element14 Community donates 250 micro:bit devices to support digital literacy initiative
From vulnerable children in Canada to young female programmers in Central and South America, the element14 Community's education giveaway has inspired thousands of classroom coders around the world.
element14.com, the online community for engineers, has donated 250 micro:bit devices to support coding in the classroom, providing teachers around the world with the tools they need to facilitate a range of inspiring education projects.
‘The Great micro:bit Education Giveaway’ was launched in August 2018 and invited STEM educators to submit a proposal for a project they would like to run using micro:bit. 25 applicants were selected to receive a micro:bit club pack – each containing ten devices and associated accessories including batteries, adapters and USB cables.
The successful applicants were asked to document the progress of their projects on the element14 Community. Highlights included maker sessions for young and vulnerable children in New Brunswick, Canada, in a series of projects for G:RL Power Code Fest Americas - an event supporting young female coders in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – and the development of an interactive mental arithmetic challenge by a group of students in Pennsylvania, USA.
Three projects which were deemed to have demonstrated exceptional merit and creativity were selected for special recognition and a micro:bit prize package to help further their development. Educators Robert Ancell from New Zealand, Andrei Beloiu from Romania and Wil Lindsay from the USA were announced as the winners.
Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community and Premier Farnell, said: “As a key distributing partner for the micro:bit foundation, promoting coding and digital literacy in education is one of our highest priorities. The overwhelming global response to our Great Education Giveaway is a testament to the incredible things STEM teachers can accomplish with the right tools and support.”
Details of the Great micro:bit Education Challenge, including the winner blogs and project highlights, can be found here: https://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-91357/l/the-great-microbit-education-giveaway-winners
To register to become a member of the element14 Community, visit http://www.element14.com/
About us
Premier Farnell is a global technology leader with over 80 years in the high service distribution of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, production, maintenance and repair. Premier Farnell uses this experience to support its broad customer base, from hobbyists to engineers, maintenance engineers and buyers as ‘The Development Distributor’, working with leading brands and start-ups to develop new products for market, and supporting the industry as it seeks to develop the current and next generation of engineers.
Premier Farnell is a business unit of Avnet (Nasdaq: AVT). Premier Farnell trades as Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark element14 in North America, and element14 throughout Asia Pacific. The Premier Farnell Group is supported by a global supply chain of more than 3,500 suppliers and has an extensive inventory profile developed to anticipate and meet the needs of innovative customers everywhere. Premier Farnell sells direct to consumers through a network of resellers, and its CPC business in the UK.
For more information, visit the website at http://www.premierfarnell.com
