Tag Archives: Foundation

The new home for Blockly

Post Syndicated from Philip Colligan, CBE original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/new-home-for-blockly/

I am delighted to announce that the Raspberry Pi Foundation is the new home for Blockly, the world’s leading open source library for visual programming.

New home for Blockly.

What is Blockly? 

Blockly is a free, open source library that enables developers to build applications and websites that use block-based coding interfaces. That means that instead of typing code, you snap blocks together to build programs. Behind the scenes, those blocks are turned into text-based code like JavaScript and Python. 

Blockly started life in 2011 in Google as a passion project of one engineer. Since then — thanks to the generous support of Google, a small team of brilliant engineers, and an amazing community of open source contributors and partners — it has grown to become the de facto standard for visual programming interfaces.

In particular, Blockly is the foundation for pretty much all of the block-based coding applications that you may have used to teach or learn about programming. Platforms like Scratch, MakeCode, and MIT’s App Inventor are all built with Blockly. It’s no exaggeration to say that hundreds of millions of young people have learnt the fundamentals of computer science using software that is built with Blockly. 

Young people use laptops to do their coding tasks.

As we enter the age of AI, it is more important than ever that all young people develop a foundational understanding of computer science. Blockly and the block-based coding platforms and applications that it enables are essential to realising that vision. 

You can read more about the importance of coding in the age of AI in our position paper. 

Blockly is also widely used to create interfaces that control hardware and robotics platforms. And, while its main use cases are in education, Blockly is increasingly being used to build industrial and commercial applications.

What does this change mean? 

From 10 November 2025, the Blockly open source library and assets, and key members of the Blockly team will transition from Google to the Raspberry Pi Foundation. 

Our vision is for Blockly to continue to be the standard visual programming interface that makes coding accessible to all. We are committed to maintaining Blockly as an open source project, and to working collaboratively with the community of developers and educators.

Educators collaborating on projects at a desk, with laptops open displaying a block-based coding environment.

Over the next year, we will roll out features that improve accessibility, including screen reader support and keyboard navigation, working closely with partners to support implementation of these accessibility improvements across their platforms.

Looking to the future, we want to make sure that Blockly is at the leading edge of innovations that support the teaching and learning of programming in the age of AI. We’re also excited about the potential for the Blockly team to collaborate with the Foundation’s research, learning, and product teams. 

If you are already part of the community of developers and educators, then I want to reassure you that you can continue to expect the same outstanding partnership and support from the Blockly team. We also look forward to welcoming many more members to the Blockly community over the coming years. 

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to Google for their support for Blockly over the years, and for enabling this transition with generous grant funding. 

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Translating educational content: four key principles

Post Syndicated from Vicente Forcada original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/translating-educational-content-four-key-principles/

As an organisation with global reach, translation and localisation have been part of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s activities from the start. Code Clubs and educational partners all over the world are helping young people learn about computing in their own language. We’ve already published over 1,900 translated learning resources, covering up to 32 languages, thanks to the work of our talented localisation team and our amazing community of volunteer translators.

How our approach to translation considers design, process and people

English is seen by many as the language of computing, and in many countries, it’s also either the language of education or a language that young people aspire to learn. However, English is, in some instances, a barrier to learning: young people in many communities don’t have enough knowledge of English to use it to learn about digital technologies, or even if they do, the language of communication with other students, teachers, or volunteers may not be English.

Our ‘Space Talk’ project in Latin American Spanish
Our ‘Space Talk’ project in Latin American Spanish

In a world where browsers can instantly translate web pages and large language models can power seemingly perfect conversations in virtually any language, it’s easy to assume that translation just happens and that somehow, technology takes care of it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Technology is certainly crucial to translation, but there’s much more to it than that. Our approach to translation involves considering design, process, and people to ensure that localised materials truly help young people with their learning journey. 

Localisation or translation?

Localisation and translation are similar terms that are often used interchangeably. Localisation normally refers to adapting a product to suit a local market, whereas translation is a subset of localisation that involves changing the language of the text. For instance, localisation includes currencies, measurements, formatting dates and numbers, and contextual references. Meanwhile, translation involves only changing the language of the text, such as from English to French.

Learners at a Code Club.

