TraintheTrainerResources HexFilesHere-https://goo.gl/mQoVRV

http://microbit.org https://makecode.microbit.org/

InthisTopicwewillexploretheBasiccommandslistandusesomeofthecodingsupportfeaturesoftheMakecodeenvironment

OpentheMakecodewebsitehttps://makecode.microbit.org

ClickontheBasiccommandsthis.Familiariseyourselfwiththefunctionofeachcommand.

Areferenceguidecanbefoundathttps://makecode.microbit.org/reference/.FurthersupportcanbefoundabouteachcommandinMakecodebyRightClickingonablockandselectingHelp.

Tasks

Accessthereferenceguide

Rightclickoncommandblocksandaccesstheirhelpinformation

LearningObjectives1.Beginusingthebasicmicrobitcommandstocreatecomplexprograms2.Understandthefundamentalcomputerscienceprocessessuchasdebugging,pseudocodeandalgorithms3.Learnhowtosaveaprojectsandsharewithothers

ComputingConceptsUnderstandthatevenonlywithasmallnumberofcodecommandstocomplexprogramscanbecreatedUnderstandhowtocreateanalgorithmandwritePseudocodeLearnhowtodebugasimpleprogramandleavecomments

Topic2UsingBasiccommands

(notBASIC)

WritePsuedocodethatwilldisplayaflashingsmiley/sadface?

TraintheTrainerResources HexFilesHere-https://goo.gl/mQoVRV

http://microbit.org https://makecode.microbit.org/

UsingyourPsuedocodeasaguide,andonlyusethingbasiccommandsandtheeventhandlerstocreateaprogram.Studentsshoulddiscoverthattheeventhandlersin

thebasiccommandrequiresthemtocreatedifferentcodetoachievethesameeffect.

Possiblesolutions Usethecommentfeatureofmakecodetoaddcommentstoyourcode.Rightclickonacommandblockwhereyouwanttoaddcomment.Thiswilladdalittlebluecirclewithaquestionsmark.

Hoveringthemouseovertheedgeofcommentboxwillallowittobemoved,sothatitisnotcoveringanycodeorothercommentsCommentscanalsobeusefultogivefeedbackfromteacherstostudents.Studentsneedtobeawarethatthisfeedbackisavailable.Commentsarenotpartofthecodeitself.Theywillnotappearonthemicro:bit,onlywhenthecodeisbeingdevelopedintheworkspace.

Whyisimportanttousecommentsinyourcode?

TraintheTrainerResources HexFilesHere-https://goo.gl/mQoVRV

http://microbit.org https://makecode.microbit.org/

Beingabletoshareprogramsandalgorithmsisavitalaspectofsoftwaredevelopment.SuchasLibrariesandcommunitieslikeGitHubhelpdeveloperscreatebetterandmoreeffective

algorithmsandapplications.Withthemicro:bityoucansharecodebyclickingthisicon.ThiswillgenerateaURLwhichcanbeemailed/sharedwithothers.Thereisalsoanoptiontogenerateembedcode.Thiswillallowtheprojecttodisplayedonawebpage.**N.B.Remindstudentsthatwhentheysharethiscode.Itispublicandtheyshouldensurethattheircodeandcommentscontainnopersonalinformation.

Savingyourmicrobitcodeasprojectmeansthatyoucanworkonoveraperiodoftime.Saveyourworkandgiveitarelevantnameandclickthesaveicon.

Ifyouusethesamenameforthedevelopmentofaprogram,itwillautomaticallyincrementthefilename

Workwillbesavedasamicrobitfilecalleda.hexfile.Thiswillbeautomaticallysavedtothefolderassignedtothebrowserfordownloadingfiles.Hexfilesonlymakesensetoamicrobit,Youcanopenthesefilestoseewhatthecodelookslikebyusingasimpletexteditorlikenotepad.Openyourhexfilewithatexteditor

Howcouldyouusethesefeaturestodevelopcomputingwithstudents?

TraintheTrainerResources HexFilesHere-https://goo.gl/mQoVRV

http://microbit.org https://makecode.microbit.org/

AnyworksavedcanbeaccesseddirectlywithintheMakecodeEnvironmentbyclicking

theProjectsiconandselectingMystuffSelectimportfilesandbrowsethecomputerfortheirfile.Oncetheychosenthefile.ClickGoaheadanditopenintheworkspace.AnotherwayistofindthehexfileinafolderonyourcomputerandclickanddraggingittotheworkspaceinMakecode.TasksPracticesavingandimportingyourHexfiles.Usebothmethodsandcompare. Howcouldyouusethesebeusefulforteachersindeliveringcomputinglessons?

TraintheTrainerResources HexFilesHere-https://goo.gl/mQoVRV

http://microbit.org https://makecode.microbit.org/

TrainerReflection

PracticeexercisesCreateyourownprogram.Makeitascomplexaspossible.But,onlyusetheBASICcommands

Topic2UsingBasiccommands

(notBASIC)

Whathaveyoulearntinthistopic?

Whatelsedoyouthinkyouneedtoknowaboutthistopicandhowwillyoufindthisout?

Howmightyouintroducethistopictootherteachers?

Whatareasofthistopicmightbedifficulttoteachorunderstandforotherteachers?