Celebrate Friendship with the micro:bit
I love when I check my inbox to discover an email from the Micro:bit Education Foundation, and the most recent post did not disappoint! The newsletter highlighted the United Nations International Day of Friendship on Friday, July 30th. Thinking of the year and a bit we’ve had – inclusive of a global pandemic, the murder of George Floyd bringing into focus racial inequalities, #everychildmatters helping shine a light on residential school survivors, Orange Shirt Day assisting communities to come together in hope of reconciliation, climate disruptions – drought, wildfires, extreme storms, I couldn’t resist jumping in with extension ideas for the original projects; a focus on friendship resonated with me!
We all need an opportunity to connect with old friends as well as reach out and forge new friendships. These Micro:bit Education Foundation prompts could be just the springboard you’re looking for as they were for me!
The Send a Smile project dives into the uber fun world of broadcasting – using radio frequencies to send messages from one micro:bit to another or to many! I levelled up the project by offering several options to broadcast and highlighted some V2 functions. I’ve included a link to the MakeCode Multi Editor – invaluable for writing 2 bits of code at one time.
In project 2, Meet and Greet, participants create a digital name tag. This project was ready for upgrading with some Functions and multiple inputs. Both project and their extensions can be run on the online simulator.
This July 30th, take a moment to relish the gradual opening up of our world and reach out to friends old and new. At the same time, let’s build our STEAM understanding with some FUN micro:bit projects.
Find links to the original UN International Day of Friendship Micro:bit projects as well as the leveling up ideas here - click on the image to download the PDF!
Have fun diving in and remixing! Don’t forget to share your ideas at @FCLEdu!
About the Author:
Barb Seaton is brought to you by the letter M - Math, Micro:bit, Makey Makey and Minecraft! A professional learning associate with Fair Chance Learning, previous educator and Provincial Mathematics Professional Learning Facilitator, Barb offers a wealth of knowledge and expertise in integrating new technology with math curriculum. Barb works with District School Boards across Canada delivering professional learning on computational thinking, coding and integrating programmable devices. Catch Barb on twitter @barb_seaton
Check out more of Barb’s awesome coding activities here: FCL Learning Lab, or read about her micro:bit thermometer.