Micro: Bit Coding Cards

Colorful programming flash cards introduce the micro: bit hardware and programming through a series of interactive projects.

The BBC micro: bit is an affordable, tiny electronics board developed to teach beginning programmers (especially kids) about coding and hardware. This small board hosts sensors, LEDs, wireless capabilities, and a small bundle of brains, and has been used in projects around the world, from displaying simple smiley face animations to being sent to space to take pictures.

Micro: bit Coding Cards provide an interactive introduction to the micro: bit and computer programming in JavaScript. The cards teach beginning coding concepts like variables, logic, conditionals, and loops one step at a time. Readers can choose to do just a few cards a day, or work through the deck more quickly and tackle them in one sitting.

These highly visual cards make concepts easy to follow and keep learning dynamic and fun. They begin by teaching a set of basic skills and then continue into a series of projects that increase in difficulty as the reader progresses through the deck. Readers learn to use and combine hardware and sensors such as 25 individually-programmable LEDs, programmable buttons, physical connection pins, light and temperature sensors, and motion sensors and will learn exciting hacks like sending secret messages to other users and building a real-time visual temperature sensor. By creating and building their own projects, readers will see just how fun learning to program can be

Daniel Aldred is a passionate and experienced Computer Science teacher. He leads the Computing department at hub school which supports other area schools and organizations. He frequently writes for Linux User and Developer Magazine and has created resources and projects for Raspberry Pi, Pimoroni, micro: bit and Cambridge International Assessment. In his spare time, he curates two websites, canyoucomputer.co.uk and tecoed.co.uk for his own personal hacks. Aldred is also the author of Raspberry Pi Home Hacks (No Starch Press)