At the Raspberry Pi Foundation, we see translation as an enabler. It enables volunteers to reach learners, learners to succeed in their educational goals, and the Foundation to achieve its mission all over the world.

Four key ways the Foundation maximises the impact and reach of our translated materials

1. Create with localisation in mind

Regardless of whether learning materials are intended for English-speaking or global audiences, it’s important to create and design them with localisation in mind. That way, they can be used in a variety of places, and any piece of content (text, graphics, or illustrations) can be modified to meet the needs of the target audience. Keeping localisation in mind might include allowing space for text expansion, being mindful of any text embedded in graphic elements, and even making sure the context is understandable for a variety of audiences. Making a piece of content localisable at the creation stage is virtually cost-free. Modifying fully built assets to translate them or to use them in other markets can be expensive and extremely time-consuming!

2. Always have user needs and priorities upfront

Before investing in localising or translating any materials, we seek to understand the needs and priorities of our users. In many countries where English is not the usual language of communication, materials in English are a barrier, even if some of the users have a working knowledge of English. Making materials available in local languages directly results in additional reach and enhanced learning outcomes. In other communities where English has a certain status, a more selective approach may be more appropriate. A full translation may not be expected, but translating or adapting elements within them, such as introductions, videos, infographics, or glossaries, can help engage new learners.

Photo of a young person coding on a desktop computer.

3. Maximise the use of technology

While it’s possible to translate with pen and paper, translation is only scalable with the use of technology. Computer-assisted translation tools, translation memories, terminology databases, machine translation, large language models, and so on are all technologies that play their part in making the translation process more efficient and scalable. 

At the Foundation, we make use of a variety of translation technologies and also, crucially, work very closely with our content and development teams to integrate their tools and processes into the overall localisation workflow. 

4. Take great care of the people

Even with the best technology and the smoothest integrations, there is a human element that is absolutely essential. Our amazing community of volunteers and partners work very closely with learners in their communities. They understand the needs of those learners and have a wealth of information and insights. We work with them to prioritise, translate, review and test the learning materials. They are key to ensuring that our learning materials help our users reach their learning goals.

In summary

Thinking about localisation from the moment we start creating learning materials, understanding the needs of users when creating our end goals, maximising the use of technology, and taking good care of our people and partners are the key principles that drive our translation effort. 

If you’d like to find out more about translation at the Raspberry Pi Foundation or would like to contribute to the translation of our learning materials, feel free to contact us at [email protected].  

A version of this article also appears in Hello World issue 23.

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A vote of thanks to our Trustees

Post Syndicated from John Lazar original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/a-vote-of-thanks-to-our-trustees/

Tuesday 11 June 2024 will be remembered as one of the most important days in the history of Raspberry Pi.

Confetti rains at the introduction of Raspberry Pi Holdings PLC to the London Stock Exchange.
At the London Stock Exchange on 11 June 2024.

The successful introduction of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s commercial subsidiary on the London Stock Exchange is a genuinely remarkable achievement. I want to put on record my huge congratulations and thanks to Eben Upton, Martin Hellawell, and the whole team at Raspberry Pi Holdings plc for everything they have done to make this possible. 

The purpose of the IPO was to secure the next stage of growth and impact for both the Foundation and the company. We have huge ambitions and the IPO has provided both organisations with the capital we need to pursue those ambitions at pace and scale. Our Chief Executive Philip Colligan has already explained what it means for the Raspberry Pi Foundation and our mission to empower young people all over the world. 

In this post, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the significant contribution that others have made over the years, particularly all of the Trustees who have been so generous with their time, energy, and expertise. 

Founding Trustees

The Raspberry Pi Foundation was established in 2008 by six founding Trustees: Alan Mycroft, David Braben, Eben Upton, Jack Lang, Pete Lomas, and Rob Mullins. All of them deserve credit and thanks for setting us off on this incredible journey. 

Alan, Eben, Jack, and Rob were all involved with the Computer Lab at the University of Cambridge. They were dealing with a decline in applications to study the computer science undergraduate course, which was a symptom of the much wider challenge that far too many young people weren’t getting access to opportunities to learn computer science, or getting hands-on with programming and electronics. 

David Braben brought an industry perspective, drawing on the challenges he was experiencing with recruiting engineers and programmers at the world-leading games company that he had founded, Frontier Developments.

