A Million Kids in the UK Will Get This Tiny Computer
A Million Kids in the UK Will Get This Tiny Computer
Britain desperately needs such a program. A funny thing happened in the 20 years since the BBC Micro program taught kids to code: as people grew more accustomed to computers, they came to know less and less about how they work. “We’re so used to things just happening, you stroke a screen,” Baker says. That dissonance has led to a shortage of local talent for programming jobs, forcing tech companies to hire workers from other countries.The Micro:bit, unlike our smartphones and tablets, “does nothing if you don’t write code for it,” Baker says. This could intimidate a digitally illiterate 11-year-old, which is why Technology Will Save Us took on the industrial and UX design. The gadget makers, which create DIY kits with an 8-bit aesthetic that teach kids how to build electronics, know how to pique young minds with technology. "It helps to kit-ify something," says co-founder Bethany Koby. "In the geeky maker movement, things come à la carte, and you have to find them. But for an 11-year-old, they need to see some content, that's engaging and powerful and simple. So put the things in the box with the products, batteries, croc clips, so that everything is there."Handing out a million Micro:bits constitutes a massive effort, and vast resources (the partner companies are shouldering the costs), so it's crucial that the Micro:bits don't suffer the fate of so many new toys, which are forgotten once their luster wears off. It will help that the BBC Learning team will work with teachers to develop curriculums that include Micro:bit. But Koby is adamant that digital learning shouldn't be confined to the classroom. For that reason, Micro:bit is primed to become a game or smartphone companion that takes selfies as much as it could easily hitch onto a science experiment. Giving kids agency, Koby says, is essential. "We want them to have ownership of it."