Tech-Backed Code.org Bringing BBC Micro:bit To US K-5 Classrooms
theodp writes: On Tuesday, the Micro:bit Educational Foundation, a UK-based education non-profit "on a mission to inspire all children to achieve their best digital future," announced a partnership with US-based and tech giant-backed nonprofit Code.org to offer teachers computing resources to complement use of the handheld BBC micro:bit physical computing device as an extension to the Code.org CS Fundamentals curriculum, which is aimed at introducing Computer Science to children in Kindergarten-5th Grade. "Physical computing is a great way to engage students in computer science, and I'm excited that Code.org is expanding its offerings in this maker education space," said Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi. "We're delighted to partner with micro:bit to provide physical computing extensions to our existing courses." Micro:bit Educational Foundation CEO Gareth Stockdale added, "Growing a diverse pipeline of tech talent who contribute to the creation of better technology in the world begins in the classroom. We are invested in excellence in computer science education for younger students and are excited by the size of the impact we can create together with Code.org to bring the benefits of physical computing to young learners." Back in 2015, Microsoft -- a Founding Partner of both the Micro:bit Educational Foundation and Code.org -- partnered with the BBC to provide an estimated 1 million free BBC micro:bits to every 11 or 12 year old in the UK. "The chance to influence the lives of a million children does not come often," Microsoft Research wrote in a 2016 paper explaining the efforts to get the micro:bit into the hands of UK schoolchildren and make it part of the CS curriculum. The paper also cited Code.org and the UK's Computing at School (a Micro:bit Educational Foundation partner that was "born at Microsoft Research Cambridge") as "two significant success at the coding level" of "scaling out an initiative to influence an entire country of students, or even globally."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.