Kids are going to be sitting in front of the screen anyway. Why not use this time to give children an insight into technology, team-building and problem-solving. Useful attributes in any profession, especially that of engineering, where logical and consistent thought processes are highly valued. I am encouraged by the concept of Minicoders, where children as young as 6 are taking to programming.
While they may not end up as pure programmers, they will certainly be able to put the skills learned to good use in their chosen careers. Minicoders, a startup co-founded by the venture builder, Nuclio, has emerged as the first educational platform that aims to teach kids the basic notions of computer programming through video games set in the metaverse, using a play-to-learn model. The platform is developed to guarantee the safety of children, allowing parents to supervise their activity.
Productive and entertaining
Minicoders aims to encourage learning of computer programming for children between the ages of 6 to 12 years by converting their screen time into both productive and entertaining hours. For this reason, Minicoders.com makes available: 1) Minicoders Kids, an educational app with videos and a virtual assistant to introduce informative concepts, and 2) Roblox gaming experience where children can practise the concepts learned.
According to a study performed by the company, school children are using a device with a screen and Internet connection between 2 and 3 hours a day. Moreover, 68% of parents are expressing concern about the amount of non-productive hours spent by their children on these devices.
Magic universe
Minicoders.com recently launched Magic School, its first gaming experience developed in the Roblox metaverse, that surpassed 20 000 players in its first month. Inspired by the famous story of Magic Universes, in which players step into the shoes of a true apprentice of magic to explore a metaverse filled with different types of experiences, players will have to solve challenges in the form of computer programming blocks from which they gain knowledge on the basic notions of this subject.
“The use of regulated metaverses such as Roblox combined with technologies such as virtual assistants and video streaming apps allows us to offer children a more complete and effective learning experience than ever before”, explains Rubén Aparicio, co-founder of Minicoders. “This learning begins with the introduction of concepts, resolving doubts, and putting into practice the knowledge obtained via the game, always with parental supervision.”
Genderless
Minicoders is committed to inclusive education. “Our metaverse-based gaming experiences are genderless,since they are designed to appeal to all genders equally. We also believe that the Metaverse brings an important collaborative component to learning”, says Ruben.
In today’s world, computer programming is one of the most demanded digital competences and will be even more so with the passage of time. Additionally, in the United States and Canada, children between the ages of 6 to 12 years spend 4 hours daily in front of a screen of a device with an Internet connection or on the TV for pure entertainment; 25% of that time is spent playing video games. Moreover, 9 out of 10 parents have demonstrated concern over the time spent by their children on the screen.
