Crankshaft Technology Update #5 - Micro:Bit sessions now available!

A local student recently asked me for some assistance with his Micro:Bit code for an assessment. I was able to help him, and I also learned how useful Micro:Bit's can be in education. They're cheap, easy to code and scalable for any ability. This is why I have purchased one, and sessions are now available these holidays and next term!

The Micro:Bit board

The benefits of these boards are that they have physical outputs and inputs, including LED's and buttons. I have found that, even with myself, hardware that you code is more interesting than text or shapes on a screen.

Another benefit of the Micro:Bit is that it has many different ways of programming it. These include MakeCode, a Scratch-style block-based language, MicroPython, a text-based language that is based on Python, a powerful scripting language used throughout the technology industry, and Arduino. This allows the board to be used with many age levels and it can be scaled to suit the ability of the student.

MicroPython editor

MakeCode editor

All of the code editors and tutorials are web-based, and work on any computer that you can connect the Micro:Bit to and has a web browser (all modern computers), so code can be worked on at home!

If this is popular, I would like to buy another, which allows even cooler programs to be made, including having the boards communicate and control one-another.

To reflect these additions to the program, I have updated the website with some more information about the board. The page can be found here.

Please leave a comment if you have any feedback or questions.
The other updates for Crankshaft Technology can be found here