EduBlocks is a visual block based programming tool that will hopefully help teachers to introduce text based programming languages, like Python, to children at an earlier age.
EduBlocks features:
- Block Format: Easy and simple interface that uses a building block format to code.
- Extensive Documentation: Lots of documentation to get you ready to go quickly. New projects added every 2 weeks.
- Range of libraries: EduBlocks has a range of libraies like GPIOzero, Minecraft & Sonic Pi.
- Python View: Once you have coded the blocks, you can easily switch to the Python View to see the real Python code.
Get started with EduBlocks on your Raspberry Pi in these simple steps:
- Open up a terminal window by clicking on the terminal icon on the top right hand corner of your Raspberry Pi's Screen
- Type the following command and then press enter on your keyboard.
curl -sSL get.edublocks.org | bash- The installer will now run for a few minutes. This depends on your internet speeds.
- You will now be able to see EduBlocks in the Raspberry Pi >> Programming menu. Click on the EduBlocks link to run the program.
- After around half a minute, you should be able to see the EduBlocks workspace. Happy Coding.
Did this not work for you? Look at the Support section of this document.
If you would rather mannually install EduBlocks instead of running our curl command. Here is the commands to do it:
wget http://edublocks.org/downloads/edublocks-armv6l.tar.xz
tar -xf edublocks-armv6l.tar.xz
edublocks/install-deps.sh
edublocks/install.sh
NOTE: Windows users will need to enable symbolic link support before they attempt to clone the repository!
Install Node.JS 6.10.3 using the appropriate installer for your platform. For Linux and Mac OS X (and also Bash on Windows), we recommend using NVM for this.
Install Yarn:
npm --global install yarn
Install PIP packages:
pip3 install edupy python-sonic blinkt explorerhat 'ipython==6.0.0'
sudo apt install git build-essential
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.33.2/install.sh | bash
. ~/.nvm/nvm.sh
nvm install 6.10.3
nvm use 6.10.3
npm --global install yarn
git clone https://github.com/AllAboutCode/EduBlocks
cd EduBlocks
cd ui
ln -s ../../server/src/protocol.ts src/protocol.ts
yarn
yarn run build
cd ../server
yarn
yarn run watch
Developer mode allows you to run EduBlocks on your PC and watch for live code changes for developer convenience.
Open two terminal windows/tabs.
In the first terminal, run the UI watcher:
cd ui
yarn
yarn run watch
In the second terminal, run the server:
cd server
yarn
yarn run watch
EduBlocks UI will now be available at http://localhost:8081/
Increment version, this will automatically tag the current commit as the new version:
yarn version
Push changes along with the new tag to GitHub, triggering a new build:
git push --tags
git push
Once build has completed successfully, a new build will be available at:
http://edublocks.org/downloads/edublocks-armv6l.tar.xz
Building is performed by our CI platform. See circle.yml for more info. The tarball is built using a shell script. This will create the subdirectory edublocks. The build script is only intended to be run by the CI platform however it will probably work on most Linux platforms.
To run build script:
./tarball-create.sh
Need help or support with EduBlocks? There are a few ways in which you can get in touch with us. We try our best to provide a speedy and smooth support service for our users. It may take us a few hours to respond as EduBlocks is not our full time jobs/ commitment. Also, it may take a few days/weeks/months before your request is solved.
EduBlocks Support: @edu_blocks
All About Code: @all_about_code
Support Email: [email protected]
Joshua Email: [email protected]
Chris (Developer) Email: [email protected]
EduBlocks: http://edublocks.org
All About Code: http://allaboutcode.co.uk
We want to make EduBlocks a community project. We are open to people opening issues, giving us feedback on how we can improve and opening pull requests to add features or fixes to the project. The community plays a huge part in EduBlocks.
Meet the contributers who make EduBlocks a reality.
Joshua is the project lead and oversees all new changes. He programs he blocks and adds new libraries and features. Josh also was the founder of EduBlocks.
Chris is a freelance software developer who works on the programming and software side of EduBlocks. He works with Joshua to make his ideas a reality.
Les is a freelance software developer who mainly contributed on the original install script making sure that anyone can install EduBlocks with ease. Also Les helps with writing and making sure EduBlocks is out there in the Raspberry Pi community. Les is also a pi-top champion meaning we can borrow 10 pi-tops for our workshops.
Chris P developed the first ever EduBlocks resource sheets within the HackPack anthology. Also, Chris P suggested that MineCraft should be incuded with EduBlocks. Chris also blogs about his cool uses of new EduBlocks features.
We would also like to recognize the following companies. These may not have contibuted to software but have contributed in other ways.
For supplying GPIO equimpment for workshops and helping EduBlocks out whenever we need them. They are a truly great team. Thanks Kev, Rachel & Ivan!
For letting us visit the ship at Sheffield-On-Sea to promote and learn about software & hardware to improve EduBlocks and for being awesome people. Thanks Jon, Paul, Phil, Sandy & The team.
For the pi-top FUTUREchampions for giving us acess to 4 pi-top CEEDS for demonstrating and running EduBlocks workshops.
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