How could younger students interact with the marriage between the physical and digital? This is the shadowing question we have all been asked to answer in my Digital Learning course. When I first picked up a micro:bit, I had no idea the possibilities it held. It seemed really delicate, and I was afraid I would break it if not careful. As a class, we first explored the relationship between the micro:bit and Scratch. In order to connect a micro:bit to Scratch, it is necessary to have the Scratch Link program downloaded to the desktop. The micro:bit connected to the desktop via USB cord. Once we started playing in Scratch, it became apparent that the micro:bit acted as a remote, and could become wireless by disconnecting it from the USB and attaching it to a battery pack. Some ideas were already popping into my head, but I tried not to get too ahead of myself. Options for controls included things such as an A button, B button, tilting and shaking. For example, if the code in Scratch said “when tilted left, sprite moves 10 steps”, you would tilt the micro:bit in real life to get the animation on the screen to move.
The micro:bit suggested that it wanted human interaction, a pretty neat relationship between the physical and digital. This made the digital world seem more accessible to people like me. The layers that made technology seem so intimidating were again beginning to peel back. Using micro:bit in relationship with Scratch gave way to many new affordances in learning. I envisioned how this could be used in dance - a solo dance could turn into a duo with an animation on the screen. What about the possibility of using this in theater? Scratch animation could be the set design. Even something as simple as a tool in a class presentation could have the presenter and viewers much more engaged. I became very curious to hear other students’ ideas, as they are always teaching me and expanding my ideas.
Another activity we did with the micro:bit included additional materials such as a moto:bit and motors. We were introduced to a website called MakeCode, a tool we would be using to send code into the micro:bit. The micro:bit connected to the website (no additional program needed), and the coding blocks looked very similar to Scratch. I thought to myself, “okay, something familiar, I can do this!”. Although the blocks looked similar, I couldn’t understand some of the jargon on the blocks. Anxiety started to arise, “what did all of this mean?” I decided to use the anxiety productively, we could worry about what all the blocks mean on my own time. I redirected my attention back to the instruction and focused on the basics while my partner took notes. Afterall, we never learn anything all at once - we will obtain more valuable knowledge if we take it one step at a time, stopping to smell the roses.
We learned a fairly simple code , downloaded it into the micro:bit, and were then asked to insert the micro:bit into the moto:bit. Once the micro:bit was attached to the moto:bit, we attached motors - one on the left and right. That’s when the fun really started. Depending on our code, the motors would move in certain ways. You could have a different code entered for each motor. The right motor might be spinning forward while you have the left motor spinning backwards. I saw a lot of possibilities just by looking at these materials function together. I immediately thought back to the Drawing Machine; we could make a machine so much more reliable with code involved! What about a windmill, moving mobile, or a carousel? In the simplest terms, these materials opened my eyes to ways to create kinetic 3D sculptures. The possibilities here are close to endless, and although motors move in a circular way, it does not necessarily mean the project would need to be a spinning object. The more motors involved changes the movement of the piece, something that was not apparent to me at first sight.
To be quite honest, this was not initially an exciting day for me. It seemed like a lot of procedure, and I wasn’t seeing the affordances of the materials right off the bat. Once I had a chance to revisit the notes and make discoveries through my own play, the possibilities really began to open up. It’s comparable to any medium - in drawing, you must learn the different values before you can create a composition that has volume and depth. The micro:bits, moto:bit, and motors carry the same methodology, and the fun really began after given that basic learning block. Through this activity in particular, I really understood the necessity to push over things that don’t seem appealing or interesting to us. Once you push through that feeling, you begin to see that there is always a way to turn materials into your personal style and something you enjoy deep down.
