UK school kids to get free computers from the BBC

12 August 2015 News

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has revealed the final specification for a pocket-sized computer that it will be handing out to about 1 million UK schoolchildren.

Created to help children get creative with technology and learn how to program, the Micro:bit system will be given away to every 11 and 12-year-old in the nation’s schools this October. According to BBC Learning head, Sinead Rocks, it’s all about young people learning to express themselves digitally. “As the Micro:bit is able to connect to everything from mobile phones to plant pots and Raspberry Pis, this could be for the Internet-of-things what the BBC Micro was to the British gaming industry,” she enthuses.

The Micro:bit will allow its users to write simple code via a new website, which will be used on both PCs and mobile devices. Users will be able to save and test their programs on the site before transferring them to the tiny computer via a USB cable or wireless Bluetooth connection. It can then be made to interact with its built-in sensors and buttons to make its 25 LEDs flash in different patterns, letting it display letters and numbers, for example.

The system can also be connected to other computing kits via its input-output rings – including the Raspberry Pi, Arduino and Galileo – to carry out more difficult tasks. The device was announced four months ago and it was then thought that it could be easily pinned to clothing, but a revision has involved replacing a watch-battery slot with a bigger battery pack, which might make that less practical. This add-on power pack, fitted with AA batteries, is necessary to use it as a standalone product.

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