bitlink

Built for classrooms

The Bitlink IoT kit is built around the BBC micro:bit, a microprocessor that’s simple to program but capable of creating exciting projects. Our kits include:

• Resealable packaging to keep components safe.
• Visual indicators to make devices easy to identify.
• Sensors that are carefully selected for ease of use and diversity of possible projects.
• Sensors with simple connectors for little fingers.
• A calico bag to keep everything together.

Our award-winning IoT Kit

Over the last decade working with schools we've seen so many STEM education kits that just aren't cut out for the classroom. Commercial kits often featured components that were too small for students, boards that were difficult to program, and parts that were too fragile. And more importantly, none of them came with appropriate resources to run lessons in classrooms. So we worked with teachers for 18 months to co-design our Internet of Things kit and 20 curriculum-linked lessons.

Our Internet of Things kit picked up the education award in the Innovate with nbn program, which has enabled us to work with some of Australia's most remote schools - learn more about the program here.

What is the 'Internet of Things' (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term that refers to computers embedded into the world around us. From weather stations, to traffic lights, these devices gather data from the real world. We like IoT as it’s an interesting and engaging way to teach coding and electronics. IoT projects help students think about the environment they live in and how much technology is involved in our daily lives.

Co-designed with teachers.

We worked with teachers to design and develop not only this kit, but also 20 ACARA curriculum-linked lessons to go with it!

• The kit is designed to help you get started right away! Our slide decks and lesson plans guide you and your students through the lessons.
• We have got you covered with:
  • Learning intentions / success criteria
  • Guiding questions
  • Reflection questions
  • Solution code
  • ACARA curriculum links (years 3 - 6)
• This kit has been designed with teachers and classrooms in mind. Everything from the packaging through to storage has been tested in real-world classrooms to make sure that they stand up to the rigours of classroom life.
  

These resources are built into the lessons on this site.

Create a free account by heading here:
https://bitlink.com.au/users/register/
and then visit the lesson page to check out the resources!

Designed to improve teacher confidence.

Some teachers really worry about teaching STEM as they feel that they aren't experts themselves. We wanted to design something that any teacher can use and get great results with. We did that by building resources that let teachers learn alongside their students.

To do this, we co-designed the kits and the lessons with teachers. We spent 18 months piloting, testing, and refining the kit and the lessons to make sure that everything was easy to use, but with a massive amount of space for students to explore - a low floor, with wide walls, and a high ceiling.

We like to say that our lessons are not recipes - they are serving suggestions. Once teachers are confident in using these kits, they can remix ideas, design new challenges and let students explore their own inquiry. We've scaffolded the lessons to introduce concepts in a logical fashion, but the very atomic nature of the lesson challenges lets you meet your students where they are - we trust teachers to know their students and know what is going to work best for them.

While we think there’s a lot of genius in our kits and lessons, most of it isn’t ours – it’s all the insights we gleaned from our pilot schools that have made this kit the best possible product for classrooms that it can be.

Visit Makers Treehouse!

Every lesson in our program includes an episode of Maker’s Treehouse, an engaging video series that can be used to start and end each lesson.

Each episode features the Makers, some older students that hang out in a fantastic treehouse, where they solve problems using their IoT skills. In addition to helping set the scene for each lesson, these videos help to model important soft skills, such as problem-solving, troubleshooting, computational thinking, resilience, and collaboration.

Find out more about this web series here: https://bitlink.com.au/video-production/makers-treehouse/
and watch the videos which are embedded into the lessons at:
https://bitlink.com.au/lessons/

How are teachers using our kits?

We designed these kits to cater to many different teaching styles. Here are just some of the ways that you can use them:

• Use our slide decks and video resources to work through lessons as a class.
• Add the kits to your school's library - students can check out kits and use the website to work through them in a self-directed way.
• Use our lessons with your students, but remix them to suit an inquiry focus. We like to think of our lessons as serving suggestions rather than recipes!
• Use our kits, but design your own lessons. There are a million things you can do with a micro:bit and these sensors!
• Start a STEM club ! Use our design challenges to give students open-ended projects that they can explore.