{"id":238011,"date":"2016-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/msr-research-item\/microsoft-touch-develop-and-the-bbc-microbit\/"},"modified":"2020-03-16T10:42:50","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T17:42:50","slug":"microsoft-touch-develop-and-the-bbc-microbit","status":"publish","type":"msr-research-item","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/publication\/microsoft-touch-develop-and-the-bbc-microbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Touch Develop and the BBC micro:bit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"asset-content\">\n<p>The chance to influence the lives of a million children does not come often. Through a partnership between the BBC and several technology companies, a small instructional computing device called the BBC micro:bit will be given to a million children in the UK in 2016. Moreover, using the micro:bit will be part of the CS curriculum. We describe how Microsoft&#8217;s Touch Develop programming platform works with the BBC micro:bit. We describe the design and architecture of the micro:bit and the software engineering hurdles that had to be overcome to ensure it was as accessible as possible to children and teachers. The combined hardware\/software platform is evaluated and early anecdotal evidence is presented. A video about the micro:bit is available at http:\/\/aka.ms\/bbcmicrobit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .asset-content --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The chance to influence the lives of a million children does not come often. Through a partnership between the BBC and several technology companies, a small instructional computing device called the BBC micro:bit will be given to a million children in the UK in 2016. Moreover, using the micro:bit will be part of the CS [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","footnotes":""},"msr-content-type":[3],"msr-research-highlight":[],"research-area":[13552,13554,13560],"msr-publication-type":[193716],"msr-product-type":[],"msr-focus-area":[],"msr-platform":[],"msr-download-source":[],"msr-locale":[268875],"msr-post-option":[],"msr-field-of-study":[],"msr-conference":[],"msr-journal":[],"msr-impact-theme":[],"msr-pillar":[],"class_list":["post-238011","msr-research-item","type-msr-research-item","status-publish","hentry","msr-research-area-hardware-devices","msr-research-area-human-computer-interaction","msr-research-area-programming-languages-software-engineering","msr-locale-en_us"],"msr_publishername":"ACM - Association for Computing Machinery","msr_edition":"","msr_affiliation":"","msr_published_date":"2016-5-1","msr_host":"","msr_duration":"","msr_version":"","msr_speaker":"","msr_other_contributors":"","msr_booktitle":"","msr_pages_string":"","msr_chapter":"","msr_isbn":"","msr_journal":"","msr_volume":"","msr_number":"","msr_editors":"","msr_series":"","msr_issue":"","msr_organization":"","msr_how_published":"","msr_notes":"","msr_highlight_text":"","msr_release_tracker_id":"","msr_original_fields_of_study":"","msr_download_urls":"","msr_external_url":"","msr_secondary_video_url":"","msr_longbiography":"","msr_microsoftintellectualproperty":1,"msr_main_download":"238367","msr_publicationurl":"","msr_doi":"","msr_publication_uploader":[{"type":"file","viewUrl":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ICSE16-Demo-011-2.pdf","id":"238367","title":"ICSE16-Demo-011.pdf","label_id":"243132","label":0},{"type":"doi","viewUrl":"false","id":"false","title":"10.1145\/2889160.2889179","label_id":"243106","label":0}],"msr_related_uploader":"","msr_attachments":[{"id":238367,"url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/ICSE16-Demo-011-2.pdf"}],"msr-author-ordering":[{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Tom Ball","user_id":33895,"rest_url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/microsoft-research\/v1\/researchers?person=Tom Ball"},{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Jonathan Protzenko","user_id":33286,"rest_url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/microsoft-research\/v1\/researchers?person=Jonathan Protzenko"},{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Judith Bishop","user_id":32195,"rest_url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/microsoft-research\/v1\/researchers?person=Judith Bishop"},{"type":"text","value":"Michal Moskal","user_id":0,"rest_url":false},{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Peli de Halleux","user_id":32253,"rest_url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/microsoft-research\/v1\/researchers?person=Peli de Halleux"},{"type":"text","value":"Michael Braun","user_id":0,"rest_url":false},{"type":"user_nicename","value":"Steve Hodges","user_id":33628,"rest_url":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/microsoft-research\/v1\/researchers?person=Steve Hodges"},{"type":"text","value":"Clare Riley","user_id":0,"rest_url":false}],"msr_impact_theme":[],"msr_research_lab":[],"msr_event":[],"msr_group":[144767,144812,615681],"msr_project":[642759,427296,171471,170758],"publication":[],"video":[],"download":[],"msr_publication_type":"inproceedings","related_content":{"projects":[{"ID":642759,"post_title":"Physical Computing","post_name":"physical-computing","post_type":"msr-project","post_date":"2020-09-05 13:30:17","post_modified":"2023-11-28 