
Germans React to UK’s micro:bit - robin_reala
http://hackaday.com/2016/10/18/germans-react-to-uks-microbit/
======
msravi
It's somewhat surprising to me that the "block editor" thing is so popular in
these beginner kits. My son (almost 11) was introduced to it at school[1] and
did not find it intuitive at all. We then got an Arduino and started to write
some simple programs, and he took to it right off the bat. The Arduino
programming platform is simple enough to get a 10-year old started off and
scales so well to "professional" projects. IMHO, schools should probably just
use the Arduino platform. But I guess different kids think differently, learn
differently, and what's intuitive for one might not be so for another.

[1] [http://biboxlabs.in/](http://biboxlabs.in/)

~~~
mcv
I think 11 is already too late for those blocks. I did some lessons with
Blockly [0] in my son's class last years (kids of 6 and 7), and that worked
fine for the oldest/smartest kids, though it was still a bit too hard for
some. I plan to do it again this year (ages 7-9) to see how that goes.

But after that, I think it's time for some Ruby or Python. I did Basic at that
age.

[0] [https://blockly-games.appspot.com/](https://blockly-games.appspot.com/)

~~~
foobarian
You know, what way is there today to get the simple experience of a C64 or a
ZX spectrum? Several things there:

\- Instant on with a high level language interpreter

\- Simple architecture/ISA one can grow into

\- Maybe a monitor/assembler available from the interpreter

\- Powerful graphics, with simple things possible from the language, and full
power available from machine code

This would be perfect for around 8-10 year old. I can't tell if I'm
underestimating kids but it feels like starting with a Linux or comparable
modern OS/machine just has too many layers of abstraction to get that "cozy"
feeling of a micro.

~~~
ahartman00
About 15 years ago I started with my graphing calculator. Dont know if those
have changed any over the years.

It was texas instruments flavor of basic. Simple enough to get started,
automating my math homework :) Just move right to get to the edit 'tab', and
select the program you want to edit. Right once more to create a new one.

By the way, if any of you reading this happened to be the manager who decided
to spend a few extra cents including explanations for if/then, for loops,
variables, etc in the back of the manual, THANKS! You are probably the reason
I have the career that i do today. Once I realized that an evening spent
programming meant no math homework for a few weeks, I was hooked!

------
kriro
I saw a micro:bit keynote at a big conference somewhat recently. Overall I
have to say I'm not all that impressed with the strategic decisions. There
were some reasons for rolling their own but they could have partnered with
existing alternatives (the keynote struck me as a tad bit too "nationalistic"
for lack of a better word...basically "we must do it ourselves
because...REMEMBER ACORN GLORY DAYS").

Now it seems Germany is also rolling their own...meh. At least the machines
will get into the hands of kids eventually and the software is open source
which I like a lot. But I mean why not just ship the micro:bit (or other
existing alternatives)?

And I agree with the blog post...if you must roll your own you might as well
go the complete open hardware route.

tl;dr: Too much not invented here going on with these projects.

Edit: There's a reasoning for not choosing the micro:bit provided on the
calliope website: no speaker, rgb light or microphone + the arrangement is
strange and students would short circuit it too often; for not chosing
arduino/pi etc.: too complex/needs too much extra stuff and is thus
impractical in school use

~~~
ntoll
Hi,

It was probably me you saw keynoting - perhaps at this year's EuroPython? I'm
one of the volunteers behind the MicroPython related work for the micro:bit.

Sorry you thought I was nationalistic. That's completely the __opposite __to
my intention. :-(

To set the record straight, my point about the Acorn BBC micro was only:

1) The BBC already have done something like this before and have "form",
resources and reach in this respect. 2) The BBC micro gave the 8yo me the
sense of wonder and excitement in computing that inspired me to become a
programmer.

These points have absolutely nothing to do with the decision of the BBC to
create the micro:bit project.

They wanted a device that wasn't as complicated as a Pi but that also
contained enough hardware to be a compelling "device for thinking" as Seymour
Papert would put it. A huge amount of research, development and testing that
went into working out how the device should function. It certainly wasn't a
case of NIH - we were painfully aware of the danger of wheel reinvention. That
the BBC is a UK based organisation is completely beside the point. In fact,
all the Python related work was done by an international group of volunteers -
reflecting the Python community's diversity and something I want to celebrate.
Furthermore, the team who did the Microsoft related work are Seattle based.

Personally, I think it wonderful there is a German team working on an
alternative. I'm also hopeful they'll be a lot more open about the hardware -
the BBC have been dragging their feet in this respect although I know they
intend to eventually open source hardware schematics.

Let many flowers bloom!

The important thing is kids get exposure to platforms that help them realise
that programming is something that'll help them do valuable stuff. This isn't
just about creating a new generation of engineers; Rather, I'll know we've
succeeded if in fifteen years I meet doctors, teachers, artists, musicians,
lawyers, civil servants and other professionals who are computer literate
enough to know how to effectively explore and make use of such technology.

David Allen, the producer involved with the original BBC micro from the 1980s,
said it best: "The aim was to democratise computing. We didn't want people to
be controlled by it, but to control it."

This isn't nostalgia for the Acorn "good old days" \- it's a sentiment that's
just as valid today as it was back in the 1980s.

