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Using the Raspberry Pi in CIS/CS Course Specific Activities

Using the Raspberry Pi in CS/CIS courses​

By Kerry A. Bruce
11/22/2020

I am a Community College Instructor.  I teach Computer Information Systems (CIS) courses.  These courses include CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Cloud+, Cisco CCNA, Microsoft Server, Internet Of Things (IoT), and Competitive Robotics.  I am also a HUGE Raspberry Pi fan, having used them in the class room as far back as 2013.  (for my non-American friends... Community College in the US is the first two years of University with many programs designed to teach vocational skills vs. general education... So, Welding, Computer Information Systems, Nursing, Paramedics, Electrician, etc.  We do have programs that teach general education subjects, like science, math, English, history, and others as well.  I am a Raspberry Pi Certified Educator having completed one of the early Picademy training courses, I have also assisted in the delivery of a Picademy training, conducted numerous Raspberry Pi workshops for educators, students (CC, HS, and MS) as well as teach IoT/networking courses based on the Raspberry Pi.

One of the primary reasons I was drawn to the Raspberry Pi was how similar it made me feel to my first computers, the Commodore Vic-20 and 64.  Why does this matter?  Well, to use a Commodore Vic-20 or 64 you had to learn how the computer actually worked.  Much time was spent learning to code, and interact with the OS, making mistakes, and fixing those mistakes.  In today's world when you buy a new computer, you open the box and there a big sheet of instructions that tell you plug the green wire in the green port, the blue connector into the blue port, etc., then turn on the computer and off you go.  There is not a need to learn about the computer and how it operates in order to use the computer.  This makes for an end-user but not an IT Technician.  The struggle to learn how the computer works is what I think makes a great IT technician and in the Raspberry Pi you get this, and so much more. 

I have taught at two community colleges, one rural and one minority serving.  In both situations my students struggle with having enough money to make ends meet much less pay for their education and all that goes along with that, tuition, transport, textbooks, technology, etc.  In an effort to find workable and affordable solutions to engaging ways to help my students with their CS/CIS education I have integrated the Raspberry Pi into several of my courses and with this webpage/blog plan to explore and share as many Raspberry Pi CS/CIS projects as possible for other educators to integrate into their curriculum.

The plan would be for students to purchase a Raspberry Pi starter kits in one of their first courses and then to use these kits throughout their degree programs in each and every class completing at least one assignment on the Raspberry Pi as a way to leverage the low cost, highly flexible computer to help them learn core concepts within each of their courses.  Depending on the projects selected students may need to purchase accessories for their kits but the plan would be to keep the total cost of the needed items to less than $200.00 over the course of a two year community college program.  This not only helps from a budget standpoint but allows them to utilize their kits over a series of courses instead of a single IoT or similar course.

I hope to publish one project link daily for the next 90 days in a effort to provide resources for instructors (and students) to take advantage of their Raspberry Pi to learn core CS/CIS Concepts.  I hope you find the resources useful.

Day 2 Post:  Re-Thinking my Internet of Things Course

Day 3 Post:  ​The Phonebook for the Internet.  DNS Server on a Raspberry Pi

    If you have suggestions on resources to include in this effort please let me know by filling out this contact form.  Thanks!

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  • Home
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        • CIS 1696 Introduction to Competitive Robotics
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