'Raspberry Jam' at Big Bend CC
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 1 month AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 22, 2018 2:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — A chance to learn more about the small, economical computers known as Raspberry Pi, and for people to show off their computer projects – Raspberry Pi and otherwise – is scheduled for Big Bend Community College March 3. The “Raspberry Jam” is one of two scheduled in Washington.
The “Raspberry Jam” is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the ATEC building on the BBCC campus. Admission is free, but participants are asked to donate cans, boxes or bags of non-perishable food for the Viking Food Pantry, the on-campus food bank.
It’s an “organized community event where people gather, share knowledge and learn new things along with other Raspberry Pi enthusiasts,” according to a press release from BBCC. It’s “in honor of the pocket-sized Raspberry Pi computer.”
Raspberry Pi was invented by British computer scientists as a cheap and easy way to learn computing. Its original purpose was to help people in developing countries learn coding, and make coding education more accessible to schools. But the computer has been adapted to many different uses since its development.
The computer performs many of the same functions of a desktop, including word processing and spread sheets, internet browsing, games. It connects to a monitor and to a standard keyboard and mouse.
Participants will “learn about and experiment with microprocessors and microcomputers,” the press release said. They can be used to run a number of applications, including medical simulation mannequins, 3D printers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and the “Raspberry Jam” will include demonstrations of some of those applications.
Representatives from a number of BBCC programs will be on hand to help people navigate the technology, and to share information on college programs. Participating programs include computer science, mechanics, the UAV program, and medical simulations. Representatives from the college’s STEM center will be available to answer questions.
There’s a virtual reality tour of the college’s computer science labs. “Learn how to send basic commands in Command Line Interface, and begin your journey into the world of Physical Computing. See a retro Pi with hundreds of old-school games, built by one of our Pi makers,” the press release said.
“Already a hacker-maker? Bring your projects and share them with others.”
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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