Nov. 20, 2020: Education
Here’s the handout:
This is the most watched TED talk.
This was his follow-up talk. He was a very witty speaker and his opinions about the role of education are worth listening to. He passed away in August 2020.
Here’s quick explanation in Japanese of Bloom’s Taxonomy. There’s lots of information out there. The basic gist is students should be challenged to do more than just memorize facts; they should apply new knowledge in various ways and eventually use it to create something new and unique.
Raspberry Pi
To get started with a Raspberry Pi you need:
- A Raspberry Pi
- A fast microSD memory card
- A Micro HDMI to HDMI cable (One end of the cable is small, the other is large.)
- A computer monitor or TV with HDMI input.
- A USB keyboard (any USB keyboard will work.)
- A USB mouse (any USB mouse will work.)
- A power supply (This is a little tricky. It has to be USB-C and at least 5.1V / 3.0A DC output. Many USB-C phone chargers aren’t powerful enough because they only output 1 or 2 amps, not 3. And some 3 amp power chargers won’t work for some unknown reason, so it’s best to use one that has been verified to work with the Raspberry Pi.)
For audio, you can use HDMI output if your TV or computer monitor supports it, or you can plug headphones or external speakers into it using a 1/8 inch jack.
This looks like a pretty good starter kit.
It has a few extra (but useful) items:
- Heat sinks and a fan to keep the Pi from overheating. They’re not absolutely necessary, but good to have.
- A case.
- A USB to microSD card reader so you can copy download and copy the necessary software to it.
I recommend buying a book for beginners or watching tutorials on YouTube. I don’t know which book is best. It depends on who it’s for. Here’s one for elementary and junior high kids.
“Scratch” is a programming language for children. Click the link, and at the bottom of the page you can switch to Japanese.
There’s a new Raspberry Pi model that just came out. It’s built into a nice keyboard. However, it’s not for sale in Japan yet. I don’t know when the Japanese language keyboard version will be available. If you can wait, I recommend waiting. Note that it doesn’t have a headphone jack–you have to use a TV or monitor that has HDMI audio.
