Five ways to make the most of your micro:bit

Integrating STEAM and robotics in the classroom can be expensive. Thankfully there are many low-cost options such as the BBC micro:bit which, with a little resourcefulness and tinkering can be a great tool to get started with. If you are new to the micro:bit be sure to check out this great overview. One issue with the micro:bit is that teachers quickly run out of ideas on how to use it and soon find themselves looking for ways to extend its use.   

When purchasing micro:bits I recommend getting a few extras to open up more possibilities for your students.

Here are five great ways to extend your use of micro:bits without breaking the bank and encourage some creative thinking and resourcefulness amongst your students.

Idea One: Alligator Clips

If you want your students to start making cool stuff with the micro:bits then things are going to get a little fiddly.  The best thing you can buy is some Alligator/Croc clips as these will allow students to quickly add wires to the micro:bit and start the Timing Gate and Soil Moisture projects. The Alligator clips attach to the micro:bits ‘pins’ and power supply easily. If you do not have the clips your students will need to twist or tape the wire onto the pins and this is not always robust. If you are getting Alligator clips you should also invest in some wire strippers.

Idea Two: Servos

Some of the cooler projects on the micro:bit website involve a micro servo. This small piece of kit can open up a huge range of projects. A mini servo is a tiny moving mechanism that allows you to programme the micro:bit to create movement. At a low price point of around $7 NZD combining a servo with cardboard, old wire and other cheap materials, your students can make great projects like the Milky Monster, The Inchworm and the super fun Railway crossing.

The challenges with servos

Adding on a servo can be a bit scary for some as it involves some tinkering and problem-solving. The micro:bit site has a great explanation of how to get the servos ready for use. If you teach younger students enlist some older students to get this set up for you.

Idea Three: Arcade Buttons

You can basically add on any electrical parts you like to a micro:bit; lights, motors, mechanisms, fans and sensors can all be used. While the micro:bit has two buttons on it, sometimes these are too fiddly or you might need buttons to be somewhere else on your creation. You can purchase sets of Arcade buttons and wire them up (or even this ready to go Arcade set from Sparkfun) so that you can start exploring games and other interactive projects. Check out this guide on how to add buttons to your micro:bit.

[bctt tweet=”Arcade buttons are a must for any micro:bit classroom @microbit_edu #stem #utbpd” username=”MrTTHATCH”]    

Idea Four: Expansion Board

When you start to dive deeper into the micro:bit by using multiple servos, buttons, lights and motors, things will become a little more fiddly. This may be a good time to move beyond alligator clips and purchase some Expansion Boards. If this sounds a little alien to you do not worry. This essentially allows you to cleanly ‘plug in’ multiple extensions to your micro:bit. The micro:bit comes with three ‘pins’ that you can connect external things too but with some expansion boards you can add up to 21 different components.

Idea Five: Inventor Kits

If you want to do all the above and more but do not feel totally confident wiring or you just want to get stuck in without too much shopping around for components, then you should consider purchasing some ‘inventors kits’ for your classroom. These kits come with edge connectors and a range of components which can be plugged in without any fuss.

My personal favourite is the Boson Kit by DFRobot which comes with a button, sensors, lights, servos and a motor. The best thing about it is that each component has a magnetic attachment so that students can attach it to cardboard without glue. They also have a lego attachment which allows students to add it to pre-purchased lego or 3D printed lego.

Sparkfun also do a great Inventors Kit which comes with much of the resources I mentioned above. The pack includes a servo, wires, lights and much more, making it a great kit for your class.

These kits cost more than the single components but the extra investment means you do not have to spend time prepping wires and visiting multiple suppliers to build up your class kit, ‘money spent = time saved’.

[bctt tweet=”The Boson Kit by @dfrobotcn is a great way to make the most of micro:bits @microbit_edu #stem #utbpd” username=”MrTTHATCH”]    

Get Inventing

The Micro:bit is great by itself but with a few extra things it can launch your classroom into full-on inventor mode. Be sure to check out the micro:bit website for ideas and even look on Twitter and Pinterest for extra inspiration. The Microsoft STEM site also has some uses of the micro:bit which are sure to inspire.
Once you have some of the kit above be sure to check out this article on what STEAM could look like in your classroom

[bctt tweet=”Expand the possibilities of the @microbit_edu with these great tips! #utbpd #STEM” username=”MrTTHATCH”]    

Related Post

How well do you use the
Apple Apps Google Workspace Microsoft 365
tools in your workplace?

Find out if you’re working with the tools OR if you’ve got the
tools working for you.

What Industry Are You In?

Using Apple Apps, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

What Type of user are you?

🫣 Entry User | 🤹 Skilled User | 👑 Elite User

Take the quiz to find out. 

