Hands on with the micro:bit

Neil Rickus

Senior Lecturer in Computing Education

University of Hertfordshire

n.rickus@herts.ac.uk @computingchamps

​

​

Slides - bit.ly/csta18-handson

Resources - computingchampions.co.uk/csta18

Physical computing in the primary curriculum

Where does it fit in at KS2 (age 7 - 11) English Computing National Curriculum?

​

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output

​

Concepts and Vocabulary

5

Microcontroller

(Process)

Output

​

​

​

​

Light - Sparkle, LED

​

​

​

​

​

Movement - motor

​

​

​

Sound - buzzer

Input

Sensors

​

​

​

​

​

​

Button or toggle switch

​

LDR - light dependent resistor (light sensor)

​

Tilt switch

​

Distance sensor

​

Why physical computing?

• Further develop understanding of programming concepts - “instant feedback and a motivational environment” - Sentance, S. & Waite, J. (2018). Computing in the classroom: Tales from the chalkface. it - Information Technology, 60(2), pp. 103-112
• “Light bulb” moment!
• Links to other areas of the curriculum, particularly DT and Science
• Solve real world problems
• Not just “making a game today”
• Stepping stone to text based programming

​

Encouraging diversity and inclusion

• CAS Include – casinclude.org.uk
• Challenge stereotypes – wall displays, trips, guest speakers
• Promote career opportunities
• Use technology with a range of outputs
• Provide time for tinkering
• Scaffold learning appropriately
• Girls’ Day School Trust (online course on Girls’ Education) – futurelearn.com/courses/girls-education
• Promote collaborative opportunities
• Develop opportunities for talk

​

​

Encouraging diversity and inclusion

• Institute of Physics - iop.org/education/teacher/support/girls_physics/page_41593.html
• Avoid asking for volunteers
• Assign roles for practical work (e.g. paired programming)
• Use gender neutral contexts where possible (e.g. male / female hobbies)
• Phil Bagge – http://philbagge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/eight-steps-to-promote-problem-solving.html
• Encourage resilience and avoid “learned helplessness” – sweet / aggressive

​

​

Why these technologies?

• Open ended tasks
• Creativity
• Enquiry
• (Mostly) affordable
• Extended with existing equipment
• LEDs, buzzers, crocodile clips, etc
• Block based programming environment

​

​

Micro:bit

• Cost – $17 board; £21 starter kit
• More info – microbit.org
• Given to all Y7 (11-12 years) pupils in the UK in 2016

​

• Projects
• Step counter
• Table football
• Bloodhound Rocketcar

​

MICRO:BIT FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS – MB4PS.CO.UK

Physical Computing in a box

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

bit.ly/phys_comp_microbit

OBJECTIVES – PART 1

• Introduce the micro:bit components
• Discuss micro:bit safety features
• Make a program with the block editor
• Transfer the program to the micro:bit

​

• Produce scrolling (moving) text
• Implement pauses
• Display images

​

MICRO:BIT COMPONENTS

Image source - https://www.microbit.co.uk/device

STAYING SAFE

Image source - https://microbit0.blob.core.windows.net/pub/dfuwbkqk/student-saftey-guide.pdf

MICRO:BIT WEBSITE

• Plug in your micro:bit using the USB cable. The cable will only fit one way
• Using Google Chrome, go to microbit.org and click on Let’s Code
• We’re going to use the JavaScript Block

Editor (PXT), so click Let’s Code

YOUR FIRST PROGRAM

• We’re going to make a message scroll (move) across the screen
• Drag the blocks below from Basic into the area in the middle of the screen
• You should see your program run on the emulator on the left

TRANSFERRING THE CODE

• Click Download to download your code
• Click Done on the pop up box

​

• Once your file has downloaded, click on the arrow by the file name and select Show in folder

​

​

​

​

• Drag the file to the micro:bit device on the left of the window
• Watch your program appear on your micro:bit!

CHALLENGES

• Make your micro:bit display two messages, with a pause in between
• Make two images appear between the text
• Clear the screen for a short amount of time between the images displaying

​

microbit.org -> Let’s Code -> JavaScript Block Editor (PXT) -> Let’s Code

OBJECTIVES – PART 2

• Display images
• Respond to button presses
• Respond to movement (shaking)

​

​

BUTTON PRESSES

• We’re now going to use the buttons to make stuff happen
• Program your micro:bit to display an image when a button is pressed

CHALLENGES

• Make your micro:bit display a different image when button B is pressed
• Make your micro:bit display a different image when buttons A and B are pressed
• Make your micro:bit display a different image when you shake it

​

• Try to include instructions from the previous

part, such as pauses and clearing the screen

​

You may wish to use a “forever” loop to create

a short animation

​

​

​

OBJECTIVES – PART 3

• Use variables to store information
• Change the value of variables

​

​

MAKING A VARIABLE

• We’re now going to use a variable to count the number of button presses and output these on the micro:bit display
• We can create a new variable by clicking on Variable, then selecting Make a variable

​

​

​

• Give your variable a suitable name, such as counter

CHANGING VARIABLE

• We’re going to set our variable to zero when our program starts

​

​

​

• We can then increase the value by one every time we press button A and show the number on the screen

​

​

​

CHALLENGES

• Make your micro:bit only display the number of button presses when you press button B
• Make the value of counter increase by 10 when you shake the micro:bit
• Display a message when the counter reaches 100
• Make the value of counter increase

by 100 when you press pin 0

(Hint: you need to press 0 and GND

on the rail at the bottom of the

micro:bit)

​

OBJECTIVES – PART 4

• Develop a micro:bit based Step counter

​

​

​

FEATURES

• The NHS recommends you take 10,000 steps each day -> default target for FitBit

​

• What features do step counters have?
• What features are:
• Essential?
• Desirable?

