Abstract:

The BBC Micro:bit is a handheld, programmable micro-computer, widely used in primary schools in Croatia. The aim of this paper is to explore students’ attitudes to the use of Micro:bit devices in teaching in primary school. Conducted research examine how students experience Micro:bit in teaching. The research was conducted by the survey method in two primary schools in four eighth grades. Questionnaire was composed of 10 statements with which students were asked to express their attitudes on Likert’s scale.

For the purposes of research, three hypotheses were set. The first hypothesis was: There is a difference between female and male students in accepting Micro:bit. The results show that 96% of male students think it is interesting to use Micro:bit in classroom, while 62.5% of female students think it is interesting. When asked whether they think about new ways to use Micro:bit 40% of male students and just 6.25% of female students agreed or completely agreed. That Micro:bit is fun to use, consider 92% of male students and 75% of female students, and 63.51% of male students and 50% of female students think it is useful. When asked whether they want to use Micro:bit more often, 76% of male students and 56.25% of female students agreed. These results show that male students generally have more positive attitudes towards the use of Micro:bit in teaching.

The second hypothesis was: Students experience that Micro:bit is easy to use. With the statement that Micro:bit is easy to use, 70.73% of respondents agree and that Micro:bit is complicated to use considered only 7.32% of the students. The same number of respondents reported being confused when working with Micro:bit, while 80.49% of respondents estimated that they understood how to use Micro:bit. These results show that students experience Micro:bit as simple and intuitive.

The third hypothesis was: Students with predominantly excellent grades positively accept the use of Micro:bit in teaching. Almost 50% of respondents reported top grade rating (5). Among them, 75% want to use more Micro:bit in classroom, 95% think the use of Micro:bit is fun, equal number find it interesting to use and 80% of them estimate that the use of Micro:bit is useful to them personally. These high rates point to a positive reception of Micro:bit by students with excellent grades.

Results of this research show the dominant positive attitudes of the students to the use of Micro:bit in teaching, and it is certainly recommended to continue with similar research to gain the best insight into the technology itself and the student experience with the aim of maximizing the positive effects of Micro:bit on teaching process. Meanwhile, the Micro:bit have started to be used around the world (Denmark, Australia, Finland, China Hong Kong, Japan, etc.), which confirms that this is a highly potent technology with far-reaching consequences, which should continue to be followed by science and profession and adapt to support teaching for realization of maximum student development.

Keywords:

Microbit, student, attitudes.