iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

10 million micro:bits is a nice number of micro:bits 🎉🌏 🔗 microbit.org/news/2024-12... has great stats on impact and goals for @microbit.org Cheers to the awesome people and partners who have got us off to this excellent start. 🚀

microbit.org

Celebrating 10 million micro:bits around the world

Micro:bit Educational Foundation's 2024 highlights

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

I missed these when JLCPCB announced it - so as I'm late to the party, would love to see creative and beautiful PCBs people have made with it (or similar services) jlcpcb.com/blog/multi-c...

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RPCERC - Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre @rpcerc.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Primary teachers - we're investigating physical computing in schools. Do you have 10 minutes to help us by completing a quick survey? More details and the link are here: computingeducationresearch.org/blog-primary.... Please do share with colleagues in your school and networks too!

computingeducationresearch.org

Primary teachers: tell us about your experience of teaching physical computing - Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre

Calling all UK upper primary school teachers! Share your experience of teaching with the BBC micro:bit in our quick survey and help shape future research. Complete by the end of the term for a chance ...

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Neeve Hyland @neevehyland.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

💫Excited to see the Micro:bit Educational Foundation launch CreateAI today on #WorldChildrensDay! 🎉 Use movement data with micro:bit to train a machine learning model and bring AI to life in code. Find out more: microbit.org/news/2024-11... #Microbit #CreateAI #EdChatIE

microbit.org

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Carlos @carlosperate.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

My first day here on BlueSky & I’m thrilled to share something really exciting we’ve been working on! ✨ CreateAI ✨ A hands-on tool to explore and create AI with #microbit. Train ML models with movement data & bring them to life with code! 👉 Learn more: microbit.org/news/2024-11... #AI #ML #EdTech

An illustration for CreateAI.
Shows a pair of hands with data waves in the background to represent with motion data, and a micro:bit and MakeCode blocks to represent the AI/ML model running on the micro:bit with a MakeCode programme.
It includes the text: micro:bit Create AI, try our new machine learning tool
And the URL: createai.microbit.org

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

The Micro:bit Educational Foundation just launched micro:bit #CreateAI 🎉! microbit.org/ai/. I love it for playful, physical & creative learning about ML. Use movement data to train/test a model, then use that model in #MakeCode to make an AI thing! Mad excited to see what people make! #microbit

microbit.org

micro:bit and AI

Dive deeper into micro:bit CreateAI

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Tonya Coats @teachercoats.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

go.bsky.app/93bgdee

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I’m going to be at PyCon AU this Friday for the education track. Give me a shout if you’re going to be there and want to talk #microbit or #python. Looking forward to a fantastic track of talks. #pyconau

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

www.youtube.com/watch?v=asji... This is such a beautiful and clever solution by @loretod.bsky.social, Bill Siever and PrintLab. I love that the micro:bit gets to go inside and play a part. For others that still love text see Loreto's blog www.zeroday.camp/empowering-a... #accessibility #microbit

youtube.com

Micro:bit Assistive Technology Dual Switch | Tap

YouTube video by PrintLab

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 31/10/2024

There are fun days at work, then there are "building a magic-wand controlled pumpkin" days at work :D

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 17/09/2024

I think my favourite change in the 2024 #MakeCode release for #microbit is one of the tiniest: make the border colour lighter/stand-out when blocks of the same colour are nested. Makes reading complex block maths so much easier 😃. All the changes at makecode.com/blog/microbi... #TeamCompSci

New MakeCode blocks with clearer highlighting on the blocks for compound expressions

Old MakeCode blocks, harder to read and see order of operations

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 29/08/2024

Any folks in #TeamCompSci tried using the #microbit Python Editor for more general #Python teaching, rather than "micro:bit first" stuff? With the simulator and the REPL you've got a browser-based REPL and some interesting possible inputs. Works with micro:bit Classroom too.

A picture of the microbit Python Editor showing the following code, as well as a REPL that's been used to interact with the code.