Science curriculum links

Y6 - Animals including humans

Pupils should be taught to:

• recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function

The step counter could also be linked to PSHCE topics on healthy living

​

​

FEATURES

• Essential:
• Count number of steps
• Display number of steps

​

• Desirable:
• Show number of steps to target
• Set target number of steps
• Display motivational messages

IMPLEMENTATION

• For the essential features, discuss how you might implement them
• Focus on the functionality, rather than the specific blocks you’ll need
• Use a whiteboard and pen if you need it

​

• Essential:
• Count number of steps
• Display number of steps

​

​

​

COUNTING STEPS

• We need a variable to

record the number of steps

• We then increase the steps

each time we shake the

micro:bit

• We can display an image to

show we took a step

COUNTING STEPS

• We need a variable to

record the number of steps

• We then increase the steps

each time we shake the

micro:bit

• We can display an image to

show we took a step

DISPLAYING STEPS

• When button A is pressed,

we show the number of steps

for a short amount of time,

then clear the screen

DISPLAYING STEPS

• When button A is pressed,

we show the number of steps

for a short amount of time,

then clear the screen

DESIRABLE FEATURES

• Desirable:
• Show number of steps to target
• Set target number of steps
• Display motivational messages

​

• Could you record whether a step

is taken more accurately?

DESIRABLE FEATURES

• Desirable:
• Show number of steps to target
• Set target number of steps
• Display motivational messages

​

• Could you record whether a step

is taken more accurately?

ACCURATE STEP RECORDING

• We can record the number of steps taken more accurately by looking for changes in values recorded by the accelerometer

Pedagogy��Possible approaches…

43

Reflection

​

• Discuss with the people around you how you found undertaking the activities

​

Other technologies

​

• Codebug
• Crumble
• Raspberry Pi
• Lego WeDo 2.0
• Sphero
• ProBot
• FlowGo

​

Codebug

• Cost – $20 board and USB cable
• More info – bit.ly/Xmasstuff

​

• Projects
• Scrolling display badge
• Christmas tree lights

​

Crumble

• Cost – $16 board
• More info – redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble/

​

• Projects
• Tuk Tuk derby - https://youtu.be/l25Vfz9GWIc
• Lighthouse
• Fairground rides

​

Raspberry Pi

• Cost – $13 - $35 board (NB. Needs power supply, monitor cable, SD card, etc)
• More info – raspberrypi.org

​

• Projects
• Pibrella
• PiStop
• CamJam EduKits

​

Lego WeDo 2.0

• Cost – $170 core set and software
• More info – education.lego.com/wedo2.0

​

• Projects
• Milo – moon rover
• Anything with Lego!

​

Sphero

• Cost – $120 ball and charger
• More info – sphero.com

​

• Projects
• Assault course
• Properties of shapes

​

ProBot

• Cost – $120
• More info – bit.ly/probot_tts

​

• Projects
• Properties of shapes, including drawing with a pen
• Assault course
• Reacting to sensors

​

Flow Go and Go Control / Flowol

• Cost – $130 control box; $200 software site license
• More info – bit.ly/flowgo_gocontrol

​

• Projects
• Fairground rides
• Traffic lights

​

Adding to the micro:bit

• bit.ly/sci_and_mb
• sites.google.com/view/microbitofthings/home

​

• Burglar alarm - crocodile clips, foil, buzzer, cardboard
• Moisture detector - additional moisture sensor (£4 / $5)
• “How clean is my pond?” - LEDs, LDR, black cardboard (£2 / $3)

Barriers

• Time
• Cross-curricular links; Digital Leaders
• Kit
• Beg, borrow, steal; Second-hand; Share; Promotions
• Expertise
• Needs confident teachers; Digital Leader support; “Hands-off guidance”

​

Competitions

• TeenTech
• PA Consulting Raspberry Pi
• Nesta / IBM Longitude Explorer Prize (IoT)
• Animation ‘18 (University of Manchester)
• Constructionism
• Audience = Quality enhancement
• Funding
• Resume / exposure

​

Reflection

Neil Rickus

Senior Lecturer in Computing Education

University of Hertfordshire

n.rickus@herts.ac.uk @computingchamps

​

​

Slides (Ironman) - bit.ly/csta18-microbit

Slides (this part) - bit.ly/csta18-handson

Resources - computingchampions.co.uk/csta18

Share one thing you’re going to take away from this session