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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : MMBasic Board Of Education
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| Volhout Guru  Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5138 |
My personal fear is "what happens to our society, when Internet/Datacentres/AI become unavailable". Do we fall back on a few dinosaurs (read: 60+ aged guys) who memorized things, and may still remember? Books (datasheets) are not printed anymore... Volhout Edited 2025-08-08 03:15 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3390 |
Electricity City water Agricultural products signed -- one of the dinosaurs who might actually remember a thing or two (though not enough to replace those societal underpinnings). PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8000 |
With the egotistical crop of world politicians that we currently have I doubt if there'd be anything to keep running anyway. The Vogon constructor fleet won't be far off anyway. DON'T PANIC! (In large, friendly letters) Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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Nimue Guru Joined: 06/08/2020 Location: United KingdomPosts: 422 |
I’ve been exploring and refining this idea for around five years now — and although progress has been gradual, I’ve gained a lot of valuable insight into how best to connect with schools and learners. Quick summary: While it can be challenging to break directly into the school-based education market, there are clear opportunities if we focus on the right areas. Primary schools seem to offer the greatest potential — especially when supported with strong resources, training, and ongoing guidance. Interestingly, a commercial-style package (equipment, training, and support) often works better than purely open-source or hobbyist approaches, as schools can budget for structured provision. Beyond schools, groups like the Scouts could be highly receptive, particularly for project-based digital making. My background: I bring 20 years in education — from classroom teaching to leadership roles — and currently work in a college with adult learners. My school experience includes a decade as a computer science advisor for 200+ primaries and 50+ secondaries. I’ve seen first-hand how creative computing can inspire learners when the right support is in place. Why there’s an opportunity: Here in Wales, there are 212 secondary schools and nearly 1,800 primaries. The national curriculum makes “physical computing,” “sensing,” and “programming” mandatory for all learners up to age 16, regardless of whether they take Computer Science at GCSE. This creates a genuine captive market. Government and BBC initiatives have already put microcontrollers into schools — Micro:bits (~30 per primary, ~100 per secondary) and, more recently, Raspberry Pi Picos with sensors and LEDs. While many of these are under-used, they represent a ready-made starting point for engaging activities. Where teachers have the confidence and resources, these tools are used for environmental sensing, creative displays, and coding projects — often with real enthusiasm. The reality in classrooms: Primary schools tend to have Chromebooks or iPads; secondaries have a mix of desktops and Chromebooks. Coding via browser-based block programming works well in these setups, removing the need for complex installations. Schools value simple, reliable workflows — so hardware and software that “just works” is more likely to be adopted. There are budget possibilities — schools will invest in solutions that come with training, resources, and ongoing support. One of the biggest challenges is teacher confidence and time. Most IT teaching staff don’t have a Computer Science background, and planning time is limited. That’s why a wrap-around solution — equipment, lesson plans, training, and technical help — has a far higher chance of success than standalone tech. Extra-curricular potential: After-school and lunchtime clubs have been particularly productive, offering a flexible space for learners to explore coding and electronics beyond the timetable. This could be a stepping-stone for wider adoption in curriculum time. Beyond schools: Youth organisations like the Scouts have a “Digital Maker” badge that requires creating, coding, and documenting a project using a microcontroller. This is a strong fit for hands-on, project-based learning and could be a very effective avenue for outreach. For inspiration, suppliers like Monk Makes and Redfern Electronics are already providing hardware that is making its way into classrooms — proof that the right product and support model can work in this space. The Perfect Pico-Ed 1. Instant-on, no-install simplicity No driver installs, no admin rights needed — the device should just power on and work. Ideally, and least hassle it would appear to the computer or tablet as a simple USB drive, like the Microbit. Not sure how this could work with the 'mites as they either needs a monitor/keyboard or tethered and a terminal application 2. Everything on board to do “something cool” immediately Bright RGB LED matrix (8×8??) for patterns, text, and graphics. Built-in buzzer and microphone for sound projects. Onboard sensors: temperature, light, accelerometer, compass, and capacitive touch. At least 2 programmable buttons for input. A row of accessible GPIO pins with standard connectors so no breadboard is needed for first projects. 3. Tough, classroom-ready design Credit-card size, with rounded edges and protective casing so it survives being dropped. Clear, large printed labels for pins so students (and teachers!) can quickly wire without needing reference sheets. Bold “reset” and “run” buttons for easy restarts during lessons. 4. Friendly power & connectivity USB-C for both power and programming (robust, reversible, future-proof). Optional battery pack slot for untethered projects. 5. Designed for the realities of schools Cost under £25 so a class set is affordable and replacements aren’t painful. Ships with preloaded example projects so it can be used in the first 5 minutes out of the box. Compatible with standard school storage boxes for easy kit management. (Gratnells trays) 6. Teacher-first support package Comes with ready-to-go lesson plans aligned to the national curriculum. Includes offline resources (PDF guides, preloaded code examples) so internet downtime isn’t a lesson-killer. Quick-start guides with no jargon so non-specialists can confidently run a session. I've been rattling this round my head for years now - and if I can help anyone develop / test something I'm there. As said, been ill/still am, so cant evangelize in schools anymore. Since I joined this community and got hands on various 'mite and a CMM2 I can't shake the feeling that something based on the ecosystem is what schools need -- just not sure they want it (if that makes sense). Regardless, still loving the 'mite and all they offer. Entropy is not what it used to be |
