Google donates 15,000 Raspberry Pi units to UK schools

By Mariella Moon January 29, 2013

Thanks to the Google Giving program, 15,000 students in the UK will soon be proud owners of Raspberry Pi mini-computers. The Raspberry Pi Foundation announced in a blog post today that the tech giant donated enough funds to buy 15,000 model B units (the $35 unit-only model without an enclosure) to encourage more students to take up coding.

The credit-card-sized Raspberry Pi computer became such a hit that the team behind it launched an app store back in December. Earlier this month, the team revealed that it was close to selling a million units. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Raspberry Pi co-founder Eben Upton visited the Chesterton Community College in Cambridge today to announce the partnership, as well as to personally teach students how to code. According to BBC, there’s been a 23 percent drop in the number of undergraduate students studying computer science in the UK and a 34 percent drop in the number of graduate students in the same field. According to Schmidt, information and communications technology studies in the UK focus more on using and not on creating software. Google is hoping this move could spark a change and motivate students to create and innovate.

Google is working with six different UK educational organizations – CoderDojo, Code Club, Computing at Schools, Generating Genius, Teach First, and OCR – to identify 15,000 students who will benefit the most from their own Raspberry Pi units. OCR will also be developing free learning materials to be distributed along with the mini-computers.

Image via Gijsbert Peijs

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Google

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mariella loves working on both helpful and awe-inspiring science and technology stories. When she's not at her desk writing…

Computing

Powerful upgrades turn 4th-gen Raspberry Pi into a more capable $35 desktop

raspberry pi 4 35 desktop pc screenshot

Though it was originally created as a tool for hobbyists, the makers of the Raspberry Pi have transformed the latest edition of the board into a desktop PC that starts at just $35.

The latest incarnation of the Raspberry Pi essentially moves the tinkerer's board from a hub or controller to build robotics or Internet of Things (IoT) applications into a full-fledged PC alternative, complete with a more powerful ARM processor and more ports to handle connectivity. Priced starting at $35, the Raspberry Pi 4 won't be competing in terms of performance against the far more expensive and capable PCs on our list of the best desktops, but it's an affordable solution for education and home use if you're primarily working off of web apps.

Computing

NASA hacked: 500 MB of mission data stolen through a Raspberry Pi computer

nasa robotic arm international space station

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration confirmed that its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was hacked last year, with the attacker able to steal 500 MB of data related to the space agency's missions using a cheap Raspberry Pi computer.

The Raspberry Pi, priced at about $36 for the basic board, is one of the most versatile and understated computing platforms available in the market. The credit card-sized computer is perfect for projects such as a retro gaming station or a smart home gadgets base station, but a hacker has apparently found a twisted use for it.

Computing

Get this Asus laptop with a year of Microsoft Office for $199

asus vivobook go laptop deal amazon march 2024 lifestyle

You don't need to spend several hundreds of dollars on a new laptop that you'll use as a productivity tool because there are budget-friendly options like the Asus Vivobook Go L510MA. It's actually currently even cheaper from Walmart after an $80 discount, which brings its price down to just $199 from $279 originally. There's no telling how much time is remaining before the offer expires though, so if you want to take advantage of it, you're going to have to proceed with the purchase as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the Asus Vivobook Go L510MA
For a laptop that will be able to handle basic activities like doing online research, building reports, and browsing social media, you can't go wrong with the Asus Vivobook Go L510MA. It's equipped with the Intel Pentium Silver N5030 processor and 4GB of RAM, which are a far cry from the specifications of the best laptops, but it will be enough for simple tasks. The device also comes with a 15.6-inch screen with Full HD resolution, which is pretty large and sharp for its price, but it's still portable as it only weights about 3.5 pounds with a thickness of just 0.72 of an inch.