What you'll learn
Learn to set up a Raspberry Pi
Learn about how electric circuits work
Get an introduction to Python, the programming language
Learn how to use a Raspberry Pi and Python to make an LED flash on and off

Requirements
No experience necessary - everything is taught from square one.

Description
This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.Learn how to use a Raspberry Pi to write Python code that lights up a real LED, from Rivets and Sprockette! This half-hour class covers what the Pi is, how coding works, and how to build a simple circuit that responds to your code. In this 45-minute class, students will learn about the Raspberry Pi single board computer, the basics of using Python, and how to connect and light an LED with code.The course is designed for beginning students (8-13 yrs old) who are interested in STEM, and would like to learn how to use a Raspberry Pi single-board computer to interface with the real world.  The course starts with an introduction to the Pi itself and gives a short tour of the board. Then the student is introduced to Python and the Thonny development environment (native to the Pi.) This is followed by a short introduction to what an electric circuit is, and this is followed by instructions on how to connect and LED and resistor to the Pi's GPIO pins and then write the code to make the LED blink on command. Finally, the course goes into troubleshooting and a final wrap-up that explains why this is an important skill. (Rivets and Sprockette are, of course, created, voiced, and animated by generative AI, though all the actual content of the course is written by Wolfram Donat - a computer engineer with almost 20 years of experience in hardware, software, and the Raspberry Pi itself.)