The British Council has worked with the Micro:bit Educational Foundation to develop digital and coding projects and programmes in several global locations. Here, Adrian Fenton examines digital literacy and shares examples and insights from the recent micro:bit Live event in Barcelona.
Inspiration – Predictions of the future from days gone by?
We as humans often reflect on the past to consider the future; it’s almost part of our DNA, and the needs of young people are always changing. I’ve always liked the cartoon futuristic prediction 19th-Century Postcards of Jean-Marc Côté that proposed the ‘world in the Year 2000’. His image ‘At School’ provides much food for thought.
It makes me think, how much of this vision is true today, what are the good and bad things technology has brought to education, and how can we shape the trajectory, wherever we may be based, or whatever our family, job or life scenario? To me, this provoking cartoon suggests rote learning; systematically yet efficiently filling brains with information, potentially with no space for the individual, little evidence of interaction, whilst the headsets hint towards the varying ways we can creatively access learning these days. But you are welcome to come up with your own interpretations!
Computing in the UK – micro memories and milestones from a personal angle
Thinking about changes in digital literacy learning from a personal perspective in the UK, I recall the introduction of the BBC Microcomputer and its prized position in the classroom with a ‘big television’ in the 1980s. The BBC’s Computer Literacy Project led to the introduction of the BBC Micro, which ran a new programming language, BBC Basic, which even young children could understand. It was part of a revolution in computing. For me and others, it was part of the journey, making programming accessible and creatively engaging. I am not a programmer by trade, but I appreciate the creative spark of inspiration that understanding the basics of coding through a device that can be linked to other ‘things’ can bring.
More recently, the Micro:bit Educational Foundation has responded to the needs of today’s students, developing the BBC micro:bit as a device that bridges the gap between accessibility and inspiration – easy to engage with, and easy to use as part of projects inspiring creative, artistic elements. The micro:bit is a pocket-sized, programmable computer (4cm x 5cm) designed for education to help beginners learn coding and electronics. It features an LED display, buttons, motion/light/temperature sensors, and Bluetooth, allowing users to create interactive projects like games, step counters, and musical instruments. Developed in 2015, it was part of the ‘Make it Digital’ campaign, in response to the UK’s needs and significant skills shortage, quoting 1.4 million digital professionals (at the time) needed over the next five years. The micro:bit is now celebrating its tenth birthday and is used widely internationally, although, like a child, it continues to grow and develop new features.
Several other inspirational devices and developments have a place in school education as part of the digital skills and coding community, whether this be the Raspberry Pi, using Scratch or Chromebooks, so we must recognise that there’s no ‘one size fits all’ in addressing the needs of young people in a particular country or location. Many of these tools and approaches can effectively work alongside each other.
There are also broader educational issues, such as accessibility, entitlement, funding, or sourcing the teachers to deliver what’s being proposed, and retaining them as teachers.
International programmes through the British Council
What do young people around the world need to encourage coding and digital literacy? The British Council has been part of several national developments relating to digital literacy, including the Western Balkans’ 21st Century Schools programme, the Colombia Codes programme and significant STEAM curriculum developments (science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths) in Jamaica. The scale of these programmes has been massive. 21st Century Schools was a £10 million, three-year programme funded by the UK Government, designed to improve primary education across the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). Colombia Codes is working with 420 schools to establish Coding Hubs as key centres for computational thinking instruction. These hubs are equipped to serve as training points for 2,100 STEM teachers, designated as Coding Hub Masters or Expert Peers. Through this network, around 882,000 students are expected to benefit from improved computational thinking instruction. These statistics illustrate the scale of engagement required to make a difference in any country and indicate that varying models and structures are required to meet local needs.
Computing in the curriculum – what’s happening now in the UK?
In the UK, England has recently announced the new computing curriculum that will teach AI awareness and digital literacy. This is in response to a recent independent review that highlighted what many teachers have been saying:
• the current curriculum is too narrow
• digital literacy and safe, responsible technology use need greater clarity
• learners need a stronger foundation in data and AI awareness to prepare them for life and work.
The UK Government has confirmed that in England, Computing should remain the primary subject responsible for digital literacy, critical thinking and foundational AI concepts. These are not ’optional extras‘ - they are essential outcomes that all pupils should gain through Computing.
Wales in the UK has also taken its own approach since 2022, embedding digital skills, with major changes to computer science (CS) education in Wales as part of its compulsory school curriculum, qualifications and wider education system reforms. The new Curriculum for Wales (Cwricwlwm i Gymru), phased in from September 2022, has introduced significant changes to the discipline of CS, as well as reinforcing the societal importance of digital competence, now a statutory cross-curricular skill alongside literacy and numeracy.
The position of computing skills in education
At the 2026 micro:bit Live event in Barcelona, several presenters reflected on the evolving needs of young people internationally. Dr Maya Israel (Associate Professor of Educational Technology and Computer Science Education in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida) commented on how the previous generalisation that ‘Computer studies is just for tech kids’ is hopefully becoming a misconception”, suggesting “Computing and integration is the way to go”. Gareth Stockdale (CEO of the Micro:bit Educational Foundation) commented “Our vision was seeing the micro:bit as the new calculator – taking it from maths to science to arts classes”; illustrating and emphasising the cross-subject importance of digital literacy. He did acknowledge that this was currently an aspirational vision. These comments reflect elements of the movements through the Wales and England curriculum changes – that embedding is essential since we all use and require digital literacy skills to some degree. The examples of physical computing (actually handling devices and building things with coding devices incorporated) also accentuate the move towards cross-curricular relevance and acknowledge the importance of kinaesthetic learning through touching and physically interacting with things. I particularly liked one teacher’s reflection (at the micro:bit Live event) on using such lesson approaches, stating that ‘Creativity and joy isn’t quiet’.
Artificial Intelligence and its place regarding skills
AI is a hot topic. It is impacting all our lives, sometimes apparent whilst other times unnoticed, with potential cause for justifiable concern. At the micro:bit Live event, some speakers hinted at an understandable uncertainty regarding the next 10 years. Whilst we must encourage and explore the potential to engage young people in developing digital literacy and AI skills, the goal and what may be coming next continues to morph with excitement meeting sensible, cautious questioning. There are indeed numerous positive angles; the micro:bit device is being used now to introduce the concepts of AI, in that you can ‘teach’ the device to recognise movements such as throwing, running, dropping, shaking; and these building blocks are a great step towards engaging young people in the stimulating possibilities that AI can bring through real hands-on experiences. These practical applications can act as a gateway to broader discussions about AI, regarding the opportunities, benefits and when it's right to question.
This has been a brief journey reflecting on the opportunities, needs and challenges that digital literacy presents as part of our educational systems for young people. I can honestly state that ‘AI has not been used in the writing of this article’; you could challenge me to provide evidence, and that statement in itself is a reflection of our current context. When and what to trust can be questioned, with potential concerns, but we must adapt to honestly questioning, whilst embracing and creatively applying. We all need to recognise and embrace our own development of digital skills (you are reading this online now) and its place in our everyday environment, and as Sue Sentance (Director of the Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre) commented: “These days, digital capital is a form of cultural capital”.