Micro:bit, from BBC to Foundation

Transcription

1 Micro:bit, from BBC to Foundation By Gareth James Chief of Education Micro:bit Educational Foundation On behalf of DR Viden 1 March 2018

2 1981 BBC Micro 2 # ARM Micro:bit 2015 Educational Foundation 2016

3 1981, 400 (~ 1200 equivalent) 3 3 # ARM Micro:bit 2015 Educational Foundation 2016

4 2015 BBC micro:bit Part of the BBC Make It Digital season The device can be used in classrooms and the home to create an engaging hands-- on learning experience that allows any level of coder from absolute beginner to advanced maker to get involved and be part of something exciting. Researched through BBC public events Physical Computing most effective means of engagement rather than apps etc. It was designed and intended for children but the channel to the children was through the schools and the device had to work in all the conditions that would be faced in UK schools! 4 # ARM Micro:bit 2015 Educational Foundation 2016

5 2015 BBC micro:bit Play, Share, Code, Wear Partnership of 29 organisations Almost 1 million devices given to year olds across UK 5 # ARM Micro:bit 2015 Educational Foundation 2016

6 Considerations 6 6 School networks USB permissions, network locks BLE and easy permission Broadband provision Cached website and limited data requirement Wi-Fi availability Cached website and coding platforms Lack of availability of devices for the initial teacher initiative On-screen emulator Offer from the coding platform providers Touch Develop/Block Editor MakeCode; MicroPython Cross-curricular usefulness Input and training for science, Design & Technology as well as Computer Science Affordability for free distribution Defined bill of materials Lack of competent, confident teachers Training, easy access, learning materials for teachers and students Limited funds for accessories and initially lack of accessories Easy connectivity with banana plugs and croc clips

7 Outcomes Inexpensive Versatile lots of connectivity Accessible low floor, high ceiling 7 7

8 BBC micro:bit partners Education Partners Sponsors Hardware & Accessories Affiliate Projects Software/Cloud Partners 8 Students Educators Volunteers Makers

9 Positioning Thing Nerdy Goal: Collaboration to leverage common non-profit Educational goals and complementary nature Easy 9 Computer

10 10 # ARM Micro:bit 2015 Educational Foundation , 15 and significantly smaller!

11 Original time frame vs actual time frame Original milestone Date Actual delivery Date Partners invited January 2015 Partners invited January 2015 Agreements signed February 2015 Agreements signed February 2015 Work commences March 2015 Work commences March 2015 Engagement activities and resources for teachers Promotional activities May to July 2015 May 2015 to October 2015 Engagement activities and resources for teachers using 1.3 devices Promotional activities Delivery 1M devices September 2015 Finalisation of certifiable devices for distribution to teachers Delivery of engagement events and activities September to November 2015 Delivery of engagement events and activities End of distribution period April 2016 Delivery of 1M devices as the shipments arrive End of provision of support services September 2016 Provision of support services from the BBC passed to the Foundation July to November 2015 May 2015 to July 2016 February to March 2016 September 2015 to July 2016 March to June 2016 Q

12 Communicating to teachers BBC media outlets and utilising BBC assets Strictly Come Dancing, The Voice, Doctor Who, Blue Peter, Wolf Blood, News etc. BBC Learning database Partners database Requiring teachers to sign up for devices and communications Social media 12 12

13 Distribution Through schools to the named teacher who signed up Problems: Staff changes, exacerbated by the delay in distribution Receiving staff not knowing what they were receiving Training staff untrained or trained staff moving on Schools not distributing to the students School technical issues 13 13

14 Training Quick Start Guide hardcopy Get Started tutorials Support from expert groups Computing At Schools (CAS) Microsoft ARM Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Localised, specialist education groups Training: Computer Science CAS & Microsoft Design & Technology/Science IET/STEM Learning/Design & Technology Association Localised, specialist education groups And now MakeCode embedded Projects in the Coding Platforms 14 14

15 Positive student response Agree Strongly Agree 90% 89% 88% 87% micro:bit helped show me that anyone can code Using micro:bit helped me learn more about coding/programmin g micro:bit helped me see that coding is not as difficult as I thought it was Using micro:bit helped me learn something new Discovery Research

