BBC Teams With Tech Partners To Launch Pocket-Sized Computer Giveaway for 7th Graders

The BBC teamed with more than two dozen partners, including Microsoft and Samsung, to unveil the “BBC micro:bit,” a pocket-sized computer, a million of which the partners plan to give for free to seventh-graders across the U.K. The U.K. “currently faces a critical skills shortage in the technology sector, and the BBC and our partners aim to help change that,” the BBC said in a Tuesday statement. The BBC hopes the micro:bit giveaway “will inspire a new generation in a defining moment for digital creativity,” it said. The micro:bit, which measures about 1.6 x 2 inches, is a computer “that you can code, customise and control to bring your digital ideas, games and apps to life,” it said. It will be available in a range of colors, and “something simple can be coded in seconds -- like lighting up its LEDs or displaying a pattern -- with no prior knowledge of computing,” it said. Microsoft is providing the TouchDevelop Web-based programming tools and hosting service, plus teacher-training materials for the micro:bit, while Samsung is providing the Android tools for linking the micro:bit to a smartphone or tablet, BBC said. The Bluetooth Smart-enabled micro:bit has 25 red LEDs to light up, flash messages, create games and invent digital stories, it said. It also has two programmable buttons that when activated enable the micro:bit to be a games controller or navigate through songs on a playlist, it said.