Time and Location
THURSDAY, Feb 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
In Person:
Microsoft Redmond Reactor | 3709 157th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052
Conf Room 20/1009 (16) Cedar Reactor
Remote:
On Line Using Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 256 223 803 869
Passcode: KA6Re7NA
Call in (audio only)
+1 323-849-4874
Phone Conference ID: 454 579 14#
Abstract
Physical computing has emerged as an effective approach to introducing computing and coding to students.
One of the most popular enabling tools is the BBC micro:bit (10 million of which have been distributed to date), well-known for its positive impact on
teaching programming and driving engagement in the classroom. We extend these benefits by developing a new approach to coding with micro:bit: MicroCode.
Unlike other experiences, MicroCode couples the micro:bit with a low-cost handheld accessory to enable live and portable programming via an on-device
visual programming language; no separate host computer is needed. We present the design of MicroCode and will have hardware and software available for
attendees to try themselves. You can find out more about MicroCode at https://aka.ms/microcode
Speaker Bio
Thomas (Tom) Ball is a Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research. He is a co-founder of the influential SLAM software model-checking project and creation of the
Static Driver Verifier tool for finding defects in Windows device drivers. Tom is a 2011 ACM Fellow for ‘contributions to software analysis and defect detection’.
As a manager, he nurtured research areas such as automated theorem proving, program testing/verification and empirical software engineering, and their application
to industrial scale software engineering problems. Since 2015, he worked to bring the BBC micro:bit to market (more than 10 million worldwide to date) and establish
the Microsoft MakeCode platform for supporting CS education efforts.
Post Meeting Social
Following the official meeting folks are welcome to wander over to the Cofee Haus at the Overlake Red Robin (148th Ave and 24th) to continue chatting until they close the doors!
social
blogroll