Bluetooth Low Energy Platforms that may be suitable for projects
Simblee: The Simblee was used the first semester 222 was offered. A few available to loan out for projects. It also uses an Arduino-like environment.
Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52 Development Kit: This platform was also used in prior versions of 222. Nordic donated several units and, like the Simblee, they can be loaned out for projects.
Red Bear Duo: The Duo was used in prior semesters of 222 as well. It supports both Bluetooth Low Energy and the Particle Cloud (That is, it’s a Photon with Bluetooth as well).
BBC micro:bit: The micro:bit is a platform that allows kids to do IoT-type projects, but it is capable of more. It supports a block-based programming language, JavaScript (TypeScript actually), Python, and C++. It’s low cost and has some interesting capabilities.
LightBlue’s Family: LightBlue specializes in Bluetooth Low Energy products. Their LightBlue Bean and Bean+ are Arduino-like platforms.