A Coding Valentine’s Day!
I’ve been surfing, looking for a good definition of what Valentine’s Day really means and I came across this piece which resonates with me. Valentine’s is really about “being kind to one another and celebrating each individual for who they are, despite our differences” - 😍 it! What a great sentiment and in this little blog I’ll highlight some micro:bit (m:b) projects to help our classes celebrate each other, but can be remixed to bring out the individuality in us all.
You can’t be a MakeCode micro:bit coder without having coded the beating heart. Hop to Makecode and check out the scaffolded tutorial. Make sure to remix the code to make the beating heart your own. What would your heartbeat look like after a vigorous workout or following some calming breathes?
Diving a bit deeper into the whole heartbeat piece - this is a great little lesson where students learn how to measure their heart rate and create a prototype of a heart rate monitor. Nice ties to health and wellness and physical education.
All this talk about hearts makes me think that maybe your class needs to check out the love meter which uses pin 0 and the ground to detect a love level!
Everyone needs some unconditional love that a pet can give and who can resist a digital hamster? This little guy only giggles when tickled and is sad when shaken. Make him or her your own with some awesome remixes. Thinking with a #maker mindset, I’d love to see what kids could create for a hamster body, housing its m:b face!
How about setting the mood by using your m:b to make some music!. m:bs! Create your own guitar with chords and octaves! You’ll learn about using pins and alligator clips. Again the remixing possibilities are endless! Imagine the great sharing of codes and tunes among your students. This is a great example of how coding moves across the curriculums.
All the projects I’ve suggested can be found either in scaffolded tutorials or supported with detailed lesson plans. Give them a go with your class and let us know how it goes!