eLearning

Posts

Using Scratch with Raspberry-Pi

In my previous post, I mentioned some examples and projects that can be implemented using Raspberry-Pi. Most of the projects can be implemented using high-level programming languages like Java, Python, C++, etc. However, these programming languages might not be easy for kids, and hence they can’t use Raspberry-Pi! Fortunately, MIT invented Scratch programming language for kids, and this language can be implemented and used on Raspberry-Pi. Scratch is now used allover the world, and many interesting projects are developed using it. Below videos explain what is Scratch and what kids can do with it! In this video Philip (7 years) explains how he used Scratch and Raspberry-Pi to create and program his game! You can learn how to use Scratch with Raspberry-Pi from below video References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXUZaf5D12A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6LbV6bqaE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIHKM8_F4RA https://www.youtube

Learn with RPi

Raspberry-Pi helps teachers and learners to learn and practice. Here are three useful projects and ideas that might inspire you! Weather It’s important and useful to learn about weather. Instructors can help students to understand and apply data collection related to weather. RPi can be used with sensors and programmed to collect, analyze, and present the data. Here is. Here is how . Science Students can investigate various concepts from Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, using a Raspberry Pi and a Sense HAT . Here is how . Networking I remember my Networking classes. They were board, as we were trying to learn a practical topic with no practice! Young learners shouldn’t suffer, thanks to RPi. Here is how . These are just a few examples, and there are much more. You can explore them at this link . Reference: https://www.raspberrypi.org/resources/

RPi Operating System (OS)

In my previous post, I talked about the hardware, the solid component of the RPi. In this post, I will talk about the soft component, the software which plays an important role. The software has the logic and utilizes the hardware to perform the required tasks and application. As you know already know, RPi is an open platform hardware, and this is very true for the software too. In other words, developers and learners can create and develop their own operating system from scratch, or they can use available flavors which are all open for learners to either customize or use-as-is! 1. Raspbian : which is the official supported OS and can be downloaded from RPi official website directly. Below video explains how to download it. 2. Ubuntu MATE : Martin Wimpress and Rohith Madhavan have made an Ubuntu MATE image for the Raspberry Pi 2 and Raspberry Pi 3 based on the regular Ubuntu OS. Here is a video on how to download it to RPi. 3. Windows 10 IOT CORE : Tech people say: M

Raspberry Pi Hardware

In this post, we will spot the light on Raspberry Pi’s hardware components. Like any other computer or electronic system, Raspberry Pi consists of a processor, RAM, memory/memory slot, peripherals and I/O connections (USB, Ethernet Network, Camera, HDMI, I/O, etc.), and it continuously evolves over time. Specifications become better and the price goes lower. Before digging deeper, it’s good to mention that there are many different versions of Pi board, all of them are under five models, which are Model A/A+, Model B/B+, and Pi Zero. These models differ in their hardware specifications, and hence the capabilities. However, they all have processors, RAM, memory, and peripherals. In this post I'm will not talk about specific model, but rather we will have an overall idea about available specifications. The early models used Broadcom’s ARMv6 processors with 600 MHz speed. Updated versions used 900MHz speeds, and the newest versions used 1.2GHz processor’s speed. To make it eas

Raspberry Pi – Teach, Learn, and Make

What is Raspberry Pi In 2008, a few academics and technicians (Eben Upton, Rob Mulins, Jack Lang, Alan Mycroft, Pete Lomas, and David Braben) were discussing their concerns about declining interest in computer studies and engineering. Their idea was to develop low-cost microcomputer board, so high school as well as university students will get their hands dirty working with it! The microcomputer is called Raspberry Pi, which is a credit card size board and it costs between $5 - $35 only. Raspberry Pi is an open source solution (both software and hardware) and can be found anywhere in the world. The board was originally designed to be used by students to learn to programme. However, the scope is expanded to many other applications by engineers, professionals, companies, as well as educational institutes. So far, more than 13 million boards are sold all over the world, making it the best-selling “General purpose computer” ever. Below the video is a quick overview of the boar

Tools for eLearning - Part 2

Tools for eLearning There are many tools to help create and maintain elearning content. In the previous post, we discussed LMS which are mainly management and container tools. Here we will discuss many tools that help instructors to create content. We will talk about screen capturing tools, video editing tools, and quiz making tools. Screen Capturing tools: OBS Studio OBS studio is a free screen recording software. OBS has many features like HD streaming and recording, no restrictions on video length and easy setup which makes it the best option for gamers! Flashback Express Flashback has two versions, free and paid with more features on the paid version. Adding to screen recording, this software can record videos from Webcam too. It also has its own video editing tool which is perfect for those who don’t want to buy or get another video editing tool. Camtasia Khan Academy website uses Camtasia to record its videos from the screen. Camtasia is one of the best t

Learning Management Tools (LMS)

There are many tools (soft and hard) that are used in elearning. Tools can be used to 1) prepare content (video, audio, tests, etc.); 2) As containers and management tools; 3) To access and consume the content itself. In my opinion, content containers and management tools are the most important and sophisticated ones. In this post, I will describe the Learning Management Tools (LMS), their features, and sample products. A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses or training programs. A typical example is the Black-Board that we are using at Syracuse University. Here are some reasons/advantages of using LMS: Managing users, courses, roles, instructors, and generation of reports: This includes uploading courses and contents (text, video, audio, simulation, etc.), assigning roles (student, instructor, admin, etc.), and generate reports and statistics. Calendar generatio

Statistics

Statistics support and stand by elearning side. Below infographic (from shift elearning website) presents some facts and statistics which clearly reveal that elearning is here not only to stay but to grow and dominate! If you have any stats, please comment below. References: http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/301248/15-facts-and-stats-that-reveal-the-power-of-elearning

Benefits of eLearning

eLearning has many benefits and advantages. Below are five: Cost effective: Cost is one of the most important factors in learning and education. eLearning can help instructors and academic institutions to adapt with very limited budgets and resources. This is very valid, especially for third world countries. Initial cost can be high, but over time it will become much cheaper for learners, learning institutions, companies, and governments. Global reach: eLearning has a global reach, thanks to the recent advances in technology. Smartphones, the Internet, laptops, computers are available everywhere and can be used in elearning. As an example, Khan Academy has millions of students all over the world. The content and website are provided mainly in English but are also available in other languages like Spanish, Portuguese , Italian , Russian , Turkish , French , Bengali and Hindi . Individualized learning/Self-paced: People are different and differ in their learn

Best elearning website:

In this post, I will list some of the best elearning websites. In my first post, I mentioned Khan Academy and Coursera. Below are some other interesting websites. edX: EdX is a non-profit organization founded in May 2012 by scientists from Harvard and MIT. Gerry Sussman, Anant Agarwal, Chris Terman, and Piotr Mitros taught the first edX course on circuits and electronics from MIT, drawing 155,000 students from 162 countries. In 2013, they partnered with Stanford and in June 2013 they reached 1 million students ! What is so special with edX is that they developed their own platform as an open source and made it free and available to other institutions of higher learning that want to make similar offerings. Click HERE for more info. MIT OCW: MIT OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW) is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to put all of the educational materials from its undergraduate – and graduate-level courses online , freely and op

Types of elearning

Types of e-Learning: There are different terminologies and types for elearning. Defining these terminologies will help us understand elearning in a better way. Below are the main ones. - Synchronous vs asynchronous elearning: Synchronous elearning is real-time learning, in other words, learning happens at the same time regardless of geographical location/s. There are different tools for synchronous elearning, like video conferencing, phone calls, chatting, VoIP tools, the Internet, etc. There are many advantages of synchronous elearning, i.e. learners can discuss and get immediate feedback (which means more personalized learning experiences). This provides a socialized way of learning as people can interact, see, and listen to each other. However, some learners might face disadvantages like the quality of communication channels, different time zones (2PM in US = 2AM in China!), time and availability restrictions and so on. On the other side, asynchronous el