Bad timing for BBC coding machine giveaway as government questions "imperial ambitions"
- Summary:
- The BBC's giving away one million micro computers to the nation's children. Is that its job? And is now the best time to be expanding its remit?
The future shape and remit of the BBC has been on the political agenda for a long time, never more so than now with a Conservative majority government in power.
Just this weekend, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, pitched some barely veiled threats about what he saw as the broadcaster having fingers in too many pies - or as he put it, the BBC has “imperial ambitions” that should be curtailed. He cited the BBC’s investment in websites and online content as a case in point:
If you’ve got a website that’s got features and cooking recipes – effectively the BBC website becomes the national newspaper as well as the national broadcaster. There are those sorts of issues we need to look at very carefully. You wouldn’t want the BBC to completely crowd out national newspapers. If you look at the BBC website it is a good product but it is becoming a bit more imperial in its ambitions.
Asked what he thought the role of the BBC should be, Osborne had a simple, stark answer:
You want the BBC to be producing popular programmes people want to watch.
It’s a comment that I’ve been predicting we’d be hearing before too very long. There’s no doubt that the BBC’s remit has expanded over its lifetime. The question is whether that has always been appropriate or whether the corporation can be accused of project creep.
Last month I posed the question of whether a decision by the BBC to enter the commercial content marketing business was a good idea. At the time I noted that I could see the commercial reasoning, but suspected that it would play into the hands of the BBC’s critics.
I wonder what those critics will make of today’s announcement around the BBC micro:bit education initiative. This is the broadcaster’s scheme to give away one million coding devices to every 11 or 12 year child in the UK. The BBC trumpets this as its:
most ambitious education initiative for 30 years.
That’s a reference to the BBC Micro of the 1980s. The new BBC micro:bit is part of the BBC’s Make It Digital initiative.
Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC explains:
Channelling the spirit of the Micro for the digital age, the BBC micro:bit will inspire a new generation in a defining moment for digital creativity here in the UK. All you need is your curiosity, creativity and imagination – we’ll provide the tools. This has the power to be transformative for the UK.
The BBC micro:bit is
a pocket-sized computer that you can code, customise and control to bring your digital ideas, games and apps to life. It measures 4cm by 5cm, will be available in a range of colours, and is designed to be fun and easy to use. Something simple can be coded in seconds – like lighting up its LEDs or displaying a pattern – with no prior knowledge of computing.
Key features include:
- 25 red LEDs to light up, flash messages, create games and invent digital stories.
- Two programmable buttons activated when pressed. Use the micro:bit as a games controller. Pause or skip songs on a playlist.
- On-board motion detector or 'accelerometer' that can detect movement and tell other devices you’re on the go. Featured actions include shake, tilt and freefall.
- Turn the micro:bit into a spirit level. Light it up when something is moved. Use it for motion-activated games.
- A built-in compass or 'magnetometer' to sense which direction you’re facing, your movement in degrees, and where you are. Includes an in-built magnet, and can sense certain types of metal.
- Bluetooth Smart Technology to connect to the internet and interact with other micro:bits, devices, kits, phones, tablets, cameras .
- Five Input and Output (I/O) rings to connect the micro:bit to devices or sensors using crocodile clips or 4mm banana plugs. Use the micro:bit to send commands to and from the rings, to power devices like robots and motors.
The BBC is the overall editorial and project lead for the micro:bit, coordinating the partnership, micro:bit development and delivery, learning resources and on-air and online inspiration for teachers, schools and makers across the UK. Product partners include:
- ARM - providing mbed hardware, software development kits and compiler services.
- Barclays - supporting overall product delivery and outreach activities.
- element14 - sourcing components and managing the manufacturing.
- Freescale - supplying the sensors and USB controllers.
- Lancaster University - creating and writing the micro:bit runtime.
- Microsoft - providing the TouchDevelop web-based programming tools and hosting service as well as teacher-training materials.
- Nordic Semiconductor - supplying the main processor and enabled Bluetooth Smart.
- Samsung – connecting the BBC micro:bit to phones and tablets, and developing the Android app.
- ScienceScope - distributing to schools and developing the iOS app.
- Technology Will Save Us - designing the shape, look and feel of the device.
- The Wellcome Trust – providing learning opportunities for teachers and schools.
Hall boasts:
The BBC is one of the few organisations in the world that could convene something on this scale.
It probably is. Whether it should be doing this is another matter.
My take
It’s hard to criticise the ambition of this initiative. Getting the nation’s next generation of coders enthused and skilled up is incredibly important.
But is it the BBC’s job to do that?
At a time when the entire future of public service broadcasting is under pressure, I’m afraid that it does strike me as another political own goal by the BBC.