Back in 2012 at the Sony factory that produces Raspberry Pi computers in Pencoed, Wales.

For Pete Lomas, he was paying forward the support and inspiration that he received from a college technician who gave him the opportunity and encouragement to experiment with programming a DEC PDP-8. That experience ultimately led Pete to establish Norcott Technologies, an electronics design and manufacturing business that he still runs today.

The founding Trustees’ original idea was to create a low-cost programmable computer — available for the price of a textbook — that would remove price as a barrier to owning a computer and inspire young people to take their first steps with computing. It took four years for the first Raspberry Pi computer to be launched, an achievement for which Eben and Pete were rightly honoured, along with other members of the team, as recipients of the prestigious MacRobert Prize for engineering.

Combining social impact and commercial success 

What none of our founding Trustees could have predicted was the enormous commercial success of Raspberry Pi computers. In realising their vision of a low-cost programmable computer for education, the team created a new category of single-board computers that found a home with enthusiasts and industry, enabling the team to evolve — through hard work and creativity — into a business that is now entering a new phase as a listed company.

They also delivered on the original mission, with computer science at the University of Cambridge now being one of the most oversubscribed undergraduate courses in the country and many applicants citing Raspberry Pi computers as part of their introduction to programming. 

The commercial success of Raspberry Pi has enabled the Foundation to expand its educational programmes to the point where it is now established as one of the world’s leading nonprofits focused on democratising access to computing education, and is benefiting the lives of tens of millions of young people already. 

It takes a village 

While no-one really knows the origin of the proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, we can all recognise the truth in that simple statement. It applies just as much for endeavours like Raspberry Pi.

Over the years, Raspberry Pi has been a genuine team game. Employees in the Foundation and our commercial subsidiary, advisers, partner organisations and supporters, volunteers and community members have all played a crucial role in the success of both the company and the Foundation.

Pete Lomas and Philip Colligan laugh on stage.
At a Raspberry Pi birthday celebration circa 2017.

Over the years there have been 21 Trustees of the Foundation, bringing an incredible range of skills and experience that has elevated our ambitions and supported the teams in both the Foundation and the company. 

All of our Trustees have provided their time and expertise for free, never receiving any financial benefit for their contribution as Trustees. 

Serving as a Trustee of a charity is a serious business, with significant responsibility and accountability. While many charities have commercial operations, there is no doubt that the scale and complexity of Raspberry Pi’s commercial business has placed significant additional responsibilities on all of our Trustees. 

I especially want to pay tribute to my predecessors as chair of the Board of Trustees: Jack Lang, one of our founding Trustees, who sadly passed away this year; and David Cleevely, who continues to support our work as a Member of the Foundation. Both Jack and David played a particularly important part in the success of Raspberry Pi. 

Welcoming our new Trustees

As we enter this new phase for the Foundation’s relationship with Raspberry Pi Holdings Ltd, we are delighted to welcome three new Trustees to the Board:

  • Andrew Sliwinski is a VP at Lego Education, formerly co-director of Scratch @ MIT, ex-Mozilla, and founder of DIY.org. Andrew is a technologist and maker with a deep understanding of education systems globally.
  • Laura Turkington leads global partnerships and programmes at EY, and was previously at Vodafone Foundation. Laura has extensive global experience (including Ireland and India), including supporting large-scale initiatives on digital skills, computing education, and AI literacy.
  • Stephen Greene is the founder and CEO of Rockcorps and the former chair of the National Citizen Service. Stephen brings huge experience of building global volunteer movements, social enterprise, marketing (especially to young people), government relations, and education of disadvantaged youth.

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What would an IPO mean for the Raspberry Pi Foundation?

Post Syndicated from Philip Colligan original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/what-would-an-ipo-mean-for-the-raspberry-pi-foundation/

On 22 May 2024, we announced that we are intending to list the Foundation’s commercial subsidiary, Raspberry Pi Ltd, on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. This is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO). 

The IPO process is — quite rightly — highly regulated, and information about the company and the potential listing can be found on the Investor Portal on Raspberry Pi Ltd’s website. If that’s what you’re looking for, head there. 

In this blog post, I want to explain what an IPO of Raspberry Pi Ltd would mean for the Raspberry Pi Foundation. 

