Course Overview – As part of this learning track you will learn how to create your own smart watch using the BBC micro:bit. You will also learn how to program your watch to create a digital compass, digital thermometer, a timer, a flashlight and many more interesting projects. Here is a list of tutorials we will cover as part of this track –

1. Introduction to the Power:Bit
2. Designing a compass with the Power:Bit and the BBC micro:bit
3. Designing a Dice with the Power:Bit and the BBC micro:bit
4. Designing a thermometer with the Power:Bit and the BBC micro:bit
5. Designing a timer with the Power:Bit and the BBC micro:bit
6. Designing a Flashlight with the Power:Bit and the BBC micro:bit

What is the Power:Bit kit for the BBC micro:bit – The Power:Bit watch kit for the BBC micro:bit lets you turn your BBC micro:bit into a totally awesome wearable device. The Power:Bit watch kit is really simple to put together and should take no more than 10 minutes to assemble. With the sleek watch band you can very easily turn your ideas into a neat looking smart watch.

1. Program your BBC micro:bit as a pedometer and showoff your creation to the entire world or
2. Program your BBC micro:bit as an activity reminder that flashes when it notices that you have been sitting down too long and now need to move around or
3. Program your BBC micro:bit with a game and connect with other BBC micro:bit’s remotely in the classroom

The Power:bit button cell board is a micro expansion board and comes equipped with a buzzer. It can not only supply power to the board but is also equipped with P1, P2,GND and 3V pins which you can use to connect other electronics to your Power:Bit.

Recommended Learning Prerequisites –

These tutorials will help you build upon the knowledge gained coding with Scratch and the BBC Makecode editor. This is a beginners micro:bit electronics track. We would highly recommend that you complete the following tracks before you start off with this track.

1. Introduction to coding concepts with Scratch I
2. Introduction to coding concepts with Scratch II
3. Exploring coding concepts using the BBC micro:bit I
4. Exploring coding concepts using the BBC micro:bit II

Take on the SmartHome Kit for BBC micro:bit development track to get a taste of the type of electronics projects you can build using the BBC micro:bit. If you are looking for a more structured introductory electronics track to dive into the world of electronics we would highly recommend considering the following –

1. Exploring fundamentals of electronics using paper circuits
2. Introduction to electronics using the BBC micro:bit I
3. Introduction to electronics using the BBC micro:bit II
4. Introduction to making and creating using the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express

Hardware Prerequisites –

1. BBC micro:bit –
   1. This development track makes extensive use of the BBC micro:bit.
   2. If you haven’t purchased a BBC micro:bit yet you might want to head over to OzToyLib and pick one up now.
   3. We would recommend that you pick up the BBC micro:bit kit which comes with a battery pack, usb cable and the real micro:bit.
   4. We will be using the official online python editor to write code for all our tutorials. No investment required here.
2. Power:Bit Kit –
   1. You can purchase the Power:Bit Kit through the OzToyLib store – Power:Bit Kit for the BBC micro:bit
   2. Please note that the BBC micro:bit needs to be purchased separately from the Power:Bit Kit for the BBC micro:bit.
   3. You can purchase the Power:Bit Kit for the BBC micro:bit at OzToyLib.
3. You can also look up each of these products at your local electronics hobby store.

About BBC micro:bit –

The Micro Bit (also referred to as BBC Micro Bit, stylised as micro:bit) is an ARM-based embedded system designed by the BBC for use in computer education in the UK. The board is 4 cm × 5 cm and has an ARM Cortex-M0 processor, accelerometer and magnetometer sensors, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, a display consisting of 25 LEDs, two programmable buttons, and can be powered by either USB or an external battery pack. The device inputs and outputs are through five ring connectors that are part of the 23-pin edge connector at the bottom of the board. The micro:bit can be programmed using the Microsoft Block code program editor which is similar to the block based language Scratch ideal for 7-12 year olds. The micro:bit can also be programmed using the Makecode editor in Javascript and Python which allows for older kids to learn the Javascript and Python programming language using the micro:bit.

You can read more about the BBC micro:bit at the microbit website. Also see Kitronik’s resources here – Parents Complete Guide To The BBC micro:bit.