By
Scott Lininger
There Is Nothing Small About "Bitsbox" And Kids
The entire trajectory of my life can be traced back to the day my mom and dad gave me my first computer in 1980. A Radio Shack exclusive, this contraption looked like it came fresh out of a Star Wars movie. Nobody told me then that this gift would, ultimately, lead me to co-found Bitsbox in 2014 - a startup that teaches kids how to create their own apps. Nor did I realize at that point that I'd, eventually, find myself launching an initiative to donate coding kits to teachers across the globe for Computer Science Education Week. All I can say is "Man plans; God laughs."
At the center of that laughter stood my 7 year-old daughter eagerly requesting me to teach her how to code. With few retail options to choose from, I decided to create a prototype of my very own. I called it "Bitsbox" -- a nifty new way to provide my daughter with the means to learn and practice coding on an ongoing basis. Bitsbox had my daughter coding in no time. Needless-to-say, I knew that I was onto something and I realized that, this something had the ability to help many other children learn to code too.
Since co-founding this EdTech startup last year, Bitsbox now sends monthly subscription boxes to teach children (in more than fifty-six countries) how to code languages like JavaScript/HTML5. Inside each of these boxes are booklets with lines of code that children type into virtual tablets on Bitsbox’s website. As they type the code, they can see their virtual tablets changing before their eyes. Upon finishing typing all of the lines of code, these children are left with there very own personalized apps, which they can then download onto their smartphones or tablets.
The Bitsbox team believes in the necessity of teaching all children to learn to code in today's high tech world. Making coding easy and fun is the only way to do this. That is why we created Bitsbox (then) and why we decided to donate free coding kits to educators across the globe (now) during the month of December for CSEdWeek. We plan to reach 60,000 students this "go around," and with your help, we can reach even more. Consider this a call-to-action.
In my opinion, every child deserves to explore the world of code the way I did with my RadioShack computer and my daughter did with the Bitsbox prototype. It’s incredible to look back and see how my family played such a pivotal role in my trajectory, but the real magic that awaits us, lies ahead.
As my own story proves, all it takes is but one click to change a life.