I’m continually finding myself a sucker for microcontrollers and the likes, so when this popped up in my email feed this morning, i felt compelled to find out more and in the process reserved one at Microcenter.
My 9 year old is getting more into microcontrollers also, so i’ll be interested to see what he can do with this one. I’m also curious, my first school computer was the BBC Micro.
Here are some links for all you avid readers.
I agree-- I love the micro:bit. and it’s those limeys again! 
I brought a “micro:bit” a few months ago, and it garnered a good amount of interest at an educational coding workshop I was a part of. I love that one was given free to every child in the seventh grade across the UK, which amounted to over a million distributions. (The project was financed by the BBC’s Digital Initiatives campaign.) You can program MicroPython, Javascript, or block-based code on it, and the portable 5x5 grid of red LEDs will animate. You don’t have to worry about wiring, soldering-techniques, or tons of setup. It is super-easy to use, and you can drag and drop code into the micro:bit, which plugs into the computer like a jump drive.
I’ve also tinkered with small codeable hardware like Adafruit’s Circuit Playground, which also features LEDs, motion, temperature, sound, etc. all in one place. The Firmata protocol allows you to program MicroPython (easier to teach/learn than C++) on microcontrollers, but there are many more steps involved when getting it up and running.
Anyway, I really like the micro:bit for educational purposes too. The light-up hardware appeals to people like me, who like to program code for the physical world. And of course, it is wearable! Woot! I got mine on ebay (they’re on adafruit now), but am looking at ways to get them into many Texas students’ hands in for keep…