TIME TO LEARN
The world is a very different place from just a few months ago. We’re at home for most of the day with our families and loved ones. We’re socially distant, and turning more and more to online solutions to keep in contact, educate and entertain ourselves. This leads me to the Raspberry Pi, which has seen a jump in sales since the outbreak.
For March 2020 there were 640,000 Pi sold, the second highest month since the device was launched back in 2012. The Pi 4 has obviously led the sales and it’s humbling to see so many people wanting to learn and teach using the Pi as a low-cost learning machine. But it doesn’t end there: keen hackers have used the Raspberry Pi and Arduino to develop their own ventilators for use with COVID 19 patients. Yes you read that correctly – a $35 single board Linux computer, and a $25 micro controller are being used to create medical equipment! I don’t think anyone saw that coming!
Our children are now being educated at home, with parents providing learning using resources supplied by their schools. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has also provided a themed “Digital Making at Home” where children are challenged to make a project using the Raspberry Pi and one of the many programming languages available on the Pi. This response is most welcome in the current crisis, and it’s helping children and parents to keep busy, be entertained, but most importantly to keep learning.
Stay home, stay safe and keep learning new skills.