Course Overview –

As part of the tutorials in this development track you will work with your child exploring the different facets of the BBC micro:bit and interacting with the real world using the sensors, LED’s, servo, etc, part of the Tinker Kit for the BBC micro:bit. This development track provides access to all of the relevant micro:bit tutorials. These tutorials will introduce you to the various electronic components (Servo, LED’s, Motors, Resistors, Switches, Breadboard, etc.) part of the starter kit including the relevant code blocks you will need to put together. You will use the Makecode block based coding platform to write your code.

The Elecfreaks tinker kit for BBC micro:it comes packed with ~10 easy to use sensors (PIR sensor, soil moisture sensor, crash sensor, etc.) and includes the Electrofreaks Octopus micro:bit breakout board. The Electrofreaks Octopus micro:bit breakout board is specially designed for use with the Electrofreaks Octopus sensors and makes it really easy to interface with the different electronic bits i.e. sensors, etc. included in the starter kit. The starter kit for the BBC micro:bit offers a great opportunity to explore the world of electronics using the BBC micro:bit. Interact with the real world through the various sensors, create innovative projects, learn how to program the micro:bit to read data from the sensors and perform certain actions. The starter kit for the BBC micro:bit is a great way to dive into the awesome world of electronics and get started with your own STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) learning journey.

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 Tinker 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

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. BBC micro:bit Starter Kit –
   1. You can purchase the Starter Kit through the OzToyLib store – Tinker Kit for BBC micro:bit
   2. Please note that the BBC micro:bit needs to be purchased separately from the Tinker Kit for BBC micro:bit.
   3. You can purchase the Tinker Kit for 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.