A scout hut in Aldershot has become the first to test drive Fubra Limited's new initiative to introduce young people to the world of programming.
The Fubra Universe has launched as a pilot with 2nd Aldershot Scouts through a 100Mbps wireless internet link and a Raspberry Pi classroom.
One aim of the initiative is to develop an online course to program a miniature version of the Mars Curiosity Rover.Created on Arduino boards,the Rover will be programmed and controlled remotely using a JavaScript-based language,specifically Node.js.
The 10-workstation Raspberry Pi classroom is used by the scouts for its global Jamboree On The Internet(JOTI).Previously the scouts would have shared two PCs.
Fubra head of product Hannah Bird said:"I've seen for myself how learning to code can open so many doors,allowing people to bring their own ideas to life and transform their passions into a career.As such,I believe children should be learning how to code from a young age.
"By introducing the scouts to coding and getting them excited about it using the Arduino-powered Mars Rover and Raspberry Pi classroom,we want to inspire and teach the next generation of developers so that they can get creative and forge a career for themselves."
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The programme started with an Internet Relay Chat(IRC)channel,where children had to learn to run a program without a graphical interface.This exposed them to the inner workings of a computer and the Linux operating system.
"Before letting them loose on the Mars Rover,we plan on introducing them to some coding courses that we will create and add to Code Academy.
"The Fubra Universe programme will not only teach them how to code,but it also reinforces their IT badge so they will all be rewarded at the end of the course."
