As part of an initiative to bring more technology education to schools in the UK, BBC has introduced the mMicro:bit system, a little board with microchips and sensors embedded that is small in size but big in functionality and even bigger in possibility. The idea behind the mMicro:bit is to help students create code and use it to create some rather interesting things. To help push this initiative even further, Samsung UK has partnered up with BBC, and has launched an application that students can use to control and manage the micro:bit system and do other various tasks like create code on the device.
The app and the micro:bit itself have some serious potential as there is a growing, expansive community of other micro:bit users that can all create and share code with each other, and through the app anyone who owns a micro:bit can browse through lists of ideas from others on what code to add to their own unit. The micro:bit is also embedded with Bluetooth which is how it can connect to other devices, and you can pair the app on a phone or tablet to the micro:bit for sending code files from either a preselected list of code or the code can be created right on the device and then flashed to the micro:bit after it’s finished.
The app also lets you select your text editor to start coding in, and when code creations are finished users can go back to them at any time and edit things further if they need to. The app is BBC and Samsung UK’s on-the-go solution for BBC micro:bit users to allow them to code and flash when away from a traditional computer, allowing them much of if not all of the same capabilities they can do with the standard PC applications for the micro:bit. Samsung lays things out pretty easily for anyone, categorizing things under the Discover, Create Code, Connections, and Flash labels, making it simple to navigate to exactly what BBC micro:bit users might be looking for. The app will do nothing by itself, as you’ll need a BBC micro:bit to take advantage of what it has to offer, but as stated all year 7 students in the UK are supposed to get the micro:bit for free so long as their school has been registered.
