By Prof Judy Robertson, University of Edinburgh
Overview
Microbits on the Move is a volunteering scheme in which Computer Science university students visit rural Scottish primary schools to teach children about computing using low-cost Micro:bit hardware. The aim of the scheme is to enable university students to share their expertise and love of computing, and give something back to the community. Teachers and learners benefit from meeting student role models and learning about a computing topic they otherwise may not encounter. It is targeted at rural schools where the teachers may have fewer opportunities or time to access professional learning. The scheme is administered by The University of Edinburgh.
In AY 23/24 (the second year of the scheme), CS students from across Scotland were invited to volunteer in addition to fourth-year Informatics students from the University of Edinburgh. It was funded by SICSA Education with a contribution from the Data Education in Schools project. Students received £50 Love to Shop voucher to acknowledge their contribution and to compensate them for their travel costs.
Visit details
Fourteen students from SICSA universities visited eleven Scottish primary schools, teaching an estimated 730 pupils about Microbits.
Edinburgh University visits
This year, we partnered with East Lothian Council, which was running a project on Microbits in its schools. The East Lothian digital learning officer matched student volunteers to schools. Eight students from Edinburgh University School of Informatics studying the Computing in the Classroom course visited five schools in East Lothian. They taught an estimated 500 pupils between January and March 2024.
SICSA University visits
Six students from other SICSA universities (Strathclyde – 4, UWS – 2) visited schools in Argyll and Bute (2), Dumfries and Galloway (3), and Perth and Kinross (1). Between them, they taught an estimated 230 pupils. These visits took place between March and June 2024.
Twelve schools initially registered interest in hosting a visit. Seventeen students registered interest in taking part in response to an email sent to the SICSA Education mailing list and redistributed by staff members (Strathclyde -5, UWS – 7, Aberdeen – 1, Edinburgh 1, Glasgow – 3) and were given dates for training workshops. Ten students attended the workshops and then requested to be matched with a school. Two students reported difficulty in getting responses from their allocated schools, and two other students did not respond to further emails from the administrator. This demonstrates that there is attrition from expressions of interest from both students and schools which should be taken into account for similar schemes in the future.
Perspectives from students, children and teachers
The visits were successful in terms of engaging children with computing. The students reported positive feedback from learners and teachers and found the experience satisfying. They enjoyed sharing their knowledge with the young learners. Below are some comments from the students, teachers and children which give a flavour of their views.
Comments from students
“I really enjoyed going into the school. It was really beneficial. Seeing the kids get excited and engaged.. they all really loved the lessons we made and the feedback we got was brilliant“
“I learned a lot about myself, that I like teaching.. I’m inspired by teaching“
“I feel as though I have really grown as a tutor throughout the academic year and it’s been so rewarding to see that from myself“
“The teachers all seemed to learn a lot from the lessons too“
Comments from teachers
“[The students ] were well prepared and the lessons were pitched perfectly for both the P7 class and P5. They had taken on board what had already been covered and this gave new skills. Their manner was confident but approachable and friendly. They were enthusiastic about the topic and being in our school“
“Thank you for sparking new joy into the tech with your enthusiasm and knowledge!”