16 Uplift in intention to study coding % of students likely to take 70 ICT or computing as an option 60 Users Girls Non users Wave 1 Pre micro:bit benchmark Wave 2 Wave 3 Discovery Research

17 Micro:bit effectiveness - feedback The programming environments plus the hardware make it one of the slickest pieces of physical computing hardware we ve used Teacher & teacher trainer, 11 th Oct % of girls said that they would definitely choose ICT/computing compared to 23% before. 86% said it made computer science more interesting 88% said it showed that coding isn t as hard as they thought I think they have had a big impact here... made programming more fun/accessible for those that would struggle with simple Python games. Master Teacher, 12 th Oct 2016 They certainly opened the syllabus to those who struggle with just text on a page & brought the code to life. Master Teacher, 10 th Oct 2016 Have so far used them with year 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 computing in lessons and have had a really good response from them. Teacher, 13 th Oct 2016

18 Teacher attitudes Agree Strongly Agree 81% 34 70% amongst teachers not confident before the micro:bit 52% 51% I have learnt something new since using it I feel more confident as a teacher since using it I rely on my more confident students to help me use it in class Discovery Research

19 Likely to use in the future Likelihood to use micro:bit in future academic years NET: Likely = 87% 41% 29% 18% 7% 3% 2% 0% Definitely Very likely Quite likely Neutral Quite unlikely Very unlikely Definitely not Discovery Research

20 The Microbit Educational Foundation Created Q A UK-based not-for-profit Building on the legacy of the BBC project making it available across ages and internationally Profits going into sponsorship devices for educational programmes and worthy causes Shared vision of the Founding Partners. Founding Partners 20

21 Vision Inspiring every child to create their best digital future 21

22 Why? Courtesy of euractiv.com Balanskat, A and Engelhart, K (2015) 22

23 How is this useful? Overcoming challenges 21 st Century employment Skills acquisition and application more important than in-depth academic knowledge? 65% of children starting school today will need skills for jobs that don t exist yet (Forbes, 2017) The average Briton today will work in 6 different job roles spanning 6 different companies in their working life (Telegraph, 2015) Post-millennials/Generation Z/Centennials need transferrable skills 23 23

24 How is this useful? Presenting opportunities It helps to protect them against increasing automation and AI Futurologist Thomas Frey predicts 2 Billion of the jobs today won t exist by 2030 (SAP/Forbes, 2015) It can make them problem-solvers solve real-world issues They can create businesses anywhere They can generate jobs anywhere It can enable workers to be employed by anyone It can enable workers to work anywhere To achieve this we need creativity and well as skills 24 24

25 KPIs Originally BBC rollout Meet the project criteria Distribute the 1 million devices Micro:bit Educational Foundation Strategic international growth Teacher-centric web environment Effective coding platforms Multi-subject, multi-age teaching resources Training provision Volunteer programme Strong, pertinent partnerships 25

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27 Multiple ways of programing Simple coding 27 27

28 Multiple ways of programing More complex coding 28 28

29 Multiple ways of programing Laptop PC Smart phones Tablets Connect through USB Connect through Bluetooth ios and Android apps available 29 29

30 What have the kids done with it? 4x4 In Schools UK Final ClystVale School Used as the microcontroller 30 30

31 What have the kids done with it? Baseball pitch counter Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii 31 31

32 What have the kids done with it? Micro:bit to Space (with Raspberry Pi) Rishworth School, West Yorkshire 32 32

33 What have the kids done with it? IET Faraday 2015/16 Final Winners: King s School, Winchester No Nod hat Meeting HRH Princess Anne at the reopening of IET Savoy Place 33 33

34 Comprehensive ecosystem Technical support Get started guides Lesson activities Tutorials Projects Accessories Science/Design & Technology: DF Robots, Seeed, Kitronik, ScienceScope, 4tronix, Proto-pic etc. Toys: Binary Bots, Tech Will Save Us Teacher training DF Robots 34 34