Privacy Policy

Using Technology Better Privacy Commitment

Introduction

We hold the privacy of your personal information in the highest regard.

Using Technology Better regards customer privacy as an important part of our relationship with our customers. The following privacy policy applies to all Using Technology Better users, and conforms to Internet privacy standards.

This policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our customers’ needs.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact the support team on our Contact Us Page.

Collection of Information

In order to use the Using Technology Better website, we may require information from you in order to provide the best service possible.

All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to sales, support and accounts, including Email.

Any information collected by Using Technology Better is collected via correspondence from you or your company. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.

Visitors and customers of japan.usingtechnologybetter.com will have their information shared back to DAIWABO INFORMATION SYSTEM CO., LTD. and DIS Service & Solution Co., Ltd.

Use of Collection Information

Any details collected from Using Technology Better customers is required in order to provide you with our

products and/or services, and a high level of customer service.

Correspondence is recorded in order to provide service references, and to assist in our staff development.

Web Site Use Information

Similar to other commercial Web sites, our Web sites utilize a standard technology called “cookies” (see explanation below, “What Are Cookies?”) and web server log files to collect information about how our Web site is used.

Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our Web site, and the Web sites visited just before and just after our Web site.

Storage of Collected Information

The security of your personal information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) on our website, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL).

When Credit Card details are collected, we simply pass them on in order to be processed as required. We never permanently store complete Credit Card details.

We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it.

If you have any questions about security on our Website, you can email us at <ContactEmail>.

Access to Collected Information

If your personally identifiable information changes, or if you no longer desire our service, you may correct, update, delete or deactivate it by emailing us at <ContactEmail>.

Orders

If you purchase a product or service from us, we may request certain personally identifiable information from you.

You may be required to provide contact information such as:

Name

Email

Postal address

Your school or organisation

Financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date, name on card, card billing address).

We use this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we will use this information to contact you.

Communications

Using Technology Better uses personally identifiable information for essential communications, such as

Emails

Accounts information

Critical service details.

We may also use this information for other purposes, including some promotional Emails.

If at any time a customer wishes not to receive such correspondence, they can request to be removed from any mailing lists by contacting support.

You will be notified when your personal information is collected by any third party that is not our agent/service provider, so you can make an informed choice as to whether or not to share your information with that party.

Third Parties

Using Technology Better may at its discretion use other third parties to provide essential services on our site or for our business processes.

We may share your details as necessary for the third party to provide that service.

These third parties are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.

Using Technology Better does not share any information with third parties for any unknown or unrelated uses.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a Web site, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies.

Each Web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

Browsers are usually set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you may alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies.

If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function as effectively when viewed by the users.

A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive or pass on computer viruses.

How Do We Use Information We Collect from Cookies?

As you visit and browse our Web site, the site uses cookies to differentiate you from other users. In some cases, we also use cookies to prevent you from having to log in more than is necessary for security.

Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server’s log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our Web site and which parts of the site are most popular. This helps us gather feedback to constantly improve our Web site and better serve our clients.

Cookies do not allow us to gather any personal information about you and we do not intentionally store any personal information that your browser provided to us in your cookies.

Legal

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our Website.

Links

Links on the Using Technology Better site to external entities are not covered within this policy. The terms and conditions set out in this privacy statement only cover the domain name of usingtechnologybetter.com

Changes to Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it periodically. If we make material changes to this policy, we will not use the personal information you have submitted to us under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, without your prior consent

Delivery Policy

Most goods are digitally delivered instantly via email.  Our services may be delivered either via an online medium or live in person.

For our online delivery see below.  For services delivered live onsite, please refer to our speaker agreement form which is emailed to you on confirmation of booking.

Refund Policy

We do not offer refunds or returns unless we cannot supply goods or services or the goods or services are not delivered as promised.

Australian law is the governing body for all work, goods and services supplied by Using Technology Better.

Marketing Release

Using Technology Better (UTB) may film, record, and photograph me (the results of which are the “Recordings”). UTB may also incorporate into any production(s) any separate content (e.g., quotes, testimonials, biographical information, profiles, photos, videos, sound recordings, artwork, etc.) I provide to UTB or approve in writing (“Materials”).

1.License

I grant to UTB an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to, in its sole discretion, (i) edit, translate, and modify the Recordings and the Materials, (ii) attribute the Recordings and Materials to me by my name, age, and city and state of residence, (iii) incorporate the Recordings and the Materials into content to promote UTB, its programs, or products (“Content”), and (iv) publicly use, distribute, reproduce, create derivative works from, and perform/display the Content, and any excerpts thereof, in any language.

2. No Compensation.

I grant this permission without any financial or other obligation of any nature.

 

For any issues or concerns please contact us