[vcf-midatlantic] semi OT: BBC micro:bit on sale at Microcenter

[Joseph Oprysko]

I picked up 2 Micro:bit Go (includes batteries, battery holder, and USB
cable) for $11.99 each. As well as two RPi Zero W's at $5 each.

Just not sure how to access the Pi Zero W's. Since no standard USB to plug
in my USB mouse/Keyboard adapter. And not sure how I would connect
Bluetooth mouse/keyboard to it.

The micro:bit is actually pretty cool, as it has a good array of sensors.
Compass, light sensor, gyro, accelerometer, temperature, magnetic field
sensor, as well as the 5x5 LED display.  Also it's possible to network
multiple of them together via Bluetooth for various simple communication
experiments or games.

It's not meant as a "real" prototype board/microcontoller, and while the Pi
may be more flexible in regards to programming, adding the array of
sensors, even to a Pi Zero, would likely end up being a difficult
proposition in itself.

It's designed for youth with no electronics knowledge and no need to buy
all kinds of shields/hats or electronic components. It gives the ability to
work with a variety of different types of sensors, communication through
Bluetooth or USB/Serial, and has all of the appropriate libraries for all
of the components.

It's designed as an early introduction to programming, while providing a
very simple interface that kids have an easier time understanding.  (Even
my 16 year old daughter who has a learning disability "corrected" me while
I was experimenting with it) as she learned about the "block" coding in
school.

It's easy to pick up and just start coding for the kids.  While with a Pi
you need to know a bit about working with Linux before you can get to
programming, and everything on the arduinos, you need to have various
modules or electronic components.  And for the price, it's a great learning
experience for them.

I had gotten my 13 year old son an arduino starter kit with components for
21 different circuits.  And he had fun doing two or three of them trying to
learn, but having to keep putting circuits together and taking them apart,
he got tired of it relatively quickly.     He took the micro:bit and turned
it into a "fridge thermometer"  it only turns on when the fridge is opened,
after the light intensity goes above an arbitrary value. He then said to me
"this is the kind of stuff I wanted to do, building each project from
scratch is a pain."

So for me, the micro:bit boards were a great, low cost, investment.

On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 5:04 PM Adam Michlin <amichlin at swerlin.com> wrote:

> You might try:
>
> https://www.microbit.co.uk/td/quick-start/
>
> I'm not a big fan of the MicroBit so far, though. I find it to be a poor
> substitute for the Raspberry Pi for programming instruction and a poor
> substitute for the Arduino for science/electrical engineering
> instruction. There is a valid point for the latter than the cost per
> student is much less, though.
>
> Best wishes,
>
>     -Adam
>
> On 8/29/2017 4:53 PM, Joseph Oprysko via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> > I'm thinking about picking up a couple for my kids (and maybe one for me
> as
> > well).
> >
> > I'd love to find a "Teachers guide" for it. Maybe talk to some of the
> other
> > parents in the complex I live in and do like weekly classes for these.
> >
> > Anyone know if some type of teachers guide exists?
> >
> > I'll have to look through the website and see how I could try to convince
> > some of the various parents in the area how having the kids learn to
> > use/program these would be helpful to them.
> >
> > Joe
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 28, 2017 at 9:49 PM Douglas Crawford via vcf-midatlantic <
> > vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
> >
> >> On 8/28/2017 8:27 PM, Derrik Walker v2.0 via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> >>> On 08/28/2017 06:32 PM, Jeffrey Jonas via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> >>>> I know it's a hard sell compared to the $5 Raspberry Pi zero, but
> >>>>
> >>>>       http://microbit.org/
> >>>>
> >>>> The BBC micro:bit is a pocket-sized codeable computer
> >>>> with motion detection, a built-in compass and Bluetooth technology,
> >>>> which was given free to every child in year 7 or equivalent across the
> >>>> UK in 2016.
> >>> I won one of these a about a year before they were readily available
> >>> here in the US.  I've gotten to play with it a fair bit.
> >>>
> >>> It's actually more like the original vision of the Raspberry Pi - an
> >>> ARM based computer programmed with Python. I guess there are other
> >>> options, but I only use MicroPython on my Linux box to program it.
> >>>
> >>> Hardware wise, it's more like an Arduino than a Raspi. Or maybe
> >>> somewhere between the two.
> >>>
> >>> It's interesting and has some different features including to buttons
> >>> and a 5x5 LED array, accelerator, a compass, and some wireless com
> >>> options.
> >>>
> >>> - Derrik
> >>>
> >>>
> >> As someone who has a representation of many of the available
> >> embedded solution boards (St8m, ST32, a ton of Arduinos, several ATMEL
> >> oards, Several PIs, Beaglebone etc...)
> >> My first reaction was oh just what we need, yet another board option and
> >> form factor...
> >> but I took a closer look and I think its cool.   I'll be getting one.
> >>
> >> --
> > Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot.
> > Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do.
> > Normal Person: So you go surfing?
> > Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a
> > lot...
> > Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level.
> > Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?
> >
> >
>
> --
Normal Person: Hey, it seems that you know a lot.
Geek: To be honest, it's due to all the surfing I do.
Normal Person: So you go surfing?
Normal Person: But I don't think that has anything to do with knowing a
lot...
Geek: I think that's wrong on a fundamental level.
Normal Person: Huh? Huh? What?