BitScope for Educators and Students

BitScope Education Project

We would like to see to priority given to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in school education.

We believe it's vital to equip the next generation with the skills they need to master a world dominated by technology and enable them to address the challenges they will face during their working lives.

Our particular focus and expertise is in programming and electronics.

BitScope has long been involved in the education sector with mixed signal test, measurement and data acquisition solutions for use in universities for students, researchers and educators.

With BitScope Ed we seek to broaden this to include resources for primary and secondary school education.

Bruce from BitScope speaking about BitScope Ed.

The Maker Culture

We have been impressed with the rise of the "maker culture" where an increasing number of people have become empowered to engage in home grown engineering inspired projects in the fields of electronics, robotics and bespoke manufacture such as 3-D printing among many other creative pursuits.

Maker culture puts the focus on creative and collaborative problem solving, computer programming, shared design and open source hardware and software solutions.

We believe these are just the characteristics required for effective education, especially in STEM fields. Our contribution to this movement for changes in education is focused on electronics and programming for the physical world.

Electronic Projects Lab for Raspberry Pi.

Project Based Learning

An education in electronics and programming can be very engaging and a lot of fun with low cost systems like Raspberry Pi or Arduino, some simple electronic components, prototyping boards and BitScope.

This is the platform idea behind BitScope Ed.

We've established the BitScope Blog for general information about BitScope and we've added the Education Blog where we are posting updates we hope will be of interest to students and educators.

We started the Raspberry Blog for makers working with embedded computers, robotics, electronics, sensors & servos and we've used ideas from this to build a low cost electronic projects lab to host some educational tutorials based on Breadboard One.

If you're a teacher looking to set up a practical electronics course or a student wanting to see how your circuits actually work, a low cost all-in-one setup like this can save a lot of time and effort.

An inquiring mind discussing programming in Python.

Learning to Program

We believe learning to program should be a part of every student's education. Seymour Papert first coined Computational Thinking as the name for a new approach to problem solving and learning. Google and others are building on the idea in educational contexts.

At BitScope Ed we are working with others to develop learning platforms and curriculum resources that combine programming with project based electronic systems. We've seen first hand just how engaging some similar educational programs can be for students of all ages and the huge response from parents, students and educators to our recent exhibit at the Sydney Mini Maker Faire reinforced this idea.

Problem Solving Skills

We see (computer) programming as an effective way to develop good problem solving skills.

Computers are everywhere. We use them every day, from mobile phones and tablets to PCs, TVs our cars, homes and work but few people actually know how to bend them to their will, i.e. how to program them. Fewer still know how to solve complex problems to build and program practical and scalable solutions.

We believe this is because these skills are not part of most students' education in many countries including Australia.

In recent years Raspberry Pi and Arduino have done great job lifting the veil on what computers are and what one can actually build with them. They are effective low cost platforms for learning programming and electronics. In the context of project based learning with BitScope they become very powerful because students can see inside their projects and understand how they work, or why they don't work as expected!

Project based learning where problem solving skills are developed through learning how to program "real computers", build actual electronic projects and see how they work is the key motivation for BitScope Ed. We can't do it alone of course! We'd like to combine this with shared online and interractive curriculum resources and integrated remote and local access to the lessons and projects. We welcome all feedback, ideas and suggestions for collaboration!

For all the latest news, updates, tutorials and more you can read all our recent blog posts online, subscribe to our news feed or follow us on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.

