The BBC micro:bit has arrived at Dulwich Prep and some of our Year 7 coding club boys have been experimenting with creating new programs. The micro:bit is a handheld, fully programmable computer, which is 70 times smaller and 18 times faster than the original BBC Micro computers used in schools in the early 1980s. It has been given to all schools in the UK to develop programming skills in Year 7.
The small device has a variety of features, like 25 red LED lights that can flash messages. There are two programmable buttons that can be used to control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist. The BBC micro:bit can detect motion and tell you which direction you’re heading in. Jack Milner in 7H has created a working electronic sensor compass by using the Python coding language.