1. Getting Started with Physical Computing
Brendan Routledge

2. Micro:bits in Primary Schools
TES article December 2017 by Dan Cumberland
Embrace the wow factor (without breaking the bank) 
Find the right balance between guidance and independence
Planning is key, but don’t stifle creativity
Always think big and don’t be afraid to embrace ideas
Get other subjects involved
Different contexts promote deeper thinking
Promote failure
Don’t be afraid to be a big kid yourself

3. How does physical computing fit into the
primary curriculum?

4. How does physical computing fit into the
primary curriculum?

5. Have a look at your micro:bit – what can you
tell me about it?

7. Let’s get started!
Google “micro bits lets code” and open ‘Javascript Block Editor’

8. Your first program
We’re going to make a message scroll (move) across the screen
Drag the blocks below from Basic into the area in the middle of the screen
You should see your program run on the emulator on the left

9. Transferring the code Click Download to download your code
Click Done on the pop up box
Once your file has downloaded, click on the arrow by the file name and select Show in folder
Drag the file to the micro:bit device on the left of the window
Watch your program appear on your micro:bit!

10. Challenges
Make your micro:bit display two messages, with a pause in between
Make an image appear between the text
Clear the screen for a short amount of time between the images displaying

11. Button presses We’re now going to use the buttons to make stuff happen
Program your micro:bit to display an image when a button is pressed

12. Challenges
Make your micro:bit display a different image when button B is pressed
Make your micro:bit display a different image when buttons A and B are pressed
Make your micro:bit display a different image or message when you shake it
Make your micro:bit stop the animation if you press button A + B together

13. Altering LED brightness
These instructions will make a heart flash

14. Using variables We can use a variable to store the brightness
Create a new variable called “myBrightness” by clicking on Make a Variable from the Variables block
We’ll then set this variable to zero when the program starts

15. Using variables
Through using variables, we can reduce the number of instructions we need

16. Challenges Alter the speed of the fade by:
Changing the length of the pause
Altering the brightness increase
Can you edit the programme so that when it gets to max brightness (255) it resets to 0
and starts again?

17. Programming events
We could make the heart appear only when you shake the device

18. Challenges Make the heart go brighter if you press button A
Make the heart go darker if you press button B
Make the heart vanish if you press A and B at the same time
Make the heart go brighter if you tilt the micro:bit screen upwards
Make the heart go darker if you tilt the micro:bit screen downwards

19. Making a circuit
We can create a circuit by touching 0 (P0 in the Editor) and ground (GND)
Try making something happen when pin P0 is pressed
You might display some text or random numbers

20. Challenges
Make a simple game to tell your friend where they should go on holiday!

21. Resources and further guidance
This presentation available at
- excellent site produced by Neil Rickus, very practical and full of classroom ideas
- loads of project ideas from the official site
- ideas for use from a currently serving teacher
- 7 projects from Microsoft