Online platform for education - A Raspberry Pi approach

Finally, I bought a Raspberry Pi and that too due to COVID Lockdown. The decision to purchase the Pi was confirmed when the school scenario went upside down. Now even kindergarten kids too are forced to attend their regular classes online. So what would those who have no platforms online? What would do those parents, who do not have any technical skills? Questions are many and answers may not satisfy all. But we have to go through these chaotic times. Here in this post, I'll explain how I overcame to build a platform for my kids to attend their online classes.

Btw, I hope you know already about Raspberry Pi. If not, let me explain what it is. Raspberry Pi is a computer that fits into a credit card-sized board. It was developed by the UK's Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Raspberry Pi is made to teach basic computer science in schools. But there are many uses for this. I used it to create a platform for online education today. More information is available on their official website, www.raspberrypi.org

I have quit television about two years ago. Only the monitor was remaining in the place of the TV Stand. Set-Top Box was taken away to some other place. But right now TV turned the medium of learning for my kids. So what to do? I have only one computer to do my daily jobs. No laptops, no good spare systems. Even though it is not a wise option, my first thought was to buy a used laptop. But in this peculiar season, even used laptops have much demand, and obviously, they are more expensive than the old times.

And thus bloomed the idea of ​​the Raspberry Pi. So, after doing a little research, we came across the KDE PLASMA BIGSCREEN smart TV software. When I read the basic documentation, I realized that this  can be configured by anyone, especially those who have no technical background. Later that evening, we ordered the Pi from the authorized store recommended on the official website of Raspberry Pi.

Pi reached home on the ninth day due to the lockdown delay. I bought seven items to make it run. This is the list of items I bought.

1. Raspberry Pi Model B4GB RAM (a version of 8GB RAM also came out two days after I bought it. The price is slightly higher)
2. Official Raspberry Pi Case
3. SanDisk 16GB microSD. Card
4. Official Raspberry Pi Power Supply
5. Official Raspberry Pi HDMI Cable
6. A standard keyboard
7. A normal mouse.

I chose the Raspberry Pi Model B 4GB RAM Starter Kit from the store. It costs a total of ₹ 7,570. including shipping charges. Once the consignment arrives, there remained very little work to do more. I just logged in my computer and installed just a couple of applications and flashed them to the micro sd card. After inserting the micro SD card to the Pi and then connected to the TV and power it up and turned it on. That's all.
The steps are as follows.

1. Download the KDE Plasma Big Screen from this link https://excellmedia.dl.sourceforge.net/project/bigscreen/rpi4/beta/mycroft-bigscreen-rpi4-20200326_BETA.img.gz
2. Download the application Balena Etcher from this link at https://www.balena.io/etcher It contains the file that is suitable for any operating system.
3. Now you can use microSD with a card reader. Connect the card to the computer
4. Now it's the time to launch the Etcher. Show the previously downloaded KDE Plasma Big Screen file in Etcher.
5. Flash it.
6. The works on the computer are over. Now let's get to the Raspberry Pi.
7. Now you can remove the micro SD card from the card reader. Remove the card and place it in the slot of Raspberry Pi
8. Connect the keyboard, mouse, and HDMI cable, then power up and turn the system on.

The BASIC work ends here. Now the TV is no longer just a TV. Let's start using it as a perfect computer. This little box has many endless possibilities. Use the internet to find many surprises and fun
For more information call me at 8848487510 and I will try to provide online support as much as possible.