A tale of two Raspberry Pis

The Raspberry Pi Foundation was founded in 2008 as a UK-based educational charity. Our co-founders wanted to inspire more young people to explore the joys of coding and creating with technology, with the goal of increasing both the number and diversity of kids choosing to study computer science and engineering.

Their idea was to create a low-cost, programmable computer that could rekindle some of the excitement sparked in young minds at the start of the personal computing revolution by platforms like the BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum (incidentally also invented in Cambridge, UK). 

Raspberry Pi Ltd was incorporated in 2012 as the commercial subsidiary of the Foundation and is responsible for all aspects of design, production, and distribution of Raspberry Pi computers and associated technologies. It has always been a commercial company, albeit one that was initially wholly owned by a charity. 

Learners in a computing classroom.

It’s fairly common for UK charities to have subsidiaries that handle their commercial activities. Guidance from the regulator, the Charity Commission, explains that it helps protect the charity’s assets and ensures that the charity benefits from tax relief on profits that are generated from commercial activities and used to advance the charity’s objectives.

So Raspberry Pi has pretty much always been a tale of two organisations: the Foundation, which is a charity, and Raspberry Pi Ltd, which is a commercial company. While we are legally and practically separate organisations, we are united by a mission to democratise computing, and by a set of values that reflect the community of makers, engineers, and educators that have always been such a central part of the Raspberry Pi story.

Computing for everybody

In the years since the launch of the first Raspberry Pi computer in 2012, Raspberry Pi Ltd has continued to innovate and expand its range of products, evolving into a leading provider of high-performance, single-board computers and associated technologies for industrial and embedded uses, as well as for enthusiasts and educators, in markets worldwide. For more information on the company and all it has achieved, you should take a look at the Investor Portal.

In a computing classroom, two young children look at a computer screen.

For me, one of the most important things about a Raspberry Pi computer is that kids are learning to code on the same platform that is used by the world’s leading engineers and scientists. It’s not a toy, although it is a lot of fun. 

Crucially, the commitment to low-cost computing that was at the heart of Raspberry Pi’s founding ethos remains unchanged and has been enshrined in a legally binding agreement between the Foundation and the company. This means that Raspberry Pi will always produce low-cost, general-purpose computers that can be used for teaching and learning.

Over that same period, the Foundation has innovated and expanded its educational products and learning experiences to the point where we are now widely recognised as one of the world’s leading contributors to the democratisation of computing education. 

Three learners and an educator do a physical computing activity.

We create curricula and classroom resources that are used in schools all over the globe, covering everything from basic digital skills to computer science and AI literacy. We provide high-quality professional development for teachers and we build software tools that reduce barriers, save time, and improve learning outcomes. We also support the world’s largest network of free coding clubs and inspire young people to get creative with tech through showcases and challenges. All of this is completely free for teachers and students wherever they are in the world. 

We are also advancing the field of computing education through undertaking original research and translating evidence of what works into practice.

Young people at a laptop in a club session.

Importantly, the Foundation is device- and platform-agnostic. That means that, while Raspberry Pi computers make a huge contribution to our educational mission, you don’t need to use a Raspberry Pi computer to engage with our learning experiences and resources. 

The next stage of growth and impact

The proposed IPO is all about securing the next stage of growth and impact for both the Foundation and the commercial company. 

To date, Raspberry Pi Ltd has donated nearly $50m from its profits to the Foundation, which we have used to advance our educational mission combined with over $60m in funding from philanthropy, sponsorship, and contracts for educational services.

Three female students at the Coding Academy in Telangana.

As the company has continued to grow, it has needed working capital and funding to invest in innovation and product development. Over the past few years that has mainly come from retained profits. Listing Raspberry Pi Ltd on a public market will enable the company to raise additional capital through issuing new shares, which will lead to broader reach, greater impact, and ultimately more value being created for the benefit of all shareholders, including the Foundation.

From the Foundation’s perspective, an IPO provides us with the ability to sell some of our shares to raise money to finance a sustainable expansion of our educational activities. Put simply, instead of receiving a share of the company’s profits each year, we will convert some of our shareholding into an endowment that we will use to fund our educational programmes.

What happens after the IPO? 

