One core component of the mission of the Raspberry Pi Foundation is to “put the power of computing and digital making into the hands of people all over the world.”

To that end, every year the Raspberry Pi Foundation hosts a free once-a-month seminar series to explore important topics in computer science education. Each seminar features presentations from research experts on in the field of computing education about their latest work and ideas.

While the seminars focus on teachers and students, anyone with an interest in cutting-edge research in computing education is invited to attend!

For example, you can catch up on the 2020 Seminar Series, which featured talks such as “The Role of Block-Based Programming in Computer Science Education” and “Subgoal Labels: Reducing Cognitive load in Intro CS.”

Now in 2021, the Research Seminar Series is focusing on how to remove barriers in education to ensure that all students have access to quality computing technology education.

The 2021 Research Seminar Series – Brought to You by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Raspberry Pi

This year, the seminars are scheduled to take place on the first Tuesday of each month at noon EST (convert here to your time zone). There are also some special event seminars scheduled as well.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is partnering with the Royal Academy of Engineering to make these events happen and keep them free for everyone. As both organizations are committed to helping all people harness the power of computing technology, the partnership is a natural fit.

Details on Some Upcoming Seminars 

On Monday April 26, 2021 at noon EST, there will be a special panel event on “Formal and Non-Formal Learning Opportunities in Computing Education and Their Impact on Gender Balance”.

This event will feature multiple speakers, including Carrie Anne Philbin (Director of Educator Support at Raspberry Pi), Amali de Alwis (Managing Director at Microsoft for Startups), Dr. Jill Denner (Senior Research Scientist at ETR), and Pete Marshman (NCCE Computing Hub Lead). The event will be moderated by Dr. Yota Dimitriadi (Associate Professor at University of Reading).

Each of these speakers has their own perspective on learning and education, both inside the classroom and out. They will discuss how to attract more female learners into the computer sciences after primary education.

Another upcoming event in the monthly seminar series will be “Physical Programming Inclusive of Young Children with Visual Disabilities” on Tuesday May 4, 2021 at noon EST. This seminar will be led by Dr. Cecily Morrison (Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge).

A lot of work has been done to develop programming languages to teach young children how to code, but many of these are not accessible to children with visual disabilities. This session will explore what Dr. Morrison has learned from designing, testing, and evaluating a physical programming language that teaches children basic computational thinking and coding skills through tactile-spatial means.

Join in on the Research Seminar Series!

Everyone who’s interested is invited to join the seminars and participate in the discussion.

All you need to do is sign up with your name and email address and you’ll get a link and instructions to join the meeting. (Note: you only need to sign up once, and the link remains the same for the rest of the year’s seminars.)

And if you want to find out about more opportunities to learn and get involved, be sure to check back here on our Vilros blog where we share the latest news, announcements, updates from Raspberry Pi and Arduino – including information on more free resources and learning programs!