In an increasingly digital world, technological literacy is a crucial skill for students and those interested. It is considered important because edtech plays a crucial role in shaping the development and future prospects of young minds.
Thousands of brands/products are there in the market which are solely made for kids in enhancing their technological studies through interactive materials.
Among them, one of the engaging digital literacy materials is BBC micro:bit. It is a potent tool created to make learning programming and electronics fun and interesting. This thorough introduction to the micro:bit will get you started on your path to realizing its full potential, whether you're a teacher trying to improve your classroom environment or a hobbyist interested in experimenting with code and hardware.
Focusing on the aim of micro:bit is important as it it not just another edtech material
- Its primary aim is to cater the basics of coding and electronics to young learners.
- It is incredibly user-friendly and beginners friendly because of its simplicity and ease of use make it an excellent choice for educators who want to introduce programming and electronics to students with no prior experience.
While talking about micro:bit being user-friendly, it really stays true to that as it is designed to be accessible to a wide range of users, including those with disabilities. Features like large buttons and edge connectors that are easy to manipulate, making it suitable for a diverse audience.
- The BBC micro:bit includes an extensive collection of learning materials, including guides, lesson plans, and coding environments created especially for the device.
- The inventions of students are not only bound within four walls, rather they have an option in expressing it in front of the whole world. The online community enables students as well as educators to share their ideas, projects and solutions which acts as a valuable resource for the micro:bit users.
- Apart from coding, this edtech material also allows students to show their creativity which eventually encourages the kids in learning programming with joy.
It's important to familiarize yourself with the hardware elements of the micro:bit before getting started with programming and projects.
- LED Display - Micro:bit features a 5x5 LED matrix as light sensor that can display text and simple images. As it can sense the light source, it can easily detect and respond to where the light source is located.
- Buttons - The buttons here are used as input devices and micro:bit contains three buttons altogether. Two are programmable buttons and one is the reset button. The programmable buttons are located on the LED Matrix side and the reset button is located on the back side of the microcontroller.
- Sensors - It includes sensors like an accelerometer and a compass to detect motion and direction as well as a temperature sensor which measures and gives an approximate air temperature.
- Micro:bit also has a USB Port which helps in programming as users connect it with the computer and can also be powered, all through the port.
Above points were all about what micro:bit has and its features, but to actually make it work programming language is needed.
But don’t worry there are numerous programming languages you can use to program it, including:
- MakeCode - It is a block based programming environment specially for beginners, those who don’t have earlier programming experience. It makes coding super easy by allowing you to drag and drop the code blogs to create programs.
- MicroPython - It is text based coding preferably for users, who are familiar with coding.
- JavaScript - For programming microcontrollers like micro:bit, JavaScript interpreter called Espruino can be used.
The BBC micro:bit has two versions- micro:bit v1 and micro:bit v2; the updated version consists of many new features along with supporting the original version.
Get started with making a few simple projects for better understanding the micro:bit. Here are few suggestions that you can program-
- Digital pets; Where the virtual pets will respond to the buttons and emotions will be displayed on the LED matrix.
- Temperature monitor; That will display the current temp.
Hope this blog has helped you in getting an insight on what micro:bit is and how it can be used for different purposes.
So while concluding it is important to note that this microcontroller enables people of all ages to learn about programming and electronics and to obtain such exciting thing visit Congeriem, where you can find all your desired products within a few clicks.
