> I think that it's capabilities are too far removed from kids understanding of computing. Good. Microcontrollers vastly outnumber any other kind of computer.

> I think that it's capabilities are too far removed from kids understanding of computing. Good. Microcontrollers vastly outnumber any other kind of computer. Embedded computers do some of the most important things in computing. Microbit is a gateway into this thrilling world. It's a magical device that makes ordinary objects intelligent. The Microbit has an accelerometer and Bluetooth LE, but it has something much more exciting - GPIO pins with PWM and ADC that can be connected to with a crocodile clip. You can attach piezo buzzers, thermistors and LDRs, you can jury-rig a switch out of bits of foil or a potentiometer with a pencil. There's a clear pathway of progression. Start with the graphical programming system, move up to MicroPython, then to C with Mbed. Start with croc clips and bits of wire, move on to a breadboard, then use the edge connector to breakout all 20 GPIO pins. Quick, simple exercises lead naturally to major projects. If someone had given me a Microbit when I was eleven, I would have been delirious with excitement. It would have consumed every moment of my spare time. I'm certain that the Microbit will change lives.