How do you get the younger generation interested in coding and computer science? In 'the good old days' the charge was led by the home computer brigade of Commodore in the US with the Vic 20 and Commodore 64, and both Sinclair (with the ZX Spectrum) and Acorn (with the BBC Micro) in Europe. Even the act of loading up a game required knowledge of the command line, and from there it was an easy jump to start coding with the built-in BASIC language.
Today's home computers, with a reliance on cartridges, DVD Roms, and internet-based downloads hide the command line and the ability to tinker. Another gateway is needed, and this weekend saw developers, hackers, makers, and explorers get to grips with one potential solution at the (mostly) annual 'Over The Air' hackathon - one of the key hacker events in the UK Technology calendar.
That solution was the BBC micro:bit, an ARM-based embedded system with a Cortex-M0 processor, accelerometer, magnetometer, bluetooth and USB connectivity, LED display and two programmable buttons. The BBC branding not only harkens back to Acorn's BBC micro home computer, but also signifies the support of the BBC in ensuring that every child in Year 7 will receive a free micro:bit to encourage participation in computer science.
Over The Air saw a CoderDojo event to introduce the micro:bit to attendees, and included coding challenges such as building a creeper face from the ever-popular Minecraft franchise, to building a basic digital pet.
Daniel Appelquist is the co-founder of Over The Air, and was delighted with the turnout. “As a parent who’s also a technologist, I was so excited that we were able to feature BBC’s micro:bit project at our event this year," he highlighted to me after the event. "The micro:bit is all about bringing coding into schools in a big way and it’s exciting to see BBC working with partners to get this done.
"Since we started Over the Air in 2008, our free-to-attend hack day event has been about learning and playing with new technology and coming up with something new. We’ve had kids involved with every event we’ve run, and we were honored to be able to host a CoderDojo this year where kids to get to grips with the micro:bit. It’s all thanks to the support of BBC, Microsoft and CoderDojo London that this became a reality.”
You can find out more about the micro:bit at www.microbit.co.uk, where you will also find an emulator of the micro:bit so you can have a go yourself.