Assuming we proceed with the IPO, what is now Raspberry Pi Ltd will become a public company that trades its shares on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. 

A classroom of young learners and a teacher at laptops

The Foundation will remain a significant shareholder and we will continue to share the Raspberry Pi brand. We will be involved in decision making on the same basis as all other shareholders. Our goal will be to support the company to be as successful as possible in its mission to make computing accessible and affordable for everybody.

The Foundation will use any funds that we raise through the sale of shares at the IPO — or subsequently — to advance our ambitious global strategy to enable every young person to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.

A young person uses a computer.

Partnership will continue to be at the heart of our strategy and we will work closely with businesses, foundations, and governments to ensure that our work reaches as many teachers and young people as possible. Our ambition is that around 50% of our activities will be funded from the endowment and 50% through partnerships and donations, enabling us to reach many more teachers and students by combining our resources and expertise with those of the many partners who share our mission.

Creating a lasting legacy 

Whatever happens with the IPO, Raspberry Pi has already had a huge impact on the world. It’s been an enormous privilege to be part of the journey so far, and I am hugely excited about the potential of this next phase.

I want to pay tribute to all of our co-founders for setting us off on this great adventure, and particularly to Jack Lang, who very sadly passed away earlier this month. Jack made an exceptional and unique contribution to the Raspberry Pi story, and he deserves to go down in history as one of the most significant figures in computing education in the UK. I know he would have shared my excitement about this next chapter in the Raspberry Pi story. 

With the pace of technological advances in fields like AI, our mission has never been more vital. We have the potential to positively impact the lives of tens of millions of young people who might otherwise miss out on the opportunity to change the world for the better through technology.

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Our new theory of change

Post Syndicated from Ben Durbin original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/theory-of-change-2024/

One of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s core values is our focus on impact. This means that we are committed to learning from the best available evidence, and to being rigorous and transparent about the difference we’re making.

A smiling girl holding a robot buggy in her lap

Like many charities, an important part of our approach to achieving and measuring our impact is our theory of change. We are excited to launch a newly refreshed theory of change that reflects our mission and strategy to ensure that young people can realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.

Read our theory of change

What is a theory of change?

A theory of change describes the difference an organisation aims to make in the world, the actions it takes to achieve this, and the underlying assumptions about how its actions will create change.

Two learners sharing a laptop in a coding session.

It’s like a good cake recipe. It describes the ingredients and tools that are required, how these are combined, and what the results should be. But a theory of change goes further: it also addresses why you need the cake in the first place, and the reasons why the recipe will produce such a good cake if you follow it correctly!

What is the change we want to make?

Our theory of change begins with a statement of the problem that needs solving: too many young people are missing out on the enormous opportunities from digital technologies, and access to opportunities to learn depends too much on who you are and where you were born.

We want to see a world where young people can take advantage of the opportunities that computers and digital technologies offer to transform their own lives and communities, to contribute to society, and to help address the world’s challenges.

Learners in a computing classroom.

To help us empower young people to do this, we have identified three broad sets of outcomes that we should target, measure, and hold ourselves accountable for. These map roughly to the COM-B model of behaviour change. This model suggests that for change to be achieved, people need a combination of capabilities, opportunities, and motivation.

Our identified outcomes are that we support young people to:

  1. Build knowledge and skills in computing
  2. Understand the opportunities and risks associated with new technologies
  3. Develop the mindsets to confidently engage with technological change

How do we make a difference?

We work at multiple levels throughout education systems and society, which together will achieve deep and long-lasting change for young people. We design learning experiences and initiatives that are fun and engaging, including hundreds of free coding and computing projects, the Coolest Projects showcase for young tech creators, and the European Astro Pi Challenge, which gives young people the chance to run their computer programs in space.

Three learners working at laptops.

We also support teachers, youth workers, volunteers, and parents to develop their skills and knowledge, and equip them to inspire young people and help them learn. For example, The Computing Curriculum provides a complete bank of free lesson plans and other resources, and Experience AI is our educational programme that includes everything teachers need to deliver lessons on artificial intelligence and machine learning in secondary schools.

Finally, we aim to elevate the state of computing education globally by advocating for policy and systems change, and undertaking our own original research to deepen our understanding of how young people learn about computing.

