The 101 keeps the same form factor as other standard Arduinos, but replaces the usual Atmel chip for the Intel Curie module — the first dev board to carry this mighty little chip. While still programmable through the Arduino environment, the Curie brings a 6-axis combination accelerometer and gyroscope along with Bluetooth Low Energy radio for wireless connectivity. For educational use, it’s hard to go wrong with boards that work with all things Arduino (shields, IDE, code); the 101 will slide right in.

To help push the 101 over the edge as a great educational board, it is one of the few that is supported by Google Science Journal, letting users connect additional sensors they can log with the app.