The project, supported by the likes of ARM and Freescale, plans to distribute 1million Micro Bit boards to all children starting secondary education in September 2015. However, the device is still in the prototype stage, according to the BBC.
One of the themes of the project – part of the BBC's overarching Make it Digital campaign – is an attempt to kindle an interest in technology in much the same way as the BBC Micro did in the 1980s. It also hopes to redress the skills balance and encourage a new generation of engineers.
New Electronics welcomes the initiative, but it is a very different landscape today than when the BBC Micro – and devices such as the Sinclair ZX – were almost iconoclastic.
Creating interest in coding is one thing; developing that interest so that it turns into a career in technology is another. That will require other parts of the education system – as well as industry – to take the effort forward; the scheme will have failed if someone becomes interested in technology, only for that interest to wither because they were left without support.
