If ‘mega:bit’ is Scaled Up micro:bit, ‘giga:bit’ is Human-Scale micro:bit!
The micro:bit is a fascinating little SBC, with multiple on-board sensors and LEDs, Bluetooth LE and micro USB. It’s readymade for learning MicroPython and other adventures in making. However demo’ing it in the classroom may prove challenging because of its size. As the name implies, ‘micro’ is its main feature – it is small, with a board size only 2.0″ x 1.7″. So we dig these oversized micro:bit replicas – fully operational no less – that act as visual aids to be able to more clearly point to points on the board for classroom instruction (and also just because they’re cool oversized replicas!):
So, it was the summer of 2015 and details had been released about the amazing-sounding BBC micro:bit that was going to be given to all Year 7 students to encourage them to learn how to program. As a soon-to-be teacher of computing at a secondary school, this was a very exciting to me and, for no good reason, I set about making a large mock-up of the micro:bit on the school’s laser cutter:
My plan had been to add the LEDs and switches and connect it to my Raspberry Pi so that I could write some simple programs in Python that would display things on my scaled-up micro:bit. I didn’t really have any plans for it except that I thought it might be fun to make and could be useful in my classroom.
This eventually lead to the creation of this human-scale ‘giga:bit’ project:
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython Comes to the ESP32-P4, Emulating Arm on RISC-V, and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
