The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is committed to providing free teaching and learning resources on our website for students to learn computational thinking, coding and creative problem solving, and is providing a free virtual classroom tool for educators to organize and manage student coding projects both remotely and in the classroom.
Micro:bit Educational Foundation
London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Non-profit organization
Established : 2016
Education and COVID-19 Response
https://microbit.org/get-started/home-learning/
Objectives
Flagship
At the Micro:bit Educational Foundation, we enable and inspire all children to participate in the digital world, with particular focus on girls and those from disadvantaged groups. Data from the United Kingdom reported that girls aged 11-12 showed a 70% improvement in the likelihood they would choose to take another computer science course after learning coding with the micro:bit.
Research also shows that to increase the participation of girls in STEM and computer science they need to have the opportunity to learn these skills before secondary school. That is one of the reasons we focus on students aged 8-14, so that girls are inspired at an early age and continue to pursue STEM and computer science into secondary school.
Regional Focus
Global
Countries of Interest
China, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Commitment
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is committed to providing free teaching and learning resources on our website to enable students to learn computational thinking, coding and creative problem solving. For schools and homes unable to afford a physical micro:bit device, the Microsoft MakeCode software allows any student with an Internet-connected computing device to learn programming and use the built-in simulator for free.
We believe that student learning is best achieved in the classroom with trained educators, and that returning to the classroom following the pandemic should be equitable so that all children are provided the opportunity to learn.
One step our Foundation has taken to strengthen learning systems is to develop a free virtual classroom tool that can be used remotely during the pandemic and can be used in the classroom as children return to school. This tool enables the teacher to remotely organize and manage their student's coding projects and does not require any personalized student login account.
Action areas
Learner Wellbeing
Digital Learning Content
Capacity Development
Advocacy and Communication
Contacts
Primary Contact
Mr. Hal Speed
