The BBC micro:bit - from the UK to the world

The micro:bit is a small programmable and embeddable computer designed, developed, and deployed by the BBC and 29 project partners to approximately 800,000 UK Year 7 (11/12 year old) school children in 2015-2016. The micro:bit has been described by the BBC as "its most ambitious education initiative in 30 years, with an ambition to inspire digital creativity and develop a new generation of tech pioneers". This article describes the design of the BBC micro:bit, the realization of its goals through examples of the diverse projects crested with the micro:bit, reviews the project's history as it transitioned from a UK-centric to a worldwide project, and concludes with lessons learned and project outcomes.

Authors: Jonny Austin, Howard Baker, Thomas Ball, James Devine, Joe Finney, Peli de Halleux, Steve Hodges, Michal Moskal, Gareth Stockdale
Institutions: Micro:bit Educational Foundation, BBC, Microsoft Research, Lancaster University
Paper: Communications of the ACM, 2020
Contact: Jonny Austin, Joe Finney