Hi all

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it might
be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of interest in the
device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage take on the situation,
but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. He is 17 and a bit of an
academic, not really interested in engineering/product design etc. Even so,
I expected he would know of a few interested mates that would be getting
involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone would
be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as software engines
only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and interface devices etc.

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science (as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!


The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly or
wrongly).

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their interest
(or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in general?

Phil

On Mar 9, 1:31*pm, "TheScullster" wrote:
Hi all

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it might
be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of interest in the
device in schools. *Granted this is only one teenage take on the situation,
but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. *He is 17 and a bit of an
academic, not really interested in engineering/product design etc. *Even so,
I expected he would know of a few interested mates that would be getting
involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! *Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone would
be interested. *Like most these days, he sees computers as software engines
only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and interface devices etc.

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science (as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level were
likely to be interested. *Apparently the school has dropped this option as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!

The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly or
wrongly).

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their interest
(or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in general?

Phil

Very interested, with real computer science taught at GCSE and A level
at the local grammar school.

MBQ

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:36:09 -0800, Man at B&Q wrote:
Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their
interest (or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in
general?

Very interested, with real computer science taught at GCSE and A level
at the local grammar school.

My boy (13) tends to be very interested and enthusiastic about these
kinds of things for as long as it takes him to find out that he has to
put some effort into reading in order to further understanding - at that
point it becomes boring and he moves on to something else.

Everyone's different though; I was the complete opposite as a kid and
found being spoon-fed information tedious, but loved working out what
made things tick by myself.

I think the Pi would have frustrated me at that age, because the sheer
amount of stuff inbetween what I type and the end result is mind-boggling
- and I think my boy would have similar problems, because people would
have difficulty teaching him about what was really going on.

OTOH, I brought home an ancient typewriter the other day, and all three
of our kids are fascinated by that simply because they can press a key
and *see* how the end result is acheved (well, now I've stripped it all
down, de-gunked and oiled it so it works, anyway

cheers

Jules

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:33 +0000, TheScullster wrote:

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it
might be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of
interest in the device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage
take on the situation, but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. He
is 17 and a bit of an academic, not really interested in
engineering/product design etc. Even so, I expected he would know of a
few interested mates that would be getting involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone
would be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as
software engines only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and
interface devices etc.

The people on our CS degree are the opposite (hardly surprising I guess).

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science
(as distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A
level were likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped
this option as there were only 2 students interested in taking it!

Not at all surprising. It's a relatively hard A level, and all other
things being equal, it's likely to be about one grade harder than most
other subjects.

The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly
or wrongly).

Schools don't like it because it affects their output stats (and thus
their sixth form funding, which is being drastically cut anyway).

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their
interest (or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in
general?

Most of them are too interested in other stuff these days - just as they
aren't interested in DIY, or many other things that we were. I'm
expecting my (pretty geeky) nearly-16-year-old to grow out of it - he was
really into this stuff a couple of years ago. He even fixed his broken
iPod Touch, buying suitable tools, parts, etc. without telling me!

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 9 Mar 2012 19:51:03 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:33 +0000, TheScullster wrote:

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it
might be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of
interest in the device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage
take on the situation, but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. He
is 17 and a bit of an academic, not really interested in
engineering/product design etc. Even so, I expected he would know of a
few interested mates that would be getting involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone
would be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as
software engines only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and
interface devices etc.

The people on our CS degree are the opposite (hardly surprising I guess).

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science
(as distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A
level were likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped
this option as there were only 2 students interested in taking it!

Not at all surprising. It's a relatively hard A level, and all other
things being equal, it's likely to be about one grade harder than most
other subjects.

I have taught both computer studies and A level physics in recent years and
would have to say that they are on a par in terms of their difficulty, in
general I found that the more able students could progress in both but that
for those slighty less able physics was a little harder. it did depend on
the interest and motivation though but some aspects of the CS course could
be understood by some hard work by these students but they would struggle
with the physics even when they put the work in


The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly
or wrongly).

Schools don't like it because it affects their output stats (and thus
their sixth form funding, which is being drastically cut anyway).

