BBC micro:bit - making it happen

RE: BBC micro:bit - making it happen

beacon_dave — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 02:22:59 GMT

I think some people may be missing the whole point of the BBC micro:bit here.

"the UK currently faces a critical skills shortage in the technology sector and the BBC and partners aim to help change that."

It is "the BBC's most ambitious education initiative in 30 years, with an ambition to inspire digital creativity and develop a new generation of tech pioneers."

"It aims to inspire young people to get creative with digital and develop core skills in science, technology and engineering."

Reference: BBC - Make It Digital - The BBC micro:bit

So, yes folks, technology is being pushed here... on purpose... This does translate into programming and is attempting to prepare children for the real world, which is calling out for these skills.

From what I can see, it is supposed to supplement the existing school curriculum and not replace it. If you end up in a programming career for the next 50 years then yes, kick-starting these technology skills early is going to be just as important as chemistry is to a chemist, or history to a historian.

RE: BBC micro:bit - making it happen

dougw — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 06:10:44 GMT

I'm sure most people would agree that reading is currently far more fundamental and far more important than coding, but they are somewhat similar in that they are both enabling skills that can be leveraged in many directions.

It will be interesting to see how the BBC micro:bit plays out in terms of impact, but I suspect it will be difficult to determine the full extent.

I think it is a great initiative and a much better use of money than creating another seedy sitcom.

I would have loved to receive one of these when I was 12 years old and it would certainly have inspired me to learn a lot about the technology and its potential. (the same statement still holds true)

Obviously this technology was not available when I was 12, but perhaps a parallel would be RC aircraft. They had been around for quite a while at all different levels of sophistication. If the BBC had given me a simple RC aircraft, I would have loved it, used it, learned about RC aircraft and aviation and may have even aspired to become a pilot. And almost certainly would have aspired to obtain a better aircraft.

I could see a micro:bit providing more hours of learning and enjoyment than many books that cost the same amount. Not for everyone of course, but then books don't do much for some people either.

When we played with Meccano we had no idea how far away our models were from automobiles and we didn't care, we just had fun getting creative and learning about mechanics in the process.

RE: BBC micro:bit - making it happen

shabaz — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 16:21:48 GMT

Being able to code or script things isn't as important as reading or maths, but possibly teaches logic which applies everywhere (but relies on the teacher of course, no idea on the curriculum).

I once drew a flow-chart diagram to revise a non-technical subject in college, and I recall everyone else being extremely curious, having never encountered the strange boxes and diamonds. I'd forgotten that while I took it for granted, students that had never studied engineering might never have seen these diagrams, and their 'mental toolbox' mainly consisted of lists.

It could also provide early insights/experiences with programming/automating behaviour in machines/systems in general. For instance network engineers don't need to (today) program in C, but still create complex solutions with thousand-line configs that are programming behaviour into systems.

But also natural curiosity will probably be encouraged - all the high-level building blocks are written on the micro:bit, there is no hiding of that, which might spark interest. In many respects the Pi missed so many opportunities, due to complete lack of sensors, and wireless (for 4 years!) and that computers didn't need to have a keyboard/mouse and monitor. The sensors and wireless capability spark an interest in physics, seeing how the world can be digitized and what the numbers could mean in the real world, and how information can be transmitted.

So, I'm fairly optimistic, although a lot hinges on good teaching from teachers, parents, and the engineering community where it can help. I hope teachers are open to learning from the engineering community too, and we can learn from them. Sometimes we see a closed attitude from teachers - I recall the AD Active Learning Module, where some were unwilling to temporarily use Linux, despite several years of exposure to the Pi.

EDIT: Also (just a personal opinion) the BBC needs to do more - still not forgiven them for the absence of information technology programs (apart from the few documentaries like Podfather), limited journalism and sensational news, and the dumbing-down of series' like Horizon..

RE: BBC micro:bit - making it happen

smartholly — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 12:16:26 GMT

Hi Michael,

The brilliance of the micro:bit project from my perspective, as a mum, is that this small computer provides what children see as a blank slate for them to work with. We know that there is a huge amount of technicality in making that blank slate work, and indeed making it seem simple and easy to use. What the micro:bit does is provide a way-in for kids to begin their journey into coding, without being so complex that it puts them off. The trick is that it appears simple and it enables them to start their journey in a very positive way – writing just a few lines of code – and making something happen.

I remember the joy in simple coding on the BBC micro when I was at school... making “ l love such and such” run down the computer screen and thinking i'd done it all by myself - and I am seeing the same delight in my son as he works with his micro:bit.

I thought some of this simple stuff would be boring to him when he gets to consume such incredible technology on a day to day basis – but the fact that he feels like he’s done it himself has created excitement in our household that has also been caught by my 6 year old daughter. I get less “can i have the ipad?” and more “can i do some coding?”. I never thought I would see the day!!

And I'm hoping that one day, maybe, my dyslexic son who struggles with reading and writing, but seems to get this, may do something amazing – but if not – today at least he feels like he’s really good at something and can make this blank slate do something ‘all by himself’, and that works for me!

RE: BBC micro:bit - making it happen

smartholly — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 10:40:12 GMT

Jonathan was filmed by Look North on Monday to co-incide with the BBC micro:bits being delivered to schools. Also a lovely piece filmed at a school where the kids have been trying it out. You can watch it here BBC iPlayer - Look North (Yorkshire) - 22/03/2016 starts at 13 mins 25.

RE: BBC micro:bit - making it happen

michaelkellett — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 09:16:35 GMT

"With coding becoming as important as reading and writing"

This is just not true !

The requirement to be able to read and write is universal across modern society, we no more need everyone to write computer programmes than we need everyone who drives a car to design gearboxes.

We need a small proportion of schoolkids to progress to become proper engineers - I'm not at all convinced that 'micro bit' splatgun over-hyped approach does any good at all.