Opening MicroPython on the BBC micro:bit
Hi Folks, Many apologies for cross posting. Here's some good news - we've finally been given permission to open-source our work on the BBC micro:bit (http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/microbit) and be a bit more vocal and public about what we're doing. Put simply, around 1 million of these devices will be given to the UK's 11yo in the spring. They are all capable of running Python. If you think the following is of interest, please spread the word! It'd be great to see the wider Python community get involved in this. Damien George (creator of MicroPython) announced it here: http://forum.micropython.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1042 I've written up a "story so far" blog post, for those of you who need some context, here: http://ntoll.org/article/story-micropython-on-microbit The actual source code can be found here: https://github.com/bbcmicrobit/micropython I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Best wishes, Nicholas.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 As someone who just got a WiPy board and is having tremendous fun playing around with it, I second this! Georg On 10/20/2015 10:00 PM, Brett Cannon wrote:
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On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 3:27 AM, Nicholas H.Tollervey <ntoll@ntoll.org> wrote:
I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
I'd love to play with a few of these micro:bit devices. Do you know when and how (or even if) the hardware will be available for purchase by the public? If not, could you keep us informed when you learn more? Thanks, David Goodger <http://python.net/~goodger>
Hi David, Thanks for getting in touch and please see my answer's in-line below. :-) N. On 20/10/15 21:23, David Goodger wrote:
OK... the devices *will* be available for the general public to buy. I don't know when that will be, but I believe it'll be within weeks of the "drop" for the children scheduled to take place in the spring. I realise your next question is likely to be "when exactly will the children get them"? Honestly, I don't know for certain. But early next year is my best guess and I don't foresee any reason at the moment for this timeframe to slip. Hope this helps, Nicholas.
Nicholas, That's wonderful news! Thank you for your advocacy for education. It's great to see the announcement. I have a few of the older MicroPython boards and MicroPython has really evolved since then. Well done Damien and MicroPython community. If there is anything that I can do to help with getting ready for the micro:bit rollout, please let me know. Warmly, Carol On 10/20/15 3:27 AM, Nicholas H.Tollervey wrote:
-- *Carol Willing* Developer | Willing Consulting https://willingconsulting.com
Hi Carol, Please see my answers in-line below. On 20/10/15 21:31, Carol Willing wrote:
Thank you. Here's hoping we can pull it off for the kids who'll get the device in the spring (including my own 11yo son).
I have a few of the older MicroPython boards and MicroPython has really evolved since then. Well done Damien and MicroPython community.
Damien is one of the most talented developers I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Seriously clever code has gone into making MicroPython work on the micro:bit.
If there is anything that I can do to help with getting ready for the micro:bit rollout, please let me know.
I'm guessing you're based in the USA. I'd love to know how best to get educators from your side of the pond interested in MicroPython / micro:bit. Comments, thoughts, ideas, introductions, whatever... most warmly received. Looking forward to hearing more... ;-) N.
Nicholas, My company works with educators across the USA (we are based in Utah) along similar lines, we may be able to help garner some interest. Our platform is for data science and other STEM initiatives. https://ardusat.com I could see this really complementing the data science as kids gather the data and need a good way to analyze it. If we align with what you're looking for, I can talk to our president about it more. Feel free to ping me directly! Awesome work, thanks for sharing the announcement! I'm really excited to see the impact. -Matt matt.rasband@gmail.com matt@ardusat.com
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 As someone who just got a WiPy board and is having tremendous fun playing around with it, I second this! Georg On 10/20/2015 10:00 PM, Brett Cannon wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2 iEYEARECAAYFAlYnJMcACgkQN9GcIYhpnLCd+wCaA+3pkjT09ZzygwdEJiyyltBm 55kAn1SjCnbTWa2aO/kuf6Gzj/rzjGiA =2+uo -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 3:27 AM, Nicholas H.Tollervey <ntoll@ntoll.org> wrote:
I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
I'd love to play with a few of these micro:bit devices. Do you know when and how (or even if) the hardware will be available for purchase by the public? If not, could you keep us informed when you learn more? Thanks, David Goodger <http://python.net/~goodger>
Hi David, Thanks for getting in touch and please see my answer's in-line below. :-) N. On 20/10/15 21:23, David Goodger wrote:
OK... the devices *will* be available for the general public to buy. I don't know when that will be, but I believe it'll be within weeks of the "drop" for the children scheduled to take place in the spring. I realise your next question is likely to be "when exactly will the children get them"? Honestly, I don't know for certain. But early next year is my best guess and I don't foresee any reason at the moment for this timeframe to slip. Hope this helps, Nicholas.
Nicholas, That's wonderful news! Thank you for your advocacy for education. It's great to see the announcement. I have a few of the older MicroPython boards and MicroPython has really evolved since then. Well done Damien and MicroPython community. If there is anything that I can do to help with getting ready for the micro:bit rollout, please let me know. Warmly, Carol On 10/20/15 3:27 AM, Nicholas H.Tollervey wrote:
-- *Carol Willing* Developer | Willing Consulting https://willingconsulting.com
Hi Carol, Please see my answers in-line below. On 20/10/15 21:31, Carol Willing wrote:
Thank you. Here's hoping we can pull it off for the kids who'll get the device in the spring (including my own 11yo son).
I have a few of the older MicroPython boards and MicroPython has really evolved since then. Well done Damien and MicroPython community.
Damien is one of the most talented developers I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Seriously clever code has gone into making MicroPython work on the micro:bit.
If there is anything that I can do to help with getting ready for the micro:bit rollout, please let me know.
I'm guessing you're based in the USA. I'd love to know how best to get educators from your side of the pond interested in MicroPython / micro:bit. Comments, thoughts, ideas, introductions, whatever... most warmly received. Looking forward to hearing more... ;-) N.
Nicholas, My company works with educators across the USA (we are based in Utah) along similar lines, we may be able to help garner some interest. Our platform is for data science and other STEM initiatives. https://ardusat.com I could see this really complementing the data science as kids gather the data and need a good way to analyze it. If we align with what you're looking for, I can talk to our president about it more. Feel free to ping me directly! Awesome work, thanks for sharing the announcement! I'm really excited to see the impact. -Matt matt.rasband@gmail.com matt@ardusat.com
participants (6)
-
Brett Cannon -
Carol Willing -
David Goodger -
Georg Brandl -
Matt Rasband -
Nicholas H.Tollervey