How will we use our theory of change?

Our theory of change is an important part of our approach to evaluating the impact of our resources and programmes, and it informs all our monitoring and evaluation plans. These plans identify the questions we want to answer, key metrics to monitor, and the data sources we use to understand the impact we’re having and to gather feedback to improve our impact in future.

An educator teaches students to create with technology.

The theory of change also informs a shared outcomes framework that we are applying consistently across all of our products. This framework supports planning and helps keep us focused as we consider new opportunities to further our mission.

A final role our theory of change plays is to help communicate our mission to other stakeholders, and explain how we can work with our partners and communities to achieve change.

You can read our new theory of change here and if you have any questions or feedback on it, please do get in touch.

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The four elements of our focus on impact

Post Syndicated from Ben Durbin original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/our-focus-on-impact/

The mission of the Raspberry Pi Foundation is to enable young people to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. That’s what we say in our 2025 strategy. But how can we be sure we’re succeeding?

Learners at a CoderDojo coding club.
Participants at a CoderDojo in England.

In our strategy we also identify one of our values as being ‘focussed on impact’. This means that we are committed to learning from the best available evidence, and to being rigorous and transparent about the difference we’re making.

Children in a Code Club in India.
Participants at a Code Club in India.

Like all our values, our focus on impact infuses all of our work, and it is led by a dedicated impact team. This blog outlines four ways in which we put this value into practice in pursuit of our mission.

1. Do the right things

It doesn’t matter how fast you run, if you’re heading in the wrong direction, you’ll never get to your destination. We use data to prioritise our resources where we can make the biggest difference for young people.

For example, we use national statistics from the UK to assess how many of the Code Clubs and CoderDojos we support in the UK run in places where they can reach young people facing educational disadvantage, so that we can adopt an evidence-based approach to better serving these young people.

A child at a laptop in a classroom in rural Kenya.
Learners in a classroom in Kenya.

And we know many of the young people who face the greatest barriers to accessing computing education and developing new skills and confidence live in countries with low- and middle-income economies. That’s why we are building new partnerships in India, Kenya, and South Africa and adapting our resources and programmes for the contexts of educators and learners living there.

2. Measure what matters

We’re really excited that we’ll soon be publishing an updated Theory of Change, which captures how we make an impact. This will be the foundation for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plans for all of our initiatives, where we specify their goals and set down what kinds of data we will collect to make sure we have the measure of whether the initiatives are succeeding.

A learner and a faciliator in a classroom learning digital skills.
A learner and facilitator in a classroom in Kakuma refugee camp.

Strong M&E is equally important for our established programmes and our new pilot initiatives. Code Club, the worldwide network of free, after-school coding clubs for 9- to 13-year-olds we support, has been growing for more than 10 years. Durham University’s Evidence Centre for Education is currently conducting an independent evaluation of UK-based Code Clubs to help us understand how to better support Code Club volunteers and learners around the world. We ourselves recently evaluated the pilot of a new programme we designed in partnership with Amala Education to deliver a vocational skills course for displaced learners aged 16 to 25 in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.

3. Keep getting better

Data is only useful if it’s translated into insights that are acted upon. We use the findings from evaluations to inform the design and continual improvement of all our initiatives.

Teachers in Code Club training in Odisha, India.
Teachers in Code Club training in India.

For example, the evaluation of our pilot vocational skills training in Kakuma refugee camp provided insights that have helped us adapt the programme for a second cohort of young people. The same was true of the M&E insights we gained from our partnership with Mo Schools in Odisha, India, where we have provided training and support to 1075 teachers to establish Code Clubs. Informed by survey data and informal feedback each step of the way, we are now gradually scaling up our support towards launching a more intensive computing and coding programme in 2000 schools in Odisha this year.

Young learners at computers in a classroom.
Learners in a UK primary school classroom.

Side by side with our M&E results, we also rely on the latest computing education research, conducted at the Foundation, in the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, and by academic researchers around the world. Our groundbreaking research programme on gender balance in computing, and our ongoing research on culturally relevant pedagogy, are shaping the way we work to enable all young people to achieve their full potential in computing.

