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/
Farnell Global is a fast and reliable distributor of products and technology for electronic and industrial system design, maintenance and repair. From research and design through prototype to production, Farnell helps its customers access the products and services they need 24/7. With more than 80 years of experience, 47 localised websites, and a dedicated team of over 3,500 employees, Farnell provides every component its customers need to build the technology of tomorrow.
Farnell Global trades as Farnell in Europe, Newark in North America, and element14 in Asia Pacific. It also sells direct to consumers through its CPC business in the UK.
Farnell Global has been part of the established global technology distributor, Avnet (Nasdaq: AVT), since 2016. Today, this relationship allows the company to support its customers at every stage of the product life cycle, offering a truly unique distribution model, as well as expertise in end-to-end delivery and product design.
For more information, visit http://www.farnell.com/
