Katie, you’re the Head of Partnerships, North America for the not-for-profit Micro:bit Educational Foundation. Parallax has been thankful to have you in this position because you’ve coordinated our efforts with the Foundation’s engineers, giving us the best ability to create the cyber:bot and curriculum. You are accessible and have a focus on inclusion, hearing the student, and making learning fun — all of which have contributed to the success of the micro:bit in North America. We’d like to recognize you for these important contributions in this short interview. – Ken Gracey, Parallax Inc.
Q: Can you tell us what you were doing before you joined the Micro:bit Educational Foundation?
Prior to my current role, I worked for BirdBrain Technologies as a Director of Learning for three years. Also, I was a public school teacher for six years, first as an elementary classroom teacher then as a middle school STEAM teacher. I am a licensed K-5 educator, K-12 computer technology coach, and K-9 principal.
Q: Do you have any examples of students who have used the micro:bit in transformational ways, or launched a totally new career or interest from their experience?
One of my favorite micro:bit projects is from a student in Canada named Arushi. She created a simple and powerful water quality monitor using two pencils, alligator clips, and a micro:bit. By creating a series circuit with the pencils, she used the graphite in the pencils as a conductor and measured changes in voltage when she put the pencils into different water sources. (Link to her project: https://hotpoprobot.com/2020/04/22/my-scale-for-measure-water-quality-is-north-america-runners-up-of-microbit-do-your-bit-challenge/). Her goal is for more young people to create water quality monitors and add their data to an interactive map.
Q: Are you aware of many examples of the micro:bit being used in higher education? With the all-in-one sensors, LEDs, speaker — and Python support – it’s the best twenty bucks a student could spend to learn to code on physical hardware, especially compared to a university textbook.
Yes, I’ve heard of computer science university instructors using the micro:bit when teaching about writing firmware in C/C++, including Oxford University. I’ve also heard of micro:bits being used in pre-service teacher education programs.
Q: Where do you think the Micro:bit Educational Foundation is headed with the micro:bit concept, in general (not a product roadmap, but future plans)? Technology always wants the next version: the one with more features, the same price, but the micro:bit seems well-matched for the student needs as a learning tool. Are there requests for IoT connectivity, for example?
We want to keep continuity for educators but have exciting developments coming over the next couple of years. Two of our biggest growth efforts are through the new alpha Python editor and our translations program. You can try the new alpha Python editor here: https://python.microbit.org/v/alpha (and give feedback!) With the translations program, I am personally proud that students can code a micro:bit in more than 20 languages (using MakeCode), and find learning resources in more than 15 languages at microbit.org. Anyone can get involved with the translations program here: https://microbit.org/translate/
Q: You are incredibly comfortable in your presentations, and I’m wondering if this is a native trait or if you’ve worked at it. How much preparation time for a half-hour presentation?
I prepare a lot, and in some ways I never stop preparing. To be honest, though, I am a teacher and not a presenter. Presenters focus on what they want to say, and teachers focus on listening. The best teachers can listen so that students can hear themselves. Even though I come prepared to every event, I am continually checking in with those in attendance, “What are your hopes for today?” “What is missing for you?” I try as hard as possible to stay out of the way so that individuals can connect with others, themselves, or something else. It’s hard, and I make a lot of mistakes.
Q: How has the micro:bit Classroom tool worked out for distance learning? Did the teachers adopt it with proficiency?
micro:bit Classroom has become a powerful way to teach and assess coding remotely – though interestingly it wasn’t designed for remote instruction. We’ve heard from educators that they love it because there are no registrations, no data is collected, and it is easy to use. Our main challenge is just letting educators know that the tool exists. Educators can learn more: https://microbit.org/get-started/user-guide/remote-teaching/
Q: What would make your Micro:bit Educational Foundation “dreams come true” in the USA?
I’d love to see more students submit entries to the do your :bit design challenge. In a way, it’s not really about the challenge – it’s about the conversation that the challenge provokes. How can we support thousands of students to rise up in creative confidence and share their technical solutions to wicked problems? The do your :bit design challenge is an annual challenge from the Micro:bit Educational Foundation aligned to the UN’s Sustainability Goals. Learn more: https://microbit.org/projects/do-your-bit/
Q: And your free time – what are your hobbies and interests?
Lately, I have been focused on sewing, embroidery, beading, watercolor painting, and hiking. For some reason, I’ve gotten really interested in the way fabric moves in life-like ways when placed over servo motors. I wrote a blog post about my efforts to create a rabbit. (My friends think it looks like a zombie dinosaur and I kind of do too.) Book stores and libraries have also become my go-to places for peace and inspiration.
