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MakeCode

Blocks first, then Python, with real devices and games.

Foundations

micro:bit Foundations11 lessonsMake a micro:bit show pictures, sense the world and look after a pocket pet.◆ 2 projectsArcade Foundations11 lessonsMake your own games with sprites, scores and lives.◆ 2 projectsmicro:bit: talk and play8 lessonsAfter microConnect micro:bits by radio and build a reaction game to race a friend.◆ 2 projectsArcade advanced skills11 lessonsAfter Arcade FoundationsPlatformers, levels and power-ups: the skills behind bigger games.◆ 2 projects

Extensions

Robotics challenges11 lessonsAfter microProgram a robot to drive, sense and decide.micro:bit and the computer8 lessonsAfter microConnect a micro:bit to the computer, then build an AI sorter.◆ 1 projectSecret messages10 lessonsAfter microSend secret radio messages, then defend a lock in a capture-the-flag.AI robots5 lessonsAfter Robotics challenges and microDrive a robot with an AI model you trained.

MakeCode starts with blocks and shows the same program in Python, so it suits younger students and students new to code. Two foundations tracks run side by side, so start with either: micro:bit Foundations (pictures, loops, buttons, variables, sensors, decisions and lists, all in the simulator, ending with a pocket pet), then micro:bit: talk and play (functions, radio and timing, ending with a reaction game and a radio duel); or Arcade Foundations (games with sprites, speed, overlaps, score and lives, timers, decisions and projectiles, ending with Space dodger), then Arcade advanced skills (every sprite of a kind, functions, gravity and jumping, levels and power-ups, ending with working out which games Arcade does well; each unit points to a MakeCode skillmap that practises it). Robotics challenges follows micro:bit: talk and play: learn each idea in the robot simulator, then run it on a real two-wheeled robot (the lessons use the Elecfreaks Cutebot; other supported robots change one block). micro:bit and the computer also follows micro:bit: talk and play: graph a micro:bit's sensors on the computer, send it commands, build a radio bridge, then train an image model in Teachable Machine and send its labels to a micro:bit. AI robots brings the two together: a robot driven by your model, kept safe when the model is unsure, silent or wrong. Secret messages is about keeping radio messages private, unchanged and trusted: ciphers, a key exchange, checksums and a challenge–response lock, ending in a capture-the-flag finale.

Foundations

micro:bit FoundationsMake a micro:bit show pictures, sense the world and look after a pocket pet.Program a micro:bit with blocks in the simulator. Pictures, loops, buttons, variables, sensors, decisions and lists, ending in a pocket pet you build yourself.micro:bit: talk and playConnect micro:bits by radio and build a reaction game to race a friend.Name jobs as functions, send messages by radio and measure time, ending in a reaction game and a two-player radio duel.After: micro:bit FoundationsArcade FoundationsMake your own games with sprites, scores and lives.Make games with blocks in the Arcade simulator. Sprites, movement, speed, overlaps, score and lives, timers, decisions and projectiles, ending in Space dodger, a game built in milestones.Arcade advanced skillsPlatformers, levels and power-ups: the skills behind bigger games.Go further with Arcade. Every sprite of a kind, functions and parameters, gravity and jumping, levels from lists, and power-ups that run out, ending in a power-ups challenge and a game of your own. Each unit points to a MakeCode skillmap that practises it.After: Arcade Foundations

Extensions

Robotics challengesProgram a robot to drive, sense and decide.Drive, sense and decide with a two-wheeled micro:bit robot. Each idea runs in the robot simulator first, then on a real robot.After: micro:bit: talk and playmicro:bit and the computerConnect a micro:bit to the computer, then build an AI sorter.A web page and a micro:bit talk over USB and radio. Graph a micro:bit's sensors, send it commands, relay messages by radio, train models on photos and on movements, and finish with an AI sorter of your own.After: micro:bit: talk and playAI robotsDrive a robot with an AI model you trained.Drive a robot with a model you trained, on the computer or on your wrist. Turn labels into moves, keep the robot safe when the model is unsure or goes quiet, and make it more careful where a mistake costs more.After: Robotics challenges and micro:bit and the computerSecret messagesSend secret radio messages, then defend a lock in a capture-the-flag.Radio is a shared space, so how do you keep a message private, know it was not changed, and know who sent it? Build ciphers, a checksum and a challenge–response lock with micro:bits, then defend a radio door lock in a capture-the-flag finale.After: micro:bit: talk and play

Other pathways: Python · Web