4. Tell people about it

We are proud of the difference we are making. We want everyone to hear about it and feel inspired to get involved in our vital mission for young people. Our annual reviews are packed full of statistics and overviews of the difference we’re making, and we’re creating a growing video series of unique stories from people in the community we support. Watch this space for news about our updated Theory of Change, our next annual review, and more blogs about our impact.

A learner and a volunteer at a CoderDojo coding club.
A participant and a volunteer at a CoderDojo in England.

By doing these four things well, we can be confident that we are enabling young people to achieve their potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.

If you share our passion for impact and think our mission is important, why not get involved today? You can:

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Test our new Code Editor for young people

Post Syndicated from Phil Howell original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/code-editor-beta-testing/

We are building a new online text-based Code Editor to help young people aged 7 and older learn to write code. It’s free and designed for young people who attend Code Clubs and CoderDojos, students in schools, and learners at home.

The interface of the beta version of the Raspberry Pi Foundation's Code Editor.
The Code Editor interface

At this stage of development, the Code Editor enables learners to:

  • Write and run Python code right in their browser, with no setup required. The interface is simple and intuitive, which makes getting started with text-based coding easier.
  • Save their code using their Raspberry Pi Foundation account. We want learners to easily build on projects they start in the classroom at home, or bring a project they’ve started at home to their coding club.
A young person at a CoderDojo uses the Raspberry Pi Foundation's Code Editor.

We’ve chosen Python as the first programming language our Code Editor supports because it is popular in schools, CoderDojos, and Code Clubs. Many educators and young people like Python because they see it as similar to the English language. It is often the text-based language young people learn when they take their first steps away from a block-based programming environment, such as Scratch. 

Python is also widely used by professional programmers and usually tops at least one of the industry-standard indexes that ranks programming languages.

Start coding in Python

We will be adding support for web development languages (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) to the Editor in the near future.

We’re also planning to add features such as project sharing and collaboration, which we know young people will love. We want the Editor to be safe, accessible, and age-appropriate. As safeguarding is always at the core of what we do, we’ll only make new features available once we’ve ensured they comply with the ICO’s age-appropriate design code and our safeguarding policies.

Test the Code Editor and tell us what you think

We are inviting you to test the Code Editor as part of what we call the beta phase of development. As the Editor is still in development, some things might not look or work as well as we’d like — and this is why we need your help. 

A text output in the beta version of the Raspberry Pi Foundation's Code Editor.
Text output in the Code Editor

We’d love you to try the Editor out and let us know what worked well for you, what didn’t work well, and what you’d like to see next.

You can now try out the Code Editor in the first two projects of our ‘Intro to Python’ path. We’ve included a feedback form for you to let us know which project you tried, and what you think of the Editor. We’d love to hear from you.

I want to try the Code Editor

Your feedback helps us decide what to do next. Based on what learners, educators, volunteers, teachers, and parents tell us, we will make the improvements to the Editor that matter most to the young people we aim to support.

Where next for the Code Editor?

One of our long-term goals is to engage millions of young people in learning about computing and how to create with digital technologies. We’re developing the Code Editor with three main aims in mind.

1. Supporting young people’s learning journeys

We aim to build the Code Editor so it:

  • Suits beginners and also supports them as their confidence and independence grows, so they can take on their own coding projects in a familiar environment
  • Helps learners to transition from block-based to text-based, informed by our deep understanding of pedagogy and computing education
  • Brings together projects instructions and code editing into a single interface so that young people do not have to switch screens, which makes coding easier

2. Removing barriers to accessing computing education

Our work on the Code Editor will:

  • Ensure it works well on mobile and tablet devices, and low-cost computers including the Raspberry Pi 4 2GB
  • Support localisation and translation, so we can tailor the Editor for the needs of young people all over the world

3. Making learning to program engaging for more young people

We want to offer a Code Editor that:

  • Enables young people to build a vast variety of projects because it supports graphic user interface output and supplies images and sprites for use in multimedia projects

We’re also planning on making the Editor available as an open source project so that other projects and organisations focussed on helping people learn to code can benefit. More on this soon.

Our work on the Code Editor has been generously funded by the Algorand Foundation and Endless, and we thank them for their generous support. If you are interested in partnering with us to fund this key work, please reach out to us via email.

