Electric Avenue: Powering Student Engagement with micro:bits + Finch Bots

At our K-5 engineering-themed magnet school, we use the Engineering Design Process (Ask-Imagine-Plan-Create-Improve) as our ultimate mixtape for problem-solving. This workshop will show how micro:bit boards programmed with MakeCode—plus the kid-friendly Finch robots—bring real-world STEM challenges to life.Participants will:Rock a hands-on challenge: program a micro:bit in MakeCode to control Finch movements.See how we align lessons to NC Computer Science Standards, NGSS, and math/science objectives—proving that coding isn’t just fun, it’s instructional gold.Discover tips to scaffold the EDP stages so that students collaborate, communicate, and troubleshoot like real engineers.Leave with a digital resource kit of ready-to-go projects, low-cost material lists, and unplugged warm-ups for different grade levels.Whether you’re a coding newbie or an 8-bit pro, you’ll leave ready to crank up engagement in your classroom—and help students level-up their computational thinking skills.