BeBlocky: An Interactive Way to Learn Coding for Kids

Africa has untapped potential, among the many resources the continent has, one such potential resource can be the fact that it has the largest and youngest labor force in the world. Despite that, many businesses and corporations operating in the continent are struggling to fill I.T. positions with a local and qualified workforce. The problem is the lack of know-how. Data shows that only one percent of African children leave school with basic coding skills. This is a staggering figure.But why is coding so important? The world is changing; the conversion of information into a digital format also called digitization has increased productivity in the public and private sectors. As a result, virtually every country in the world is working towards a digital economy. As this new economy evolves, special skills like computer programming are needed. This is like a language of numbers, known as code, which allows people to write instructions that are received and executed by computers.Let’s not also forget the fact that many professions are affected by coding. Anything from science to engineering, to banking, insurance, financial services, healthcare, law, communications, and even art depend on coding. For example, healthcare depends on software for its imaging technologies in order to share knowledge and patient data for improved care. Artists use coding to create compelling pieces with technological elements. There is a need for coding in basically any industry.Several studies have assessed the effect of learning code at a young age. The findings show that learning coding at a younger age is beneficial to children, irrespective of their career path being directly related to it or not. The benefits of coding are gaining traction here in Ethiopia as well. Despite the country’s technologically-limited environment, young tech-savvy Ethiopians are beginning to forge their own destiny and pave the way for further technological improvements. One such individual is Nathan Damtew. Nathan is the founder of a new Ethiopian education, technology and gaming company called BeBlocky. He describes coding as the language of the future. “One might argue music is the universal language but that is just for now” he says in an interview with Addis Zeybe.“Technology nowadays is reshaping all areas of our life. Our goal at BeBlocky is to equip kids with builder skills, such as thinking, prototyping and programming, while leveraging their imaginations and creativity” he explains. Nathan’s eureka moment began when he saw his little cousins play Clash of Clans easily on their mobile phones. “I thought if these kids can understand a game as complicated as CoC, they could also understand computer programming”Later that year, he created a gamified learning app, BeBlocky, to teach young kids computer programming in a fun and intuitive way. “BeBlocky is an educational programming platform aimed at equipping African children with the fundamentals of computer programming.” Nathan describes the app as inspired by the popular Scratch Programming Language used by millions around the world. “BeBlocky uses graphical programming blocks to introduce kids to coding in an intuitive manner. Instead of typing the source code, kids just have to visually drag and snap them together to help their character, Blocky, solves different game puzzles all the while learning to program. Its interactive use of the curriculum makes it possible for children to learn at their own pace. Coding tutorials are also available as the children unlock new lessons.”To make the app more interactive and fun, BeBlocky leverages the cutting edge Augmented Reality Technology to bring the entire game environment to the real world. As kids work on their puzzles, the kids can go around the game environment to have a better look at the puzzles and experience a new learning way.Starting out was a little challenging for Nathan, “To be honest, the very first version of BeBlocky wasn’t that much. It wasn’t as good as it is now and I didn’t actually expect it to be good for many reasons.” He explains as he looks back at his journey. “BeBlocky was not just an app, it had some game features in it but I had never built a game before. Plus, I didn’t have a team and I had to do everything on my own. I wasn’t good with any of the things required to build a game as well. On top of that, I didn’t know anything about child psychology and behavior and how kids interact with such an app. That made it a little difficult at the beginning.”“Basically, all I had while building the first version was the passion to teach kids coding and a little bit of programming skill. Plus, I was alone, but when the team started to grow we did a lot of improvements, added a lot of amazing features that would make a kids experience seamless while learning programming.”According to Nathan uptakes have been wonderful so far. “Seeing our app downloaded everywhere (mostly in Africa) and people reaching out to us to give us their feedback and asking us when the iOS version will be available has made us feel we’re heading in the right direction. We’ve improved a lot of features based on our users' feedback and we're working on a lot of amazing features to give the children the best experience when learning to code using our app.”Nathan’s plan is to reach as many African kids as possible. He believes coding shouldn’t be something for the privileged but also for everyone. “I believe coding is an invaluable digital skill that every child should get the chance to learn.”The young coder is just an example of the growing interest amongst Ethiopians in the gaming industry. Contrary to the past - where Ethiopians were mostly consumers in the industry - Ethiopians are now starting to become suppliers too. With proper incorporation into the country’s education curriculum, it could be a sector with much to offer in the future.

BeBlocky: An Interactive Way to Learn Coding for Kids

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