My name is Darrell Little and I have been a volunteer educator and workshop leader for the past several years. I have created a community organization called "Learn To Program, Roanoke" and also a member of the local robotics and makers club. Recently we have partnered with the local county library system to offer Hour of Code sessions during Computer Science Education Week.
For Hour of Code 2018 at the Roanoke South County Library, I put together a fun activity programming the micro:bit with the MicroPython language. The workshop objective is to simulate a snow globe with a simple animation effect.
The following programming concepts are included:
- Built-in Images
- Custom Images
- Using Lists
- Display Images
- Delay
- Utilize the built-in accelerometer
Also, for the workshop I plan on using an online browser-based Python IDE ( https://create.withcode.uk/ ).
For creating custom images, I created a worksheet to assist students with mapping out the brightness values in the 5 x 5 LED grid included on the micro:bit. The lesson plan and worksheet are attached. The worksheets and code are also available on the GitHub site ( https://learntoprogramroanoke.github.io/Learn-microbit/ ).
In conjunction with the Hour of Code workshop, we are planning to launch a new library loan program at the Roanoke County Public Libraries (RCPL). The micro:bits will be available for checkout at all six libraries in the RCPL system (for a total of 10 micro:bits system-wide) and will encourage our community to explore the fun of coding at their own pace at home. The micro:bits will have a loan length of 7 days and will be available to patrons of all ages. After the premiere of this new collection, we will feature periodic workshops throughout the year to continue teaching library patrons how to code using the micro:bit and to develop a new community of local coders.
 | BBC_microbit_LED_designer.pdf |
 | SnowGlobe_Worksheet.pdf |