Good morning Parallax Community,
We're doing some planning at Parallax, and I'd like to involve you in the process!
For nearly 30 years, we've been developing educational hardware, robotics, and free curriculum. Much of our best work has come from listening to educators who use our products. As we consider where to focus our efforts next, we'd like to hear what you need than simply decide on our own.
What could Parallax create that would help you teach, challenge your students, or prepare them for a technology-driven future? Maybe it's a new curriculum, a project idea, a product we don't carry, or something that would make your classroom experience easier and more productive.
A few ideas have been on my mind, only to get the discussion started:
Applying the micro:bit to more real-world projects. With AI making programming easier than ever, students have more time to design and build projects. We'd expand our hands-on application examples at learn.parallax.com with breadboard-based and prototype projects using RF communication, sensors, motors, displays, environmental measurements, and other electronic components. Building (and modifying) circuits from a schematic, fabrication (3D printing, laser cutters, etc), and the engineering design process fit into these efforts.
More advanced cyber:bot robotics projects. We've already got a solid foundation of robotics curriculum for the cyber:bot, but there's plenty more we could do. Imagine using the HuskyLens AI camera for object and pattern recognition, navigating environments by colored objects, picking them up with the Gripper 3.0, or combining multiple sensors to move through busy environments, or even having the robots work together to solve a problem. These kinds of projects are useful for training in advanced manufacturing, automation, and robotics.
AI curriculum aligned with emerging standards. Our partner CYBER.ORG recently expanded the cybersecurity standards to include AI. Our curriculum already meets the cybersecurity standards, This effort would show the effective use of AI for coding the micro:bit and apply it for problem solving. Our students are being raised with AI, and those who leverage it well will reach many goals, faster.
micro:bit SHOP Expansion. We're a leading channel partner for the micro:bit Educational Foundation in the United States. To further this idea - which is mostly inventory and marketing from our perspective - we'd expand our micro:bit product line beyond what we manufacture. This could include popular accessories like badges, classroom kits, the 10th Anniversary micro:bit, mystery boxes, cables, power supplies and wearables. We'd have a lot more micro:bit products in stock.
Where should we spend our time to support what you need?
Leave a comment below. We can't promise to do everything, but your input will help us decide what comes next. If you prefer private communication, e-mail me at kgracey@parallax.com.
Thanks for helping us make Parallax more useful in your classroom!
Sincerely,
Ken Gracey, CEO
5 Comments
Ken, the manufacturing and automation direction you mentioned really resonates with us. At EnterpriseKC, we’re exploring introductory manufacturing experiences for middle school and early high school students, and I see a lot of potential in the micro:bit-based “What’s a Microcontroller” content and cyber:bot.
I’d love to see a connected series of manufacturing challenges where students measure a process, use sensors to monitor it, program a response, and test an improvement. Counting parts, checking quality, and moving materials between workstations could give teachers concrete ways to connect electronics and programming to manufacturing careers.
Having worked with Parallax on (the OG) Cyber Literacy and cyber:bot during my CYBER.ORG years, I’d be excited to explore how that foundation could serve another generation of learners. Happy to compare notes as our work develops!
I would love advanced curriculum. I have micro bits that I can use, but it is not enough for a semester.
I would love advanced curriculum. I have micro bits that I can use, but it is not enough for a semester.
If you could do something with the open source FPGA tools, that would be great. FPGA have always been a mess from poorly integrated proprietary tools. The new integrated open source option would be at least a step in a the right direction. When high school kids start playing with fpga, the world becomes a better place.
I’m not necessarily a new ideas girl, but I can tell you what I’ve always loved about Parallax’s products and tutorials: the excitement they create in students.
So many platforms come neatly packaged, with the underlying technology hidden from view. My middle school students couldn’t wait to get their hands on a Boe-Bot and, eventually, a cyber:bot. They didn’t just want to use a robot; they wanted to build the circuits that made its sensors work.
I know there’s a place for abstraction, especially as AI makes more sophisticated projects accessible to students. But I’d love to see Parallax continue to create opportunities for students to peek inside the box. Give them the sensors, components, schematics, and tutorials that help them understand why something works, not just how to make it work.
The excitement of making something happen is wonderful. The excitement of understanding how you made it happen is what turns a student into an engineer.