Microbit

Got yourself a Microbit? Awesome! They're a great way to learn Python!

Get setup

• Install Mu editor
• Print the Microbit programming reference sheet
• Print the unit progress chcecklist

Lessons

• Lesson 1: Getting started
  • Draw emoji's
  • Create your own art work
  • Scroll text across the Microbit screen
• Lesson 2: Conditional execution
  • Detect button presses
  • Keep programs running forever
  • Use the accelerometer to detect which way is up
• Lesson 3: Variables and numbers
  • Create a counting app
  • Create a random number generator
  • Create a dice that picks a new number when you shake the Microbit
• Lesson 4: Compound conditionals
  • Make a Labryinth style game where you need to keep the marble from falling off the edge of the screen
• Lesson 5: Lists with music
  • Use the buttons to pick your mood from a list of 9
  • Play music such as Beethoven's 5th symphony
• Lesson 6: Lists with neopixels
  • Create spellbinding, colour-filled light displays with an Adafruit Neopixel.
• Lesson 7: Communicate with bluetooth
  • Share the love by sending messages to someone else's Microbit
• Bonus: Servo
  • Control a servo attached to a 3d printed device to control a machine of your own creation.
• Bonus: Joystick Bit
  • Use the Joystick Bit game controller

Sample game projects

• Snake
• Tetris
• Flappy bird

Start with a sample game and then adapt it. Add your own music to it, modify the controls, add a Neopixel to indicate scores.

Project ideas

• Make a pinball game! - example this is cool!
• LED grid tetris game - example
• LED Neopixel analog clock - example
• LED Neopixel binary clock - example
• LED Neopixel clothing - example, example2
• Fitness step counter using Accelerometer example
• Bluetooth morse code transmitter example (use the buttons to transmit dot/dash/space, convert to letters on the receive end. add a speaker for the beeps?)
• Bluetooth game? - example Battleship
• Bluetooth game show buzzers (one controller and speaker, 3 for game show participants)
• Servo motor controlled cardboard candy dispenser - concept example
• LED Traffic lights - example
• Custom game controller using gyroscope - example
• How clean is my pond - example
• Make a musical instrument (use the gyroscope, accelerometer or touchpad) - example

Challenges

• Bop-it
• Consonant or vowel?
• Obstacles
• Catch the eggs
• Where's the cheese?
• Caesar cipher part 1
• Caesar cipher part 2
• Substitution cipher
• Decrypt a substitution cipher
• Morse code
• Spirit level
• Theremin
• Send a message
• Ping pong
• Rock paper scissors

Reference documents

The following links take you to the various sections of the official Microbit Python tutorials:

• Hello world!
• Images including pre-loaded emoji, do it yourself images, & animations
• Buttons including event loops and event handling
• Input/output using the I/O pins at the bottom
• Music and sound effects (requires a seperate speaker)
• Random numbers etc
• Movement using the accelerometer
• Gestures using the accelerometer
• Direction using the compass
• Storage with files
• Speech making your microbit talk back!
• Network get multiple microbits talking to each other!
• Radio get multiple microbits talking wirelessly!
• Neopixels and wiring guide

Other useful links

• Project ideas
• Other editors and languages you can program the Microbit with
• Microbit API
• Awesome microbit resources list

Other notes

Generic brand neopixels can be found by searching for ws2812b LED strips.

Author

(C) Paul Baumgarten 2019