10:05:58","post_status":"publish","permalink":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/physical-computing\/","post_excerpt":"Physical computing refers to the use of tangible, embedded microcontroller-based interactive systems that can sense the world around them and\/or control outputs such as lights, displays and motors. Assembling the hardware elements of a physical computer and programming it with the desired behavior provides a creative and educational experience. A variety of physical computing devices are established in the market, including: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Circuit Playground, and the BBC micro:bit. Microsoft has been active in&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/642759"}]}},{"ID":427296,"post_title":"Microsoft MakeCode","post_name":"microsoft-makecode","post_type":"msr-project","post_date":"2017-09-23 21:55:47","post_modified":"2023-11-28 10:02:33","post_status":"publish","permalink":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/microsoft-makecode\/","post_excerpt":"Microsoft MakeCode is a joint project between Microsoft Research and Visual Studio to make it simple to program microcontroller-based devices using a modern web app.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/427296"}]}},{"ID":171471,"post_title":"The BBC micro:bit and Microsoft","post_name":"the-bbc-microbit-and-microsoft","post_type":"msr-project","post_date":"2015-05-28 11:52:03","post_modified":"2023-11-28 10:36:15","post_status":"publish","permalink":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/the-bbc-microbit-and-microsoft\/","post_excerpt":"Try our Block\/JavaScript editor! The BBC and partners, including Microsoft, announce the BBC micro:bit \u2013 a pocket-sized, codeable computer that allows children to get creative with technology. Nearly 1 million micro:bits were given to every 11 or 12 year old child in Year 7 or equivalent across the UK in 2016, for free. \u201cThe simple truth is, being a maker matters. Real computing, doing not just consuming, will drive a creative revolution in this country.&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/171471"}]}},{"ID":170758,"post_title":"TouchDevelop","post_name":"touchdevelop","post_type":"msr-project","post_date":"2011-07-20 17:36:45","post_modified":"2018-04-03 16:41:06","post_status":"publish","permalink":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/touchdevelop\/","post_excerpt":"Create apps everywhere on all your devices! For Windows Phone and the web. In the TouchDevelop programming environment you write scripts by tapping on the screen. You do not need a separate PC or keyboard. Scripts can perform various tasks similar to regular apps. Any TouchDevelop user can install, run, edit, publish scripts. You can share scripts with other people by publishing them to the TouchDevelop script bazaar, or by submitting them as an app&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/170758"}]}}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-research-item\/238011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-research-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/msr-research-item"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-research-item\/238011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":393107,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-research-item\/238011\/revisions\/393107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"msr-content-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-content-type?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-research-highlight","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-research-highlight?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-research-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-area?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-publication-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-publication-type?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-product-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-product-type?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-focus-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-focus-area?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-platform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-platform?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-download-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-download-source?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-locale","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-locale?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-post-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-post-option?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-field-of-study","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-field-of-study?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-conference","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-conference?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-journal","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-journal?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-impact-theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-impact-theme?post=238011"},{"taxonomy":"msr-pillar","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-pillar?post=238011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}