Presenting the Pi to Teachers

[abishur]

After my presentation to teachers back in July 2013 on the what is the pi and why should you use it over anything else, I've been invited back to do a follow up presentation this January show casing what the pi can do. I'm going to be talking to teachers in High Schools (grades 9-12 or children aged 15-18 for those less familiar with the US grade system ). My thought process is to just do a quick "hello world!" example using C/C++, Java, and Python just to demonstrate three very common programming languages that the Pi can use, and then jump into the real world interfacing (which is where I think the Pi especially shines).

I already have some ideas of what I'd like to do (such as blinking an LED, the "Hello World!" programming of real world interfacing), but I'd like to hear what y'all would like to see if you were in the audience seeing the pi possibly for the first time.

At my disposal will be:

2-3 Pis
1 breadboard
Pi T cobbler from Adafruit
8 SSR Relay bank
LEDs
Optocouplers
Darlington transistors
Light Bulbs

I'd also like to spend a short time on the possibilities for teaching kids about distributed networks by having 1 pi be an LDAP server, one pi be a file server, and a third be a client or "mail" server stuff like that. I don't know how feasible that would be to actually visually show teachers the pi interacting together, but it would be a fun thing to me.

Anyways, let me know your ideas (especially any teachers out there!) Depending on how complicated they are I'll probably only be able to do 20 examples max, but I'll be sure to give props where they are due!

[Dutch_Master]

How about a small robot? Making things move is attention-retainer for kids, so teachers (which I'm not, admittedly) can spark their imagination by showing off a small robot moving about in the class room. It also teaches students that manufacture is an integral part of designing objects.

[abishur]

A small robot would be cool, but this needs to be more introductory stuff. Things I can quickly go through to show case a wide range and variety of the Pi's abilities.

[Dutch_Master]

Fair point, although a robot in some guise will show off the RPi's abilities Alternatively, a random number generator (for use in games, for instance) with 7-segment displays and LED's in dice form, showing programming and simple electronics abilities, an alpha-numerical display (integrated and/or discretely build with 5x7 LED array) to spell words in class, a tool that draws mathematical functions (hyperbole, sinus, etc) on a screen for a(ny) given input or perhaps a more "hands-on" approach, with the teachers programming their first circuit on a RPi: the blinking LED as the electronic version of the "Hello World" program