Knowledge Base
🇨🇦 EN
← Forward Education

The Dashboard: your home base

When you log in, you land on the Dashboard. Everything in MicroChat starts here.

The chat box

At the top is a chat box. This is a helper that knows about MicroChat, the micro:bit, and Forward Education's kits and lesson library. You can ask it things like:

  • "What's the difference between Code and Arcade?"
  • "Do you have a lesson about weather sensors?"
  • "Make the LEDs blink when it gets dark."

If your request belongs in one of the apps, the helper answers with a button — for example Open Code or Open Tutorial Builder — and carries your request over so you don't have to type it again.

Once you start chatting, the app tiles slide away so the conversation has room. Click Dashboard in the left menu to get them back.

The app tiles

The tiles are grouped into two columns.

Apps for Teachers

  • Code – write micro:bit programs by chatting.
  • Arcade – create retro games for the micro:bit-based CodeCTRL.
  • Grant Helper and Lesson Planner – coming soon.

Apps for Students

  • Code Sessions – run micro:bit coding with your class.
  • Arcade Sessions – run Arcade game-making with your class.
  • Tutorial Builder (beta) – build step-by-step MakeCode tutorials.
  • Agentic AI and Prompt Builder – coming soon.

Tiles marked COMING SOON can't be opened yet.

The left-hand menu

  • Dashboard – back to this page.
  • My Chats – every program, game, and tutorial you've made.
  • Resources – Forward Education's educator resources (opens in a new tab).
  • Live Sessions – appears only while you have a class session running. See Running a class with Code Sessions.
  • Upgrade Plan, Feedback?, Account, and Logout at the bottom.

The top-right corner

  • The ? button opens Forward Education's help resources.
  • The language selector changes MicroChat's language.
  • On coding pages, a micro:bit connected / disconnected pill shows whether a micro:bit is plugged in and paired.