Related Posts

BitScope
Build a powerful mixed signal workstation with one simple 3D print !Sep 3
BitScope
Farnell element14 interviews BitScope CEO Bruce TullochMar 29
Raspberry
Raspberry Pi Zero W, a wireless wonder for only $10 !Feb 28
BitScope
How to assemble and get started using BitScope Blade.Feb 20
Raspberry
Heatwave no problem for BitScope Blade and Raspberry Pi !Feb 10
BitScope
Raspberry Pi Applications built with BitScope Blade.Feb 6
Education
An Interactive Museum Exhibit built with BitScope Blade.Jan 27
Raspberry
BitScope Blade Uno Raspberry Pi Weather Station in Nepal.Jan 24
BitScope
BitScope Designs and element14 launch new Blade for Raspberry Pi !Jan 23
Raspberry
Raspberry Pi 3 Launch and BitScope BladeFeb 29
BitScope
Physical Computing with Raspberry Pi and BitScope!Dec 03
Raspberry
BitScope, Ozberry & Pimoroni at Sydney Mini Maker Faire!Aug 12
Education
Picademy Workshop with Carrie Anne PhilbinJul 27
Raspberry
BitScope Blade for Raspberry Pi at Hannover Maker Faire!Jun 05
Software
BitScope DSO 2.9 Now Available.Jun 02
BitScope
Getting Started with BitScopeMay 08
BitScope
Where to Buy BitScope Micro & Accessories.Feb 19
BitScope
BitScope ARM Platform CompatibilityFeb 10
Raspberry
Bootstrapping Raspberry Pi 2 for BitScopeFeb 05
Raspberry
Raspberry Pi 2 and BitScope PerformanceFeb 02
Education
BitScope Micro & Raspberry Pi in Education at BETTJan 21
BitScope
BitScope Connection Ports ExplainedDec 19
BitScope
BitScope Micro and Oscilloscope ProbesDec 10
Raspberry
Raspberry Pi Model A+ or B+ or B+ Slimline?Nov 14
Education
Electronic Measurement with BitScope & Raspberry PiNov 12
BitScope
BitScope Micro Video Tutorial with Farnell element14Nov 10
BitScope
BitScope Micro element14 Webinar Review.Nov 03
BitScope
BitScope Micro Webinar with element14!Oct 29
BitScope
element14 launches BitScope Micro for Raspberry Pi!Oct 27
BitScope
BitScope Micro Diagnostic Port Explained.Aug 16
Raspberry
MagPi talks Raspberry Pi B+, HATs & BitScope.Aug 04
Raspberry
Raspberry Pi B+ BitScope x 4 = 8 analog + 32 logic !Aug 01
BitScope
BitScope Micro, now available at Pimoroni!Jun 01
BitScope
BitScope Model 10 or BitScope Micro?Apr 25
Raspberry
BitScope Micro (New Product) for Raspberry Pi!Apr 11
Education
BitScope Workshop at OzBerryPiApr 8
BitScope
Volume education discounts now available online!Mar 11
Raspberry
Low cost networked data acquisition with Raspberry Pi.Dec 17
Education
Collaborative Solutions, Online & Interactive Education.Dec 09
Education
Powerhouse ThinkSpace Digital LearningDec 04
Raspberry
The Sydney Mini Maker Faire Review.Nov 28
Education
BitScope Ed at the Sydney Mini Maker Faire!Nov 20
Education
Breadboard One, the 4 Bit Up/Down CounterNov 07
BitScope
Sydney BitScope, Online Demo Updated.Oct 30
Software
BitScope Touch Screen User InterfaceOct 28
Raspberry
Network access for USB BitScopes via Raspberry Pi.Oct 24
Education
BitScope Ed at OzBerryPi, Presentation Review.Oct 21
Raspberry
BitScope and friends at OzBerryPi Maker SpaceOct 20
Software
Vertical Offsets and Dual Channel DisplayOct 19
Raspberry
How to Install BitScope DSO on Raspberry PiOct 18
Education
Breadboard One, a typical Mixed Signal Circuit.Oct 17
Raspberry
Electronic Projects Lab for Raspberry PiOct 17
BitScope
BitScope Smart Port. The clever connection.Oct 12
Education
BitScope Ed, an Educational Blog about Electronics.Oct 09
BitScope
Why the oscilloscope update rate is important.Oct 06
Raspberry
Visualizing sound with Sonic Pi and BitScopeOct 05
BitScope
Differential measurements matter, here's why...Oct 01
Raspberry
BitScope Raspberry Pi OscilloscopeSep 20
More...