nanob0t.......
do you think the one below is good value for money ?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=42857&doy=16m4
The board looks good. The only problem you may face with it, is you have to have parts to connect to the board in order to learn. The great thing about mine is you have all of the parts there. This one is nice though, because it doesn't need an external power source. I despise that about mine. I also got it from Batelle for free, because I'm constructing a robot for them.
It also can program in a variety of programming languages, which is nice if you already have one learned better than the other. You'll have to get parts to hook into it though, which means this board can also be developed right into a robot, as mine cannot.
It has a variety of PWMs, LEDs, Switches, and such. It should be a great to get learning.