+1


In answer to the oiginal poster :- on tuesday before last I brougght the
subject of the Pi up with my Level 3 diploma engineers (class of 12 year 12
students) and 9 had heard of it and 3 were preparing to get up for 6 o
clock the following morning to try and get one of the first batch

--
(º€¢.¸(¨*€¢.¸ ¸.€¢*¨)¸.€¢Âº)
.€¢Â°€¢. Nik .€¢Â°€¢.
(¸.€¢Âº(¸.€¢Â¨* *¨€¢.¸)º€¢.¸)

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:31:52 +0000, Ghostrecon wrote:

On 9 Mar 2012 19:51:03 GMT, Bob Eager wrote:

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:33 +0000, TheScullster wrote:

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it
might be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of
interest in the device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage
take on the situation, but I asked my lad about them at dinner time.
He is 17 and a bit of an academic, not really interested in
engineering/product design etc. Even so, I expected he would know of
a few interested mates that would be getting involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone
would be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as
software engines only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and
interface devices etc.

The people on our CS degree are the opposite (hardly surprising I
guess).

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science
(as distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A
level were likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped
this option as there were only 2 students interested in taking it!

Not at all surprising. It's a relatively hard A level, and all other
things being equal, it's likely to be about one grade harder than most
other subjects.

I have taught both computer studies and A level physics in recent years
and would have to say that they are on a par in terms of their
difficulty, in general I found that the more able students could
progress in both but that for those slighty less able physics was a
little harder. it did depend on the interest and motivation though but
some aspects of the CS course could be understood by some hard work by
these students but they would struggle with the physics even when they
put the work in


The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area
with approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia
(rightly or wrongly).

Schools don't like it because it affects their output stats (and thus
their sixth form funding, which is being drastically cut anyway).

+1


In answer to the oiginal poster :- on tuesday before last I brougght the
subject of the Pi up with my Level 3 diploma engineers (class of 12 year
12 students) and 9 had heard of it and 3 were preparing to get up for 6
o clock the following morning to try and get one of the first batch

That's why I said 'most'. I do see relatively few students who've taken
physics (I didn't take it myself, but did Nuffield Physical Science).



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 13:31:33 -0000, "TheScullster"
wrote:

Hi all

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it might
be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of interest in the
device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage take on the situation,
but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. He is 17 and a bit of an
academic, not really interested in engineering/product design etc. Even so,
I expected he would know of a few interested mates that would be getting
involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone would
be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as software engines
only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and interface devices etc.

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science (as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!


The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly or
wrongly).

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their interest
(or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in general?

Phil



It's a great device but I just do not get how it is going to promote
an interest in programming, not in the first world anyway. It is no
more easy to program than any other computer and if you can afford a
computer or already have a computer and have the slightest inclination
to try some programming then you would probably be doing so already.

In the third world where you might be keen to try a bit of programming
but can't afford a computer , well, maybe.

On 09/03/2012 13:31, TheScullster wrote:
Hi all

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it might
be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of interest in the
device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage take on the situation,
but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. He is 17 and a bit of an
academic, not really interested in engineering/product design etc. Even so,
I expected he would know of a few interested mates that would be getting
involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone would
be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as software engines
only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and interface devices etc.

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science (as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!


The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly or
wrongly).

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their interest
(or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in general?

My 15-year-old (taking Design and Technology GCSE this summer so at
least is 'target audience' you'd think)... he's never heard of the Pi
either.

David

On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 13:31:33 -0000, TheScullster wrote:

Hi all

For those following the Raspberry Pi/Humble Pi threads, I thought it might
be interesting to try to get some feedback on the level of interest in the
device in schools. Granted this is only one teenage take on the situation,
but I asked my lad about them at dinner time. He is 17 and a bit of an
academic, not really interested in engineering/product design etc. Even so,
I expected he would know of a few interested mates that would be getting
involved with these.

Absolutely no idea! Hasn't heard of them and doesn't see why anyone would
be interested. Like most these days, he sees computers as software engines
only (Office, games etc) rather than controllers and interface devices etc.

What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science (as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!


The school he attends is one of the top comprehensives in the area with
approx 2000 pupils, so maybe there is a leaning toward academia (rightly or
wrongly).

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their interest
(or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in general?

Phil

whilst my 9 year old son heard about it from me first (months ago) he is
quite enthusiastic to try and use it for controlling leds (gpio etc) - he
spent about 5 hours the other day programming a genie e18 activity board -
producg amongst other things a traffic light system and alarm (not without
some help - but he is quite competent)
--
(º€¢.¸(¨*€¢.¸ ¸.€¢*¨)¸.€¢Âº)
.€¢Â°€¢. Nik .€¢Â°€¢.
(¸.€¢Âº(¸.€¢Â¨* *¨€¢.¸)º€¢.¸)

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:33 -0000, TheScullster
wrote:


What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science
(as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level
were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option
as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!



