Differentiated work using the BBC Micro:bit in and out of class

This the outline for our using the BBC Micro:Bit at KS3 at LLS School.

I have sorted a variety of storage to enable easy classroom management:

Previously, we did this with our Year 7s and Digital Leaders.  

I did the following research, and you can see that the UCL unit was exemplary for what I needed.

UCL’s TUTORIALS:  Micro:bit – Getting Started / LED Display / Basic Functions / Advanced Functions / Projects with LED Display / Buttons / Accelerometer.  CHALLENGES: Consonant or Vowel? / Catch the Eggs / Caesar Cipher – Part I / Caesar Cipher – Part II.  

However, some of our lower ability students have struggled with text based programming and the Python IDLE IDE, so I was also keen to give them the option of using the blocks on the BBC Micro:Bit site.   This gives them a simulator to use at home (we are not giving out Microbits to Year 9s, just using them in class).

So this is our Scheme of Learning, these are the slides, 9_3_01_Microbit_Introduction, (based on Alexander Hadwen-Bennett’s slides and this is the List of Programs to try.  This is Pete Dring’s Python Simulator (for testing home learning), and the BBC site’s Block programming editor and index here.

Update: following the success of the Microbits enthusing students, as a department, we have identified opportunities for the following:

Year 7 – we have added Microbits to the current Year 7 Graphics unit by using the various BBC Block programs to show 5×5 pixels working; different brightnesses; images and animations.  This will build on Block programming in Unit 2 Scratch.

Year 8 will be the current Microbits 1 Unit development work of Python, but with an optional easier pathway using blocks.

Year 9 will be a Microbits 2 Unit with binary between Microbits and Bit:BotRobots. I have just ordered 18 from Rapid Electronics (Sept17).  I can fit 6 in a box like the ones above.

*Please check out EduBlocks by @all_about_code – I will be looking at this in Year 7 too*

** I am presenting on microbits at #exabytes17 with @jonwits and @romillyc on Friday July 7th

*** I am running a 2 day course at York Stem Centre “Micro:bit in secondary computing CY224” with @PDDring and @CLCSimon on 20th and 21st November 2017.

Worth £13 each https://www.amazon.co.uk/BBC-BBC2546862-micro-bit-go/dp/B01G8WUGWU?th=1