New micro:bit Python Editor helps young people learn programming skills
The new micro:bit Python Editor is designed and developed for the classroom, helping teachers and students overcome common barriers to learning text-based coding
The new micro:bit Python Editor is live today after 18 months of development at the Micro:bit Educational Foundation. It is designed to address the barriers learners can face in working with text-based languages by creating a more user-friendly, creative and intuitive learning experience.
The new micro:bit Python Editor
The new editor is free to access and it is launched in multiple languages: Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. Its development is an investment by the Micro:bit Educational Foundation to provide all students with successful experiences in their programming lessons at middle school and high school.
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation's mission is to inspire every child to create their best digital future by creating products and free learning resources that make learning digital skills fun, relevant and accessible for children of all interests and abilities.
Python is the most widely used and fastest growing developer language in the world and has a broad application of uses, from powering machine learning to web development and data analytics. The new micro:bit Python Editor is designed to help students make the most of these future opportunities.
Secondary school students learning with the BBC micro:bit
“To truly address the digital skills gap – and the digital diversity gap – we need to remove the barriers that surround learning text-based languages,” commented Lucy Gill, Product Manager at the Micro:bit Educational Foundation. “With over six million of our devices in use globally, we have been able to draw on a broad scope of insights and data to redefine how we teach Python and make it more accessible to a broader spectrum of users. This is purpose-designed to make the step up from beginner feel far smaller and to bring code to life with a physical device, keeping learners more engaged and motivated.”
The new editor is available here and on the Micro:bit Educational Foundation projects pages you'll also find dozens of project ideas you and your students can code in Python.
