Quantity vs. quality...no universal answer

[W. H. Heydt]

This is from the Pi Zero availability thred in General Discussion. I think it needs attention separately...

And yes, I do realize this flies in the face of my earlier "Who needs a Zero" comment, but since I donate everything I get, I figure 3 or 4 Zeros would be more beneficial to a classroom than a single 3B.

I don't think you can make that a blanket statement. It would very much depend on the class they were being used for. I think a single Pi3B would be better as general purpose Pi, especially for students just starting out, while multiple Pi Zeros would be better for an advanced class that already knows how to use Pis--and has several B-series Pis on hand--and has very specific projects.

If I were planning to donate Pis for use in a classroom, unless I knew a great deal about the intended uses *and* I didn't know what Pis were already available there, I would donate a single Pi3B in preference of 3 or 4 Pi zeros.

[BMS Doug]

I think a Pi zero (with header soldered on) + USB hub with ethernet is better than a Pi3, because if the Pi gets killed it will be cheaper to replace.
I have one similar to this, which works nicely.

[SonOfAMotherlessGoat]

Well, unfortunately do to external (read legal) issues, I'm no longer able to acquire any Raspberry Pi products for donation.

That being said, I was operating under the assumption that one core per student was enough for basic learning (Linux CLI, basic Py scripting and such) and the full 4 core would be wasted as there really wouldn't be any use for the extra cores. So instead of having one student at the keyboard with 3 other students just watching what was going on, all 4 students could have their own Zeros to play with.

[W. H. Heydt]

I think a Pi zero (with header soldered on) + USB hub with ethernet is better than a Pi3, because if the Pi gets killed it will be cheaper to replace.
I have one similar to this, which works nicely.

The condition "with header soldered on" has to be considered. It will either add cost (by paying to have it done) or time for someone connected to the school to do it (which is also a cost). Plus you have to add either a USB hub (to support keyboard and mouse) and/or a WiFi dongle or a USB to Ethernet adapter.

If all you toast is the Pi Zero, that may be cost effective, but the need to add the header brings it closer to an A+ and the A+ has the additional benefit of on board power regulation, which should reduce the number that get toasted. Plus, if you're going to use a camera module, you don't need a special--additional cost--cable.

If any B-series Pi is used, you don't need a hub and with a Pi3B you have both an Ethernet jack and WiFi already there.

On the whole, the original arguments favoring the B-series Pis still holds. Unless you are looking at a particular use case that specifically doesn't need the additional features of the B-series, using a B-series Pi adds flexibility and a is a much more general purpose device.

[W. H. Heydt]

Well, unfortunately do to external (read legal) issues, I'm no longer able to acquire any Raspberry Pi products for donation.

Is it a constraint on making the gift, or is it a constraint on the person accepting the gift on behalf of the school (I ran into that problem once, but it was rapidly resolved).

That being said, I was operating under the assumption that one core per student was enough for basic learning (Linux CLI, basic Py scripting and such) and the full 4 core would be wasted as there really wouldn't be any use for the extra cores. So instead of having one student at the keyboard with 3 other students just watching what was going on, all 4 students could have their own Zeros to play with.

I think you've just made a case for the Pi B+. By the time you add the extras a Pi Zero needs, you're getting close to B+ cost and getting everything together to support a Pi Zero that way adds unneeded complexity to the process.

[SonOfAMotherlessGoat]

Is it a constraint on making the gift, or is it a constraint on the person accepting the gift on behalf of the school (I ran into that problem once, but it was rapidly resolved).

It actually was none of the above, but let's not get into the unpleasantness of all that.

I think you've just made a case for the Pi B+. By the time you add the extras a Pi Zero needs, you're getting close to B+ cost and getting everything together to support a Pi Zero that way adds unneeded complexity to the process.

We actually ended up resolving both issues, and now are using BBG's instead. The cost/benefit just seemed to work better when all things were considered.