You don't need to know how to code to introduce Bitsbox to your kids. It isn't meant to be an instructor-led learning system. Instead, it provides example "recipes" for apps that kids can choose to build and modify in a self-guided way. Bitsbox relies on kids' natural enthusiasm for making stuff. Some progress faster, and those kids end up helping everyone else—this is where peer learning and support come in.

 

The Bitsbox System

…has three main parts:

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• The Bitsbox Website (www.bitsbox.com/code) is a place where anyone can write code (computer programming) to create apps. Once coded, their apps can be played on any device: computers, tablets, and phones. Kids' apps are stored on the website and can be accessed from any computer with a web connection. Tech Specs:

• For using the Bitsbox website to CREATE and MODIFY apps, users need:

  • a Windows, Mac, or Chromebook computer made within the last five years

  • each computer should have a physical keyboard

  • at least one of these web browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge

  • an internet connection that's fast enough for web browsing

• For USING apps that kids have created in Bitsbox, users need:

  • any computer with a web browser and an internet connection or

  • any phone with an internet connection, or

  • any tablet with an internet connection

• Bitsbox App Projects provide examples of apps kids can build on the Bitsbox website. They can build them exactly as they appear, modify them, combine them, and even create their own apps from scratch. Most App Projects are printed on colorful cards.

• Bitsbox Coding Workbooks give kids a place to record their thoughts, observations, and plans for the apps they build. They also provide a place for progress-tracking stickers that accompany each published app.

 

The Bitsbox Scope & Sequence (what we teach and in what order) assumes no previous coding experience at all. There are 36 sets in total. Each teaches a new computer science concept and a handful of new commands. The first few build on each other, but most don't need to be done in any particular order. The most important thing is that kids have fun working on things that interest them; if they do, the learning happens naturally : )

 

Student Outcomes

Bitsbox is fundamentally a creative tool, so student outcomes are very tangible and easy to understand:

 

Creating Apps

Every kid who uses Bitsbox will end up making their own apps. A tiny few will leave them exactly the way they appear on the App Project Card. The vast majority will customize their apps with custom graphics, sounds, songs, and text; while some who are really into coding—will use the Bitsbox website to create completely original apps.

 

Sharing Apps

The best part about making your own apps is sharing them with your family and friends. Bitsbox apps are just tiny websites with a unique address (URL). Kids can send links to their apps via text and email from inside Bitsbox. They can also get the URL which they can paste into any social media tool. When they update their app, everyone they've shared it with automatically sees the latest version.

 

Writing, Drawing, and Designing

Every student will receive their own Bitsbox Coding Workbook to keep. It provides a structure for reflecting on the apps that they make in writing, and for drawing and designing plans for apps that they would like to make in the future. Students can and should work together on projects.

 

The Coding Mindset

This outcome is less tangible but every bit as important as the first three. By using Bitsbox to create their own apps, students come to understand a few fundamental truths:

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• Care and precision are required to end up with a result that you can be proud of.

• Technology isn't magic, and with some time and effort, anyone can be a technologist.

• Logic and reasoning are the keys to solving complex problems.

• Games use coding, and coding involves math. Math is useful in the real world.

• Sharing your ideas with others is an incredible motivation for becoming a creator.

 

Bitsbox Materials Shipped Directly to Your Site

New York Edge is rolling Bitsbox out to more than 120 program sites this year. Most sites will receive the first six sets in the Bitsbox Scope & Sequence, while some will receive the first twelve.

 

These materials will take the form of:

• Coding Project Cards. Ten to twenty copies of each project per site.

• Grownup Guides. Compact guidