The State government is launching two projects to equip schoolchildren with basic skills in IT and electronics.
As many as 7,500 students will be given Raspberry Pi kits as part of the second phase of the Learn to Code project while 6,000 students will receive electronics kits under the Electronics@School programme.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the programmes at a function to be held on Friday at the Government HS LP School, Thycaud, Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty told reporters here on Thursday.
In the pilot phase launched by the Chief Minister in February, 2,500 students of class eight were given Raspberry Pi kits and trained in programming by IT experts in all the district centres. On Friday, Mr. Kunhalikutty will launch the second phase of the Learn to Code project. The Chief Minister will give away prizes to the winners of the coding competition held as part of the pilot project. The winners will get an opportunity to exhibit their projects.
A taste of Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a low cost, credit-card sized computer that plugs into a display unit (computer monitor or TV) and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. It can carry out most functions of a regular desktop, including word processing, playing games and videos, and Internet surfing, besides enabling users to learn programming in languages such as Scratch and Python. External devices like robots and thermostats that record temperature can be programmed using the kit.
The Learn to Code project is a joint endeavour of the Kerala Startup Mission and IT@School project. The distribution of Raspberry Pi kits in the second phase will cover children in aided and unaided schools also.
Colour-coded kits
Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb is scheduled to launch the Electronics@School project and distribute colour-coded training kits for hands-on training in basic electronics to select children. The kit is aligned with the Physics curriculum of classes 9 and 10.
Circuits
The colour-coded training kit is based on the simple concept of puzzle solving that helps students understand connectivity through trial and error. The structure of the kit divides electronics into six basic blocks; each of these bricks is colour coded so as to make it more intuitive and easier to understand. Circuits of the light-following robot, automatic gate for actuators and the fire detecting robot can be made from the kit.
Aim to create pool of potential IT professionals, tech entrepreneurs.
