My 11 year old wants to learn “coding” (should not have let him watch the Matrix).

He’s mentioned Lua (Roblox game code I believe) and Python for use on an older Raspberry Pi that he was given.

Any pointers to good online resources appreciated that don’t require him to leave a steaming great pile of personal data on servers all over the USA (or worse) would be greatly appreciated.

I don’t think my poor attempts at BASIC on the Spectrum as a child qualify me to work out what’s good and bad here.

Build something with the Pi, like a temperature monitor. (You’ll need to get a sensor, if you don’t have one). Loads of ideas around on the web, this is the first I found:

https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/codeclub/python-module-1

and

https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/getting-started-with-picamera

Edit – get that Pi used.
Look awesome – if a bit pricey.

In the true style of recommending something not asked for, I quite liked this as a practical example of what you can do with code.

Plus you get to physically build stuff.

https://store.arduino.cc/genuino-starter-kit

And you can link it up with the Raspberry Pi to do fun stuff.

I have subscribed to a monthly coding package from TechWillSaveUs for my 10yo. It is Microbit based, and every month we get some new resourced and some coding tutorials.

I am trying to work out how to build a sensor for a squirrel trap that will notify (ideally via email or text) me when it is triggered. I have a few ideas, but it will be outside, but within wifi range.

I too like a bit of ardunino if the outcome is to be something physical.

For me the advantage is that for many applications the smallest nano and pico versions are not just the most practical but also the cheapest. So you can build a useful ‘thing’ that remains being that thing when you move on to your next idea. Pimironi is an online shop that’s good for components. Ardunino itself is an open source technology so you can buy perfectly legit 3rd party versions even cheaper on ebay etc.

Scratch is pretty good for playing around with coding ideas – https://scratch.mit.edu/

Get him to ask his IT teacher at school for a BBC Microbit. They will have a cupboard full of them, as all schools in UK were given a year groups worth about 4-5 years ago, but most never used them.
Can be programmed with a variety of languages, from a simple ‘scratch’ like code, to Python.

It’s not Python or Lua, or even indeed especially related to Pi, but I recently had a good experience with the Tour of Go for the Go language:

https://tour.golang.org/welcome/1

It’s all run in the browser so absolutely zero setup concerns.

Go is as good a language as any for learning “coding”, although it does have the slight downside that concurrency support in a lot of other languages will feel a bit klunky after Go!

‘Learn python the hard way’ I found a great resource for not a lot of money but didn’t really start to get to grips with it properly until I found a real use for it at work. Something like the arduino is great for learning coding and electronics as you can have a definitive vision of what it is you are trying to do while learning the code that make it all work.

Search for “javidx9” on YouTube. It’s like Bob Ross for coding. It’s C++, but kids are bright and learn quickly.

Thanks all, sent him a link to the thread and suggested he thinks a bit about what he wants to do with it. I think he likes the idea of games but we will see. 🙂

https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/issues

Whatever hardware/software you/he decides on – I’m Pi/Python/Bash – the best way forwards is to actually set a target – such as making a temperature sensor or a motion sensor that takes a picture and emails it to you (or a squirrel trap sensor….. biggest issue will be power) – if there is an end goal then he’s more likely to stick to it.

It may seem like ‘playing’, but a water temperature sensor in our other place alerted me to a rapid drop in the hot water temperature that turned out to be a separated pipe connection that would have gone un-noticed for weeks!

If they could learn python in the next few hours perhaps they could give me a hand on my dissertation.

Tracking dune erosion using google earth engine and sentinel 2 NDVI.

Let me know if they fancy it.