After the success of the BBC Micro in the 1980s, the BBC is now back with an ambitious project of giving away microcomputers to 1 million school children in the United Kingdom to help them learn how to code.
Director General Tony Hall of the BBC said that the project is based on the company's mission to educate and entertain. He hopes that through the project, the younger generation will be introduced early to how computers work, thereby allowing the company to leave an educational legacy in the UK.
"We all know there's a critical and growing digital skills gap in this country and that's why it's so important that we come together and do something about it," said Hall at the launch event in London.
The device, dubbed BBC Micro Bit, now sports a new design which, compared to the earlier prototype revealed in March, is so much safer for young kids. The most prominent change is the switch to two AA batteries instead of the smaller watch-sized battery. Though it made the device less portable, other features remain intact. These include the two buttons, a pre-installed motion sensor and a slew of programmable LED lights. Young users can easily connect the micro PC to bigger devices by way of USB or Bluetooth. It's also compatible with the equally small Raspberry Pi.
"What we wanted to do was give kids an easy start, something that in a few minutes, with a few lines of code, puts a huge smile on their faces," said Howard Baker, editor of innovations at BBC Learning. "What we are finding is if you throw kids in the deep end and go, 'Here's a Raspberry Pi, here's an Arduino,' it's a bit, "I'm not sure what to do next.' So it's that concept of easy, small steps."
Some of the projects that young users can do with the Micro Bit include using the device to manipulate a DVD player, tinkering with the programmable buttons to turn the device into a video game controller or using its magnetometer to transform it into an instant metal detector.
The Micro Bit Computer will initially be available for use by school children later this year. The company also plans to make the device available for purchase and to open source its specifications in the future.
