Course Overview

As part of this development track your child will create interactive programs, games and animation using Scratch 3 and the BBC micro:bit. Through these Scratch tutorials your child will explore fundamental coding techniques and strengthen their reasoning, problem solving and analytical skills. Scratch 3 was launched on Jan 2nd 2019 and has been re-written from ground up using new web technologies. Among many of its new features is the ability of Scratch 3 to integrate with the BBC micro:bit. The integration of Scratch 3 with the BBC micro:bit allows use of the BBC micro:bit to create interactive games, stories and animation.

Scratch is a visual programming language and online community targeted primarily at children. Using Scratch, users can create online projects and make them into anything by coding with simple blocks. When they are done or when the desire to, they then share and can discuss their creations with each other. Developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, the service is designed to help children (ages 8 and up) learn to imagine, reason with common sense, and work with computers. Scratch so far has been translated into 70+ languages and is used in homes, schools, and after-school clubs in every country in the world. Scratch is often used in teaching coding, computer science, and computational thinking. Teachers also use it as a tool across many other subjects including math, science, history, geography, and art.

As of May 2018, there were more than ~31 million projects shared, ~28 million registered users registered, ~150 thousand comments posted, ~4.5 million studios created. The blocks-based grammar of Scratch has influenced many other programming environments and is now considered a standard for introductory coding experiences for children. Scratch is designed by The Lifelong Kindergarden group at MIT, Media Labs. The Lifelong Kindergarden group develops new technologies and activities that, in the spirit of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, engage people in creative learning experiences. Their ultimate goal is a world full of playfully creative people, who are constantly inventing new possibilities for themselves and their communities. You can learn more about The Lifelong Kindergarden Group at MIT at the following website – Lifelong Kindergarden Group.

Prerequisites –

1. This tutorial 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 and pick one up now.
3. We would recommend that you pick up the BBC micro:bit, BBC micro:bit breakout board and a breadboard.
4. The BBC micro:bit breakout board and breadboard makes working with the BBC micro:bit a lot easier. You can pick them up from OzToyLib.
5. We will be using the official BBC Makecode Block editor to write code for all our tutorials.

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.