element14 Community

Meet the micro:bit v2 Poster - Free Download and Print Poster for Classrooms

pchan — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 15:20:50 GMT

The BBC micro:bit, a pocket-sized computer helping to inspire more than 25 million children to learn digital creativity and computing skills, will receive its first major updates since launching in 2016.

Available from mid-November 2020, it will now include a built-in speaker and microphone, enabling people to learn through sound and to get creative with it straight out-of-the-box. The hardware also includes a number of technical upgrades to ensure in the future that the device is an ideal tool for exploring, understanding and experimenting with AI and ML, as these technologies begin to transform the planet.

An Introduction to Computer Science with BBC micro:bit: The Full Curriculum

jlucas — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 16:59:44 GMT

Over the past few weeks, we've been sharing the individual modules of An Introduction to Computer Science - a curriculum of activities and lesson plans using the BBC micro:bit, developed by our partners at the Microsoft Corporation.

Written by Douglas and Mary Kiang, the twelve-week program features easy-to-follow lessons to guide students through the fundamentals of coding, problem-solving and project work.

We're now pleased to be able to share the full curriculum for you in one downloadable PDF file, taking you and your students from core principals such as algorithms and variables through to more advanced concepts such as radio functionality and sharing and storing ordered data using Arrays.

The curriculum builds to a final project that should allow the students to incorporate many of the skills they've learned along the way and build their confidence in coding and computer science.

The individual module batches for this curriculum can be found here.

You might also find our BBC micro:bit reference poster to be a valuable supplementary teaching resource in providing an overview of the device's many features and functionalities.

As a key manufacturing partner of the BBC micro:bit project, Farnell element14 has been working with a number of industry-leading companies to help promote and support this ambitious educational initiative around the world.

By now, over one million BBC micro:bit devices have been distributed to schools across the UK, in addition to tens of thousands that have been adopted in countries such as Singapore, Iceland and Croatia. Our partners at the Microsoft Corporation recently developed an introductory curriculum to help teachers to provide a hands-on, project based program of activities for coding and computer science.

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An Introduction to Computer Science with BBC micro:bit - Part 4: Radio, Arrays and Developing a Final Project...

jlucas — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 18:22:53 GMT

An Introduction to Computer Science is an introductory curriculum for the BBC micro:bit that was developed by our partners at the Microsoft Corporation. Written by Douglas and Mary Kiang, the twelve-week program features easy-to-follow lessons to guide students through the fundamentals of coding, problem-solving and project work.

In the fourth and final batch of lessons, students will learn how to use multiple micro:bit devices to share and combine data using the Radio functionality, followed by an introduction to JavaScript and storing and retrieving ordered data using Arrays. The final module of the program tasks students with creating an independent project that demonstrates their understanding of the concepts they've learned about over the course of the curriculum. We also provide a framework for documenting their learning processes to both students and teachers to reflect on the progress made.

The previous chapters of the Introduction to Computer Science curriculum can be found here:

Part One - Making, Algorithms, Variables
Part Two - Conditionals and Iteration
Part Three - Coordinates, Booleans and Binary
Full Curriculum

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An Introduction to Computer Science with BBC micro:bit - Part 3: Coordinates, Booleans and Binary...

jlucas — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 13:37:12 GMT

In this third batch of lessons, students are introduced to the use of coordinates to store data and results, how the boolean data type can be employed to control the flow of a program and finally how the concept of binary digits and base-2 notation can help students to understand how data is stored, read and accessed digitally.

Parts One and Two of the curriculum is available for free download here and here. The concluding chapters will be released in the next few days.

Additional Lessons:

Return to micro:bit

An Introduction to Computer Science with BBC micro:bit - Part 2: Conditionals and Iteration

jlucas — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 13:16:58 GMT

An Introduction to Computer Science is an introductory curriculum for the BBC micro:bit that was developed by our partners at the Microsoft Corporation. Written by Douglas and Mary Kiang, the twelve-week program features easy-to-follow lessons that introduce the hardware and guide students through the fundamentals of coding, through to prototyping and developing a final project.

This second batch of lessons introduces the use of conditional Logoc blocks such as 'If...then' and 'If...then...else', allowing students to hone their skills in problem solving and creative collaboration. After that we move on to looping and iteration, before ending with a mid-curriculum 'mini project' to give the students a chance to review the concepts they've learned so far.

Part One of the curriculum is available for free download here. The concluding chapters will be released in the next few days.

Additional Lessons:

Return to micro:bit

An Introduction to Computer Science with BBC micro:bit - Part 1: Making, Algorithms, Variables

jlucas — Wed, 20 Dec 2017 13:32:10 GMT

We are now able to share the first part of this twelve-week curriculum, written by Douglas and Mary Kiang. These easy-to-follow initial lesson plans introduce the micro:bit as a piece of hardware, the basic concepts of coding and writing algorithms, plus the use of variables to store data and run basic mathematical operations. We hope you will find it useful in your teaching. Parts 4-12 of the program will follow in the coming days.

Additional Lessons:

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BBC micro:bit Poster | Free Download for your Classroom

jlucas — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 14:30:43 GMT

The BBC micro:bit comes with so many incredible features, you might struggle to keep track of them all. That's why element14 has put together this detailed, beautifully rendered cross-section, highlighting all of the device's key functions and components.

Lovingly rendered by our design team, this full-color poster is free to download and makes the perfect reference poster for placement in your classroom or as a desktop background for your students' computers.

The poster also includes suggestions for interactive projects that take advantage of the micro:bit's many innovative features - including a fitness tracker, a metal detector and a robotics project. Just click the project description on the poster to be taken to a full step-by-step guide to replicating the project.

We offer a selection of BBC micro:bit project guides for all skill levels in our dedicated micro:bit space. You can also find additional tools and resources on the official BBC micro:bit website.