I look forward to seeing how kids get on with all such devices. :-)

~~~
kriro
FWIW, it wasn't EuroPython. It was Muc2016 in Aachen, Germany (human computer
interaction conference)

Thanks for the explanation :) We're pretty much in agreement overall, some
project choices just seemed odd though. These projects tend to be bureaucratic
beasts on top of the technical challenges. One of the interesting takeaways
was that the micro:bit team learned a lot of non-technical lessons that are
valuable (how to best deploy the devices, what kids will do with them, what's
especially interesting etc.)

"""A huge amount of research, development and testing that went into working
out how the device should function. """

I guess that's where I disagree. I feel all this afford could have been
invested into creating better software for existing solutions and focusing
more resources on pedagogical aspects. At the end of the day the micro:bit
costs 13-15 pounds a pi-zero costs maybe 6? I don't feel the hardware side of
things provided the most value for the invested tax money I guess. HUGE
DISCLAIMER: if the hardware is open sourced fully eventually (I also
heard/read it's planned eventually) then I'm actually cool with building yet
another smallish computing device.

"""This isn't just about creating a new generation of engineers; Rather, I'll
know we've succeeded if in fifteen years I meet doctors, teachers, artists,
musicians, lawyers, civil servants and other professionals who are computer
literate enough to know how to effectively explore and make use of such
technology. """

Completely agree.

~~~
ntoll
Great stuff and many thanks for responding!

Hah... it wasn't me talking at Muc2016. I wonder who it was? I'd love to know
who... :-)

FWIW, here's my EuroPython keynote, including singing micro:bits:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVaF6uZuSIU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVaF6uZuSIU)

Would love feedback!

~~~
kriro
It was David Crellin.

------
ableal
Eh, this was posted about the same minute I was ordering one Micro:bit from
Amazon UK (this one:
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01G8X7VM2/](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01G8X7VM2/)
\- perhaps the AAA battery holder is not really needed, if one has an USB
power bank, but ...).

Intended for a couple of youngsters with many hours of Minecraft under their
belts, and curious about making games, etc. Did not go too crazy about
fizzbuzz in Python on a terminal screen (youth these days ;-)

~~~
nicky0
Fizzbuzz? Were you interviewing your kids for a tech Job? :)

~~~
ableal
The other way around ;-)

------
mhd
Interesting. As the article says, Germany really has to play catchup here, as
there's no culture comparable to the UK education system here (we had no
equivalent to the BBC Micro, for example).

------
jgrahamc
Having played around with Raspberry Pi, Arduinos of all stripes, and micro:bit
I was disappointed by the micro:bit. But I've also seen children use it in a
school environment and seen the sheer delight of writing code that makes
something do something.

It's biggest limitation is the display. It's a pity that something with a bit
more pixel density wasn't possible because displaying text on it is a pain and
5x5 is really limited for graphics.

~~~
timthorn
They've hinted at a new release next year with higher pixel density - as the
Foundation is looking at a worldwide audience they need to display other
scripts.

------
nojvek
The motor driver , speaker and mic are great additions. One thing I like About
microbit is its power consumption. It can last months on a battery. I just
wished it was smaller.

As a software guy who plays more with hardware, I really just want a phone
with a gpio output, small form factor and low power consumption enough that it
could run off solar power.

Why can't we have that?

------
solidr53
So this post is not about React? because captial R ...

~~~
Tomte
Words in titles are conventionally capitalized (with the exception of "the",
"a" and similar).

~~~
wott
I've often wondered: Is it an English thing or an American thing? Is it recent
or has it always been the rule? Does it depend on the 'class' of the
publication?

To me it is unreadable, a real PITA to process such capitalised titles.
Especially with English language, for it has very short words, hence capitals
can harm the reading rhythm every 4 or 5 characters; and the same word can be
a noun, an adjective or a verb depending on the context (and there is close to
no context in a title).

~~~
Someone
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case#Headings_and_publi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_case#Headings_and_publication_titles)
doesn't have much info, but does claim:

 _" As regards publication titles it is, however, a common typographic
practice among both British and U.S. publishers to capitalise significant
words (and in the United States, this is often applied to headings, too)"_

As to readability: I think you should see title case as a way to make text
more noticable without going for the nuclear option "ALL UPPERCASE". If you
look at it that way, you will be happy whenever you see title case.

------
thomasvm
People really upvote anything that contains "react" these days...

~~~
babuskov
Your comment reminds me of quantum theory (you know, the part about
observing...)

I didn't vote on your comment, but it looks like it contains "react" and got
downvoted, so stating that "anything" would get upvoted obviously wasn't true.

However, if you hadn't had written it, the claim could have still been true.

So, your writing about some fact... might have changed it.

Is there a name for that kind of occurence?

~~~
sah2ed
> Is there a name for that kind of occurence?

Heisenberg uncertainty principle [1].

Another example is this "died in a blogging accident" xkcd comic:
[https://xkcd.com/369/](https://xkcd.com/369/).

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle)

------
seycombi
deleted

~~~
jakobegger
That thing looks nothing like the Star of David.

~~~
makomk
You can probably thank the US election for a lot of general confusion about
what the Star of David looks like, and let's not even get into sheriff's
badges. At least it's over soon.

------
13of40
I hate to rat-hole on the tiniest nit, but the term "Alligator Clip" overtook
"Crocodile Clip" in about 1938...

[https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=alligator+clip...](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=alligator+clip%2Ccrocodile+clip%2Croach+clip&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Calligator%20clip%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Ccrocodile%20clip%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Croach%20clip%3B%2Cc0)

(OK, maybe it's a regional thing.)

~~~
Normal_gaussian
Yep. Regional. If you choose the British English corpus you will see Crocodile
Clip is significantly more popular.

I am British and would say Crocodile Clip, not that I care much either way.

