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Micro:bit developer community

tech.microbit.org

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Re: Micro:bit developer community

#11

Post by mjohn »

rb808 wrote: post #10
solaris999 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you underestimate how much having something tactile, with buttons and LEDs, can really shift how younger students perceive learning. I volunteer teach a group of 8/9 year olds an intro to programming class and the difference between teaching them Python using CLI-esque tools and making things light up on the micro:bit is astounding.

Is that age group the best age to learn? I notice they're targeting year 7/8/9 in the UK - is that high school?

Yes, in the UK high school starts in year 7 (age 11-12)

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#12

Post by whiskers »

rb808 wrote: post #9

I see these are available to buy in the UK now (has singles from other retailers http://uk.farnell.com/bbc-microbit-reseller ). http://uk.farnell.com/bbc-microbit?CMP=AFC-AN-UK-ALL-473347 Anyone how to buy a single one in the US? My 8yo was going to get an arduino robot for Christmas but this might simpler to use I think.

We (Pimoroni) offer shipping worldwide, though obviously that's likely more expensive than using a local vendor if you can find one. We also have a range of other accessories like a nice breadboarding breakout for the IO pins: https://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/micro-bit

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#13

Post by whiskers »

yalogin wrote: post #8

So this is not available in the US yet. And there is no link to a reseller directly from their site.

We (Pimoroni) offer shipping worldwide, though obviously that's likely more expensive than using a local vendor if you can find one. We also have a range of other accessories like a nice breadboarding breakout for the IO pins: https://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/micro-bit

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#14

Post by andyjohnson0 »

msh wrote: post #2

I have a hard time understanding the educational value of the micro bit. It seems way to underpowered to do anything interesting educational wise.

One if my children (12yro) was given a microbit by his school and got a lot of enjoyment from programming it. He was already into Python, but it seemed to me that a physical device made programming less abstract and it's limited power forced him to focus on essentials.

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#15

Post by xchaotic »

I would like to once more criticize the fact that BBC re-invented the wheel (and micro:bit) at a time where $5 Raspberry Pi 0 is widely available. It would have been much better to spend the effort of producing better learning software and ecosystem for Raspberry Pi instead. Someone boasted about the lengths it took to make Python run on micro:bit and it still isn't full Python and no chance for anything graphically intensive, whereas you can code Minecraft on Raspberry Pi and actually plug it to your TV.

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#16

Post by timthorn »

xchaotic wrote: post #15

I would like to once more criticize the fact that BBC re-invented the wheel (and micro:bit) at a time where $5 Raspberry Pi 0 is widely available. It would have been much better to spend the effort of producing better learning software and ecosystem for Raspberry Pi instead. Someone boasted about the lengths it took to make Python run on micro:bit and it still isn't full Python and no chance for anything graphically…

The RPi Zero was not available when the micro:bit project kicked off - indeed, the micro:bit was planned for release last September. This is about ease of development (in particular in terms of not requiring any toolchain setup) and immediate interaction with physical things.

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#17

Post by foenix »

xchaotic wrote: post #15

I would like to once more criticize the fact that BBC re-invented the wheel (and micro:bit) at a time where $5 Raspberry Pi 0 is widely available. It would have been much better to spend the effort of producing better learning software and ecosystem for Raspberry Pi instead. Someone boasted about the lengths it took to make Python run on micro:bit and it still isn't full Python and no chance for anything graphically…

I somewhat agree, but would like to counter by saying that the micro:bit has been an invaluable tool for me personally to teach fundamental hardware programming. The pi zero, while a great tool for more advanced programming, still requires some boilerplate knowledge of electrical engineering that surpasses what one would want to teach someone who just wants to make some lights flash.

The micro:bit has, built in: a 5×5 array of leds, an accelerometer, a digital compass, 2 push buttons, a set of piezo / touch io, and a low-power bluetooth radio — all of which have api libraries and documentation that a user doesn't need to write themselves.

While there are a multitude of awesome things that can be done with the pi zero, there's still a non-trivial amount of setup required to program basic hardware features.

Re: Micro:bit developer community

#19

Post by ChuckMcM »

xchaotic wrote: post #15

I would like to once more criticize the fact that BBC re-invented the wheel (and micro:bit) at a time where $5 Raspberry Pi 0 is widely available. It would have been much better to spend the effort of producing better learning software and ecosystem for Raspberry Pi instead. Someone boasted about the lengths it took to make Python run on micro:bit and it still isn't full Python and no chance for anything graphically…

I continue to believe its a bit more nuanced than that.

I agree that if you just want to teach Python programming that a RasPi (original model is fine), a TV and a keyboard is really all you need.

I also believe that some folks are more systems oriented and would like to learn about "computers" as opposed to "programming computers". Much of the success in the embedded world comes from people who want to understand the way the computer starts from scratch and then runs its completed program. It is more difficult to serve those folks by starting with a Cortex-A architecture device.

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