What ages is it for?
Bitsbox is designed for kids 6-12 years in age.
How your kids engage with Bitsbox will depend on their age, of course. If your kiddo is 6 or 7, they may choose shorter projects and make simpler customizations. It's best if a parent or teacher can be around to help, especially at first.
Older kids will move through the projects faster and need less help.
All that said, we have a number of younger kids (as young as 4) who have had success with one-on-one help from their parents. If your kid can read, they can code with Bitsbox.
Can teenagers or adults learn to code with Bitsbox?
Absolutely. A lot of teenagers and grownups have learned basic coding skills from Bitsbox and enjoyed it!
Bitsbox is a wonderful stepping stone for any new coder. If you have a kid, learning side-by-side with them is a great way to do it.
What kind of computer do kids need to use Bitsbox?
A computer (Mac, PC, Linux, or Chromebook) with a web browser (Google Chrome is our favorite.) Bitsbox works inside a webpage. No complex tools to download and install. No worries about managing files. It's all in the cloud. And though it's theoretically possible for kids to do Bitsbox on a tablet, we'd recommend using a machine with a physical keyboard—typing a set of {} on an iPad is an ordeal, even for grownups.
You don't need a powerful machine to do Bitsbox. Any computer made in the last few years should be fine.
Can it work on an iPad?
Kids love phones. Kids love tablets. If you or your kid has one, then good news: they can play every program they write in Bitsbox on their tablet. All you have to do is point your device at our site, and the fairy dust will do the rest.
Imagine what your kid will say when they see their very own program running on an iPad. Picture their face.
However, when they're coding, kids need a physical keyboard. So, if your tablet has an attachable physical keyboard, that's great! (We're exploring a pure-tablet version as well, but it's not our focus just yet.)
What computer language are you using?
It's Javascript/HTML5. However, it's not naked Javascript. We provide a short and sweet library of programming commands, all carefully designed to be easy to type, easy to learn, and flexible.
Why Javascript? Because it's arguably the most popular computer language around. Javascript is neat because it's the language of the web. Facebook, Google, Pandora, and Twitter are all written in Javascript (at least partially). Javascript is also great because it's a close cousin to C, C++, Objective C, and Java, which are Big Important Languages used by Serious People Doing Serious Programming.
Here's what we found in a recent dice.com search. Note how Javascript compares with other languages that are often touted as good ones for kids to learn.
| Language | Number of Jobs |
|---|---|
| Javascript | 10,000 |
| Visual Basic | 7,500 |
| HTML | 7,000 |
| Python | 6,000 |
| Objective C | 5,000 |
| Ruby | 2,000 |
| Lua | 35 |
The average salary for a Javascript Developer in the US? $110,000 per year.
