Supporting fieldwork for primary education with computing - micro:bit, clip:bit and game controllers

Underwood, Lorraine and Edwards, Liz and Vidler, John and Finney, Joe and Rubegni, Elisa (2023) Supporting fieldwork for primary education with computing - micro:bit, clip:bit and game controllers. In: Proceedings of IDC 2023 - 22nd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference : Rediscovering Childhood. Proceedings of IDC 2023 - 22nd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference: Rediscovering Childhood . ACM, pp. 553-557. ISBN 9798400701313

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Abstract

This paper presents the ongoing development of the clip:bit, a clipboard-style micro:bit V2 extension for biodiversity monitoring in schools and community groups. The clip:bit is one component in a wider system to enable schools to engage in longitudinal studies of biodiversity in school grounds and local areas, monitoring the impact of landscape management and children's ecological activities, such as the introduction wildflower meadows or planting hedgerows. The clip:bit was designed in response to needs identified during fieldwork in schools. We describe how the design addresses these needs and point to the way the clip:bit fits into a wider plan for data management and data visualisation. We also discuss the application of an existing micro:bit peripheral, the Kitronik Game Controller, for biodiversity monitoring and compare their use for different cases.