Hello friends! Welcome back to another week of ‘what we’ve been reading’, and this week we have a bumper selection of the education, making, and learning stories that you should know about.
What is the purpose of education?
Interview with Graham Brown-Martin (pi-top's Chief Education and Product Officer) at the 11th International Conference for Education, Research & Innovation.
Defining 'maker'
Raspberry Pi asked some of their favourite content creators how they define the word 'maker', and what being a maker means to them.
Quote of the week
The team behind pi-top [4]
On 23 January 2019, we launched pi-top [4]. This game-changing device is the result of 18 months of interdisciplinary work across a hugely diverse team comprising software developers, hardware engineers, industrial designers, learning experts, and content creators, working in three different continents.
New headsets monitor pupils’ brain waves to track concentration
This week in 'what they were thinking?!' BrainCo, an American company, says its $350 (£266) headsets called Focus 1, can help teachers to identify pupils who need extra help, with data presented on a dashboard that shows the “average” brain activity of the whole class. No more words needed...♀️
How to move from digital substitution to ‘deeper learning’
"We used to watch VHS tapes on the television. Now we are watching a YouTube video, so the pedagogy hasn’t changed that much. The technologies that we see taking off in most schools are the ones that closely replicate traditional institutional practice because they are the ones we can latch on to the most easily. They are the ones that disrupt our teaching and learning the least."
So how do teachers actually create meaningful work and allow students real agency in a 21st-century classroom? EdSurge talked with Scott McLeod, associate professor of education leadership at the University of Colorado in Denver, to find out. Check out the podcast episode here.
Learning by brewing - Raspberry Pi-powered DIY coffee machine
Mugsy is the world's first hackable, customizable, dead simple, robotic coffee maker, powered by the Raspberry Pi. It's available in an easy to assemble kit. Coffee and making, is there a better combination?
Making a simple insect activity monitor using a Raspberry Pi
The Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the worlds' most impressive art collections, and we just found out this week that they monitor their objects using a Raspberry Pi.
The museum uses a camera module and temperature, humidity and light sensors to find out at what time of the day insects are more active or if they favour particular environmental conditions.
How to set up your FabLab
The University of Bristol, in collaboration with the Fab Foundation, have created this guide that outlines the main challenges and issues arising for anyone running, or considering setting up, a FabLab.
Want to read more? Check our previous ‘best of the web’ reading list.