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PeteCotton Guru Joined: 13/08/2020 Location: CanadaPosts: 554 |
Very interesting and informative read. Thank you for taking the time share your knowledge. I agree that the 'mites seem like a great fit for education. I also see an application (which might be almost identical) in the engineering world. I've worked with a lot of engineers and other technical people who need just a little bit of computing power. These guys aren't interested in developing software, but often have "needs" that fit neatly into very simple software programs. e.g. Read the temperature in the server room and display it on the wall - and alarm if it exceeds 28 degrees. Or I want a circuit that detects when a model train is on a certain track and automatically activates the points to the right position and changes the signaling arms. I can see these little microcontroller situations being a gateway drug into full automation. Some of these guys will have done ladder logic in college. But balk at the cost of installing a PLC. An easy to learn all-in-one computer (such as the educational version of the mites) could become an invaluable item in their toolkit. |
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| Nimue Guru Joined: 06/08/2020 Location: United KingdomPosts: 422 |
I did some work for the local museum on monitoring the temp/humidity/light inside their cased equipment and logging it - with an alarm if out of spec. Industrial solution over £500 per case. Wifi only for making sure things are alive - no realtime data sent, just logged and looked at intermittently, with an alarm (on the individual case). At the time, a solution with a microbit and and "shield" was less than £50 for the very same thing. Now with a WebMite and some sensors, I bet I could make the same for less and build in a web monitoring solution. Ultimately they stuck with a thermometer and humidity senor in each case and a curator reading them ever day. So, 100% agree that there are many edge cases were a full on industrial solution is not needed and there are opportunities. My challenge is actuallyy charging for stuff - have a habit of "doing it for free" and of course therefore never taking the plunge into making a go of it. Nos da all. Entropy is not what it used to be |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8000 |
If you are looking for cheap educational hardware the micro:bit already has that pretty well sewn up, at least in the UK. Everything about it was designed for exactly that purpose from the ground up. It has massive support and distribution through just about any company that schools have access to. Of course, it teaches block programming, Scratch and Python, so the lead onto the Raspberry Pi is straightforward when something bigger is wanted. The basic unit is usable (3 analogue/digital GPIO and 3V/GND that you can connect with crocodile clips) but can be plugged into a motherboard to expand the IO. You can program it via bluetooth or a USB lead to a PC. With competition like that I honestly can't see any MMBasic platform making any impact whatsoever unless it's via the "back door" of making and distributing a book and, possibly, a simple kit. By the time they are 6 the kids have already learned "coding" in Scratch and some Python (one of the two languages taught has to be textual, it's almost always Python). Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1437 |
I'm constantly on my little soapbox about this very thing  The industry needs de-programming. The PicoMite has capabilities way beyond PLCs and at such a low cost, one can afford to provide a completely redundant system. Downtime is a killer and the traditional suppliers don't care. They just want you to be locked-in to their eco system. "Industrially rugged" is a myth, all we need is galvanic isolation. Arduino has gotten into "industrial controllers" and their DIN-rail mounted "Portenta Machine Controller" brings 24V machine-sensor wiring directly to the MCU via level-shifters.  Over on one of the PLC communities, I see things like: "I need 200Hz PWM from my PLC" "Oh you need a module for that ($1,500) but getting it to work can be a challenge" "I need to make a change to the program on our PLC, I found the RS485 cable for $150 on eBay (they put some oddball connector on one end) but our programming license has expired and to renew it will cost thousands" Charging: The trick is to lose the wage mentality and look at it from a value perspective. I can be in and out of a manufacturing facility in ten minutes but I still charge a full-day's rate. It costs them an awful lot more to be down. The cool thing about this is that; now they come to you with every little common sense issue. I had one recently where from the symptoms described over the phone, it was obvious that their hydraulic pump had seized. They just wanted me to be there, regardless and it would have been a 2-day charge. I had to insist that they contact a local hydraulics guy because I was tied-up with another break-down. If I had gone there, I would've only contacted the hydraulics guy and the customer would happily pay for me to simply stand there Edited 2025-08-15 17:32 by PhenixRising |
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| PeteCotton Guru Joined: 13/08/2020 Location: CanadaPosts: 554 |
 Yeah - we get a lot of this as well. Called out on site (at a ridiculous hourly charge) "just in case" something happens. I spent a week in the infinite pool of a five star hotel in Trinidad, sipping cocktails, and gazing out over the Caribbean, while the customer "got the site ready for us". Often times, what we think is a lot of money, is a drop in the ocean (or Caribbean) to a customer. They're just happy that we're available if required. |
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| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1437 |
Hate when that happens...well when they actually need you to do some work  |
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| zeitfest Guru Joined: 31/07/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 588 |
This looks like a previous education device, is pretty small, obdurate for classroom use, small keyboard though.. |
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stanleyella Guru Joined: 25/06/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2601 |
that looks interesting dunno about educational I never understood algebra at 16 but there were no computers then. never figured what a slide rule was for. it's only my grandson not my grand daughters took up coding, he's 9 and uses python and html off his own bat, not school curriculum. I think teaching electronic like switch mode power supplies more relevant for today as they always fail, fix em and be popular |
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