That's because kids can't be arsed with the difficult subjects, their
whole aim is to go to uni and get any degree they can, which means the
easy ones - Media Studies usually. You can blame the government and
employers for encouraging them, we get grads coming to our company really
proud about their useless degree, and they usually last a couple of months
in engineering, after figuring out their degree is worthless in the real
world and that it's not a quick ticket to superstardom.

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:35:40 +0000, MarkG wrote:

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:33 -0000, TheScullster
wrote:


What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science
(as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level
were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option
as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!



That's because kids can't be arsed with the difficult subjects, their
whole aim is to go to uni and get any degree they can, which means the
easy ones - Media Studies usually. You can blame the government and
employers for encouraging them, we get grads coming to our company
really proud about their useless degree, and they usually last a couple
of months in engineering, after figuring out their degree is worthless
in the real world and that it's not a quick ticket to superstardom.

That seems to be changing. The balance of applications for 'soft' courses
vs. 'real' ones is tilting towards the real ones this year.

--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 15:35:29 +0000 (UTC), Jules Richardson
wrote:


OTOH, I brought home an ancient typewriter the other day, and all three
of our kids are fascinated by that simply because they can press a key
and *see* how the end result is acheved (well, now I've stripped it all
down, de-gunked and oiled it so it works, anyway



We have bought three typewriters over the last year or so.
One lovely one for my desk and two for a friend who was keen to get
hold of one for doing envelopes with. (Yes he wanted two)
--
http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk

On Fri, 9 Mar 2012 13:31:33 -0000, "TheScullster"
wrote:

[--snip--]

Do any other members of the group have teenage kids to report their interest
(or lack of it) in these devices, or computer applications in general?

My youngest (11) is very keen on getting a "pi" and has spent some
considerable time browsing the web looking for information on it. I
only wish I could get one sooner. He is very keen on
science/design/engineering and spends quite a lot of time building
elaborate "models" on Minecraft.

He goes to a very good large comprehensive school but they offer no
computer science/studies subjects at GCSE or A level. They only do
ICT.

My youngest son is keen on ICT being changed or replaced with computer
studies. I think this is starting to happen already a little since he
recently announced they were going to be taught a little about how a
computer works. And neither of my older children had this oppurtunity.

OTOH my daughter (teenager) quite likes ICT the way it is since she
likes playing with photoshop and has no interest in how a computer
works or in learning programming.

My oldest son doesn't really care either way and would be no more
interested in computer science than he was in ICT.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:35:40 -0000, MarkG wrote:

On Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:31:33 -0000, TheScullster
wrote:


What really amazed me was when I questioned him about computer science
(as
distinct from "IT") and whether the guys taking this course to A level
were
likely to be interested. Apparently the school has dropped this option
as
there were only 2 students interested in taking it!



That's because kids can't be arsed with the difficult subjects, their
whole aim is to go to uni and get any degree they can, which means the
easy ones - Media Studies usually. You can blame the government and
employers for encouraging them, we get grads coming to our company really
proud about their useless degree, and they usually last a couple of months
in engineering, after figuring out their degree is worthless in the real
world and that it's not a quick ticket to superstardom.

That's a gross generalisation. The vast majority of students do not
do media studies, despite the impression given by the tabloids.

I know many kids who are really excited about studying a "difficult"
subject at degree level and my eldest son is soon to be doing a 4 year
undergraduate course in Physics at a top University.

I very much doubt a media studies graduate would be able to get any
job ATM let alone one in engineering.
--
(\__/) M.
(='.'=) If a man stands in a forest and no woman is around
(")_(") is he still wrong?

Ghostrecon writes:

whilst my 9 year old son heard about it from me first (months ago) he is
quite enthusiastic to try and use it for controlling leds (gpio etc) - he
spent about 5 hours the other day programming a genie e18 activity board -
producg amongst other things a traffic light system and alarm (not without
some help - but he is quite competent)

I would expect that the vast number of different USB adaptors, with
drivers often supplied only for M$ machines, would result in a
fair-sized body of people becoming competent at coding I/O interfaces
for the Rasp.

Which would certainly force an increase in understanding of the nuts &
bolts of a computer system.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

Thanks for the interesting feed back.

A colleague of mine mentioned the Sinclair ZX and Spectrum devices that were
around in our teenage.
They did see a reasonable take up, but I guess most of the "development"
necessary was limited to writing gaming code using multiple function keys
(five at a time).

30 years ago I enrolled on a course covering computer control and such. It
was cancelled due to lack of takers!

Maybe things haven't changed that much after all!


Phil