Python in Education

8  |  Chapter 2: A Pythonic Case Study: Raspberry Pi

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In fact, the Raspberry Pi was originally going to boot into a Python

console (à la the home computers of the 1980s).

Given these initial considerations and the worldwide success of the

project, it is interesting to learn about the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s

subsequent experience with Python. Did their initial focus on

Python turn out to be a good decision?

Unsurprisingly, it did.

They described the Python community as “exactly the sort you want.

Education is a core part of the community.”

Visiting Pycon in 2013 bore fruit. First, the Foundation was able to

observe the Python community engaging in an education track for

kids. Second, it was an occasion to test the hypothesis that kids don’t

code because they don’t have a platform to program on. This

hypothesis is important given that modern desktop PCs and mobile

devices don’t encourage fun “hacks” (used in the positive sense: the

exploration and elegant use of technology). That the kids at Pycon

2013 were engaged and having a lot of fun initially proved the

hypothesis. This has subsequently been confirmed by the device’s

international runaway success in the education world.

Since then, Pythonic highlights for the Foundation have included

contributions of code to the project. As you can see in 

Figure 2-1

,

the Raspberry Pi has general purpose input/output (GPIO) pins that

allow users to attach and control external devices.

Figure 2-1. A Raspberry Pi (note the GPIO pins running across the top

of the board)