The original Micro:bit V1 (left) remains a powerful tool for teaching data logging and IoT fundamentals, even alongside the feature-rich V2 (right) produced using ChatGPT Introduction Before you drop those original Micro:bit V1 boards into the recycling bin, ask yourself this: what if the board without all the bells and whistles is actually the better teaching tool? As we move further into 2026, many educators find their storage bins filled with V1 boards — the ones without the notched gold edge connectors. With the V2 boasting a built-in microphone, speaker, touch-sensitive logo, and a faster processor, it's tempting to assume the V1 is obsolete. But is it really? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, depends entirely on what you are trying to teach — and the V1 makes a far stronger case for itself than most people expect. The Technical Trade-off To be fair to both boards, the V2 is the clear winner for AI, audio, and machine learning projects — and if your budget allows, ...
You don't need to buy a robot to get programming a robot, now there are a range of free and relatively simple to start with robot simulators to play with. Three examples are listed below: - Make code for Lego EV3 https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/05/programming-robots-virtually-3-lego-ev3.html - i Robot simulator https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/04/programming-robots-virtually-2-irobot.html - Vex robotics Vexcode VR https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/04/programming-robots-virtually-1-vexcode.html It is the last one of these ( https://www.vexrobotics.com/vexcode-vr ) that is the focus of this post and return to hit, after an earlier discussion in https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/04/programming-robots-virtually-1-vexcode.html . Two of the nice things about the package, apart from being free, are it uses a Scratch-like programming language and it provides a ...