# Imports go at the top
from microbit import *

name = input('What is your name? ')
print('Hello', name)

if temperature() > 25:
temp = "hot"
else:
temp = "cold"

temp_response = input(name + " are you " + temp + "? ")

while True:
display.scroll(temp_response)

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Ross Atkin @rossatkin.bsky.social · 22/08/2024

The lovely folks at the V&A Museum asked me to design an activity for kids (and their parents) that tied in with their 'Tropical Modernism' exhibition and had a digital component. It's running every Wed/Thur/Fri in the main museum. I went to do it yesterday with the 6yo and 3yo 🧵

Side elevation drawing of a simple modernist building with walls with various geometric patterns of holes, and also large openings between the walls. A stylised sun shines on the building from the top left and a fan blows from the bottom right. There are two blocky figures with BBC micro:bits (tiny computers) for torsos. One figure is inside the building in the shad and blown by the fan and one is on the roof in the sunshine. The illustration is labelled 'Cool Buildings'

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 22/08/2024

I'm going to try and champion a few of my favourite #MakeCode for #microbit blocks that don't seem to get as much love as (I think 😅) they deserve! Hopefully others doing #computing in #TeamCompSci will have their own #faveblocks

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Andy Colley @mracolley.bsky.social · 15/08/2024

OK #TeamCompSci. It looks like #EduSky is becoming the place of choice, so here's a starter pack of #Computing folks. Have I missed anyone? go.bsky.app/F7s6AyK #CASChat #CSEd Please share @mraharrison.bsky.social @csteachian.bsky.social @crossbynameonly.bsky.social @compscitsui.bsky.social

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Chris Lovell @mrlovellcomp.bsky.social · 15/08/2024

Join me for a free micro:bit Frogger 🐸 game-making online workshop on Wednesday 28th August 🕹️🎮😃 Workshop aimed at teachers and code club leaders. Click here to access a form to share your email address with me and I will send you a link to join👉 tinyurl.com/2afeyazw

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 15/08/2024

You can swap in the function used to play 'tones' in #MakeCode for #microbit! Replace those robotic tones - your ears will thank you. The API is in Javascript, so I've exposed it in my (personal) pxt-musichelpers extension: github.com/jaustin/pxt-... eg makecode.microbit.org/_RMjhmMh2zTyq

MakeCode screenshot showing modifying the PlayTone function and playing 'happy birthday' with a better tone

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 30/07/2024

Had a couple of questions since #emfcamp about the kickass shanties we all sang together. I've added a list of the more explicitly feminist sea shanties in the Auntie Shanty songbook - www.auntieshanty.org/posts/femini... to save people trawling through the (currently) 106 different songs.

auntieshanty.org

Feminist Shanties

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 17/06/2024

The #clickskeyboard superpower I haven't heard mentioned yet is that if you swap "Globe" for "Control" you can use Ctrl+f/b/n/p for moving the cursor forward, backwards, down and up. Also a whole range of other useful shortcuts support.apple.com/en-gb/102650... - Ctrl+D for delete (not backspace)

Screenshot showing "Modifier Keys" settings in iOS with the Globe Key mapped to Control key

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 11/06/2024

I haven't refreshed the tracking status page for anything as much as I am doing for my #clickskeyboard. Customs. Release my thing! (I am still expecting the whole thing to be too long, but my aging Key2 needs a rest)

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 10/06/2024

Here's an awesome thing from the desk of fediscience.org/@johnvidler - we've been working on improving accessibility of micro:bit in both hw and sw. This prototype add-on is one avenue. Please shout if you'd like to test it or know people who will be able to - johnvidler.co.uk/blog/the-acc...

A BBC micro:bit and a new 'access:bit' add on that allows plugging assistive switches in

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 28/05/2024

Today I'm prepping for our #emfcamp workshop - trying to decide which messages birds might send to each other ("cat!", "hawk!") and how many pipe cleaners 30 children need to make birds! www.emfcamp.org/schedule/202... for the curious :D

A BBC micro:bit and some pipe cleaner birds for the activity

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 29/04/2024

My workshop proposal for #emfcamp to make pipe cleaner singing birds got accepted 🦜🐥🎉 - based on microbit-carlos.github.io/microbit-bir... but tuned more for kids and families. Anyone got cool #microbit bird ideas to add to it?

microbit-carlos.github.io

BBC micro:bit Bird Activity

Play with micro:bit and join the flock!

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 17/11/2023

🚀🔭One of these boxes on SpaceX-29 contained a micro:bit! It's going to spend some time on the ISS with Andreas Mogensens www.dr.dk/skole/ultrab... as part of the DR ultra:bit project!

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Jonny Austin @jonnya.bsky.social · 13/11/2023

Dug out the old micro:bit V2 prototypes that had been buried since we packed the office up for COVID. I think my favourite thing about this particular board is the experiment to use the piezo speaker 'in reverse' as a cheaper alternative to a MEMS microphone.

a prototype micro:bit V2 with flywires connected

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