You will also need a microSD to USB adapter to work with these cards on a desktop computer. The five-pack in the link above includes a suitable adapter.
It's important that you get a Class 10 micro SD card. That will have a symbol that's the letter C with the number 10 inside it. Not all cards work. There's a compatibility list, not by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, available. My suggestion: Get the 16 GB blank cards, in a batch so they're all alike, and load your own O.S. You will need a few extra cards. Students can corrupt an SD card by turning off power without a clean shutdown. You can correct the problem by reloading the card, but you'd like to give the student a new card while that's happening.
An operating system: Even if you buy an SD card with the OS installed, you will want to re-install the OS every term because your SD cards will have old student work on them. The Raspberry Pi operating systems are free to download, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation has instructions for downloading and installing an OS. Use Raspbian, not NOOBS. Be sure to set aside some time if you need to do 15-20 installs! We've written some instructions for duplicating multiple SD cards.
You can download the latest version of the OS image we use in our workshops, and other
goodies as well, from our Raspberry Pi Resources page.
A USB keyboard and mouse: You'll need a USB keyboard and mouse for each Pi. (Bluetooth works, too, but wired devices will be much less fiddly in the classroom.) You can probably find these in a closet at your school. If not, a generic keyboard/mouse combo will cost $15 from Amazon. If you have a little extra cash, the official white and raspberry red keyboard and mouse combo is available from CanaKit for $25.
A monitor and cable: The Raspberry Pi video output is in HDMI format. If your school has HDMI monitors, you're good to go! Just plug the HDMI cable into the Raspberry Pi. If money is burning a hole in your pocket, you can get a 20" HDMI monitor for $80. Bigger ones will cost more. You'll also need an HDMI cable for about $7. For the Pi 4, you need a cable with a micro HDMI connector on one end and a regular HDMI connector on the other.
No HDMI monitors and no money? Your school's monitors probably have DVI inputs. If so, you'll need an HDMI to DVI cable for about $7. This one is for the Raspberry Pi 3. For the Pi 4, you need a micro HDMI to DVI cable. The DVI connection doesn't carry the audio signal, so you may need an audio cable or headphones as well if you're doing things that require sound. You may need to enable audio on the headphone jack. Right-click the volume control (speaker icon) on the top right of the screen and click "analog" if "HDMI" is selected.
There are HDMI to VGA converters, but not all of them work well. If you have to go that route, be sure to read the reviews, looking for "works with Raspberry Pi," before you order. I've tested this one and it seems to be OK. It's less than a foot long, so you'll need a regular VGA cable, too. If you have VGA monitors, you probably have suitable cables. The VGA connection doesn't carry the audio signal, so you may need an audio cable or headphones as well if you're doing things that require sound. You may need to enable
audio on the headphone jack. Right-click the volume control (speaker icon) on the
top right of the screen and click "analog" if "HDMI" is selected.
Have laptops or desktops but no monitors? You may be able to use a laptop or desktop computer instead of keyboard, mouse, and monitor. It will take some special configuration.
Parts! The whole point of the Raspberry Pi is for kids to build stuff; otherwise, it's just another computer. An education parts kit for about $23 will let students experiment with LEDs, a pushbutton, a buzzer, a couple of sensors, and other material. You probably want to consider these to be expendable and plan on buying new kits every year or two. Our friends at Low Voltage Labs make a similar parts pack, available through Amazon, without the temperature and motion sensors.
A GPIO reference card: This is a small plastic gadget that slips over those 40 GPIO pins and provides labels for them. Without it, your students absolutely will damage your Raspberry Pis by connecting the wrong pins. Both education parts kits in the link above include a GPIO reference. If you have a parts pack without the reference, you can buy them on Amazon in packs of 25 for about a dollar each. There's also a printable image that will let you make paper references. Try printing on index card stock if available, and be careful forcing the pins through the paper.
A case, maybe? You can find many cases for the Raspberry Pi, and most starter kits include a case. You don't need it. If your students are building stuff, they'll work with the Raspberry Pi out of the case anyway. Instead, pick up a plastic storage box like these for two dollars or so each or see what the Container Store has. (If you want to store cables, too, you'll need a bigger box.) You probably want to put each Raspberry Pi and its SD card in an anti-static bag for storage. Twelve bucks will get more than you can ever use!
A base instead of a case? The very nifty 3D printable Pi Plate from Thingiverse will keep your Pi 3 off the desktop and provide some protection from short circuits. That's for the Pi 3 only. KSU's own Rachel J. has adapted the Pi Plate for the Pi 4. You can get Rachel's adaptation here.
But I really want a case! OK, look into Pimoroni's Pibow Coupé 3 B+. At $10.00 plus shipping, it will add nearly a third to the cost of the Raspberry Pi itself. However, it is cool, and it protects your Raspberry Pi while leaving all the hackable stuff accessible to your students. It also provides protection against short circuits, particularly on the bottom of your Raspberry Pi. Some Assembly Required.™ Beware: This case will not fit a Pi 4. Also, not all versions of this case will work with the Model 3 B+; you need part number PIM341. Adafruit has a similar case that's less expensive, but not quite as cool.
There is a similar Pibow Coupé case for the Pi 4, but it lacks the markings for the GPIO pins, so it's much less useful to students. The niftiest case we've seen for the Pi 4 is the Argon NEO. It's a bit pricey, though.
If you have 3D printing capability, you might let your kids print Raspberry Pi cases. Be careful, though; cases for the Pi 3 will not fit a Pi 4.
Bottom line: If you have keyboards, mouses, and DVI or HDMI capable monitors, you can equip each pair of students for $80-90. You may be able to bring the prices down further with education or quantity discounts.
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