The post Test our new Code Editor for young people appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Introducing raspberrypi.com

Post Syndicated from Philip Colligan original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/introducing-raspberrypicom/

I am delighted to announce the launch of raspberrypi.com — a new website dedicated to Raspberry Pi computers and associated technologies. Head on over to find all about our low-cost, high-performance PCs, add-on boards or HATs, microcontrollers, accessories, and much more. 

As well as being able to learn about and purchase the full range of hardware products, on the new website you can download our latest software, find detailed technical documentation, connect with the community on the forums, and read the latest news about Raspberry Pi technologies and how they’re being used to change the world. 

What’s changing at raspberrypi.org

This website (raspberrypi.org) will continue to be the home for the Raspberry Pi Foundation and all of our educational initiatives to help young people learn about computers and how to create with digital technologies.

That includes online resources to help young people learn how to code, information about our networks of Code Clubs and CoderDojos, training and support for teachers and other educators, and access to the world’s leading-edge research into computing education.

You’ll still be able to find loads of resources about Raspberry Pi computers in education, and cool opportunities for young people to learn how to code and create with Raspberry Pi technologies, whether that’s our space programme Astro Pi, or building robots with Raspberry Pi Pico.

Why the change?

When raspberrypi.org was first launched as a WordPress blog in 2011, we were talking about a low-cost, programmable computer that was being designed for education. 

Fast-forward a decade, and we are now speaking about an increasingly broad range of technology and education products and services to industry, hobbyists, educators, researchers, and young people. While there is lots of overlap between those communities and their interests, it is becoming increasingly difficult to address everyone’s needs on one website. So this change is really all about making life easier for you. 

We will continue to provide lots of links and connections between the two sites to make sure that you can easily find what you’re looking for. As ever, we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below. 

Connect with us on our new social media channels

Alongside the changes to the websites, we’re also launching new social channels that are focused on the Foundation’s educational initiatives. We look forward to seeing you there.

Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
LinkedIn

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Celebrating the community: Yolanda

Post Syndicated from Katie Gouskos original https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/community-stories-yolanda-payne-educator-equity/

So far in our series of community stories, we’ve collaborated with young people from the UK, India, and Romania who are getting creative with technology to change the world around them.

Yolanda Payne.

Our next community story comes from a highly regarded community member who has been connecting young people with opportunities to learn and create with technology throughout her career. A US-based educator with over twenty years of experience, Yolanda Payne shares our mission to put computing and digital making into the hands of people all over the world.

“The biggest reason I’m so invested in technology is because people invested in me.”

Yolanda Payne

Meet Yolanda

Yolanda Payne is an educator you might recognise from our online courses. Based in Atlanta, Georgia in the USA, she’s passionate about making technology accessible to all and helping young people become technology creators.

Join us in celebrating Yolanda by sharing her story on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook! 

Yolanda says, “The biggest reason I’m so invested in technology is because people invested in me. They saw something that I was good at, showed me opportunities, and so in turn, that was my philosophy in teaching.” 

Yolanda got her first computer at a young age and was hooked instantly: it opened up many new opportunities and led her to choosing a career in education. She says, “The computer gives me the tools to be an artist, it gives me the tools to create things, and if it does that for me, then just imagine what it will do for kids!”

“If you give a teacher a Raspberry Pi and show them these resources, they’re going to be hooked.”

Yolanda Payne

Yolanda has spent her entire professional life dedicated to education. She gained a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Mississippi University for Women; a master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Mississippi State University; and Educational Specialist degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Georgia in Curriculum and Instruction, and in Language and Literacy.

A female computing educator with three female students at laptops in a classroom.

Throughout her twenty-one years as a classroom teacher and her time running Code Clubs, Yolanda found joy in supporting students who have multiple challenges or complex needs, and in seeing them thrive in the subject of computer science. Yolanda points out, “I worked with both students that were considered to be in special education and students that were gifted. And one of the biggest things that I saw that I don’t think people realise, especially about students in special education: they are used to solving problems. […] You’d be very surprised at how real-life problem-solving skills flow very easily into computer science.”

Yolanda now works as a Research Associate at the Georgia Institute of Technology. We are tremendously thankful for her contributions as an educator and an advocate for technology and young people. 

Please join us in celebrating her story by sharing it on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook! 

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