/

TETC 2014: Creative iPad Integration

I will be presenting a condensed version of Creative iPad Integration at the Tennessee Educational Technology Conference on Monday, April 14 from 10:45-11:45. This conference is being held at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville. For more information visit http://www.tn.gov/education/tetc/

For this condensed presentation, I will be talking about:

• The Creativity Crisis
• Seymour Papert and Constructionism
• Understanding the iOS for K-6 Educators
• Apps for Creativity
• Apps for Productivity
• Apps for Coding

I may have a small set of iPads available to provide hands-on experience with several apps. Follow me on Twitter @tcarey98 with the hashtag #creativeipadPD.

If you like what you see and hear, I can be booked for workshops, PD, etc. in your district. This workshop is available in half and full day formats.

2014 Circuit Benders Ball

I had initially intended to keep my music interests off of this blog, but this event deserves special attention. My friend Tony Youngblood has been organizing this event for the past several years. Every year it gets a little bigger and even more interesting.

Circuit Bending is the art of modifying discarded or obsolete technology and toys to create electronic musical instruments. It was pioneered by Reed Ghazala in the 1960's and has grown quietly in the electronic music underground ever since. In the age of the internet, it has steadily grown more popular. Circuit Bending appeals to makers, inventors, hackers, tinkerers, musicians and countless others.

Personally, I am not a very experienced bender, but I've made experimental electronic music using mostly lo-fi and forgotten technology for almost 20 years. In 2007, I began experimenting with the Gameboy as a musical instrument. The genre of Chiptune Music had surged in popularity with millenials and GenXers who had grown up with Gameboy. Cartridges like Little Sound DJ and Nanoloop had brought new life to the Gameboy as a multi-voiced synthesizer, drum machine and sequencer. Artists have embraced the Gameboy to create a variety of music styles. I was always attracted the limitations of the Gameboy. It seemed like such an obvious tool for creating minimal techno.

So with great pleasure, I will be performing a short set of electronic music using my Gameboy and a Casio SK-1. I will also be moderating a panel with other Chiptune artists to talk about the genre and methods for exploring this music. These artists include Frank Angotti, Ben Marcentel, Arnie Holder, and Dylan Ethier. The panel is at 3PM  2PM on Sunday, April 13. Performances begin at 4:15 PM.

For more information and ticketing visit Circuit Benders Ball.