The BBC Micro Bit, the tiny computing device designed to get children coding, is going on sale to the general public.
The device is already being delivered, free, to one million Year 7 children in schools across the UK.
Now it will also be available to buy from the various partners in the project for £12.99.
Commercial availability of the Micro Bit follows the signing of a licensing deal with the device’s manufacturer, the Leeds-based company, element 14.
The firm says it will only sell them in batches of 90.
But retailers including Microsoft, the Technology Will Save Us organisation and Sciencescope will offer individual devices.
Element 14 is part of Premier Farnell, one of the distributors of the very successful Raspberry Pi barebones computer. Richard Curtin, strategic alliance director at element 14, is expecting a similar reception for the Micro Bit.
“It’s going to be huge,” he told me.”We’ve already got a pipeline of orders including foreign governments who’ve seen what has happened in the UK.”
The Micro Bit was meant to be the flagship of the BBC’s Make It Digital season last year but suffered a number of delays. It started arriving in schools this spring and the BBC says it has now been delivered to about 80% of schools and roughly 750,000 Year 7 children (11 and 12-year olds).
While I have heard plenty of enthusiasm from those children who have got their hands on it – and there are already plenty of exciting projects on display – there have also been frustrations from teachers.
A number have told me that the Micro Bit has arrived far too late in the school year to be of much use – “starting after half term, it’s come far too late to get proper use out of it, plus concerns about handling/failures” was one comment this morning.
But another teacher said this: “Got ours just before Easter hols. Kids are loving using them and are even buying add-ons for them, building projects at home etc.”
It is late in the year – although the Micro Bits belong to the children who will take them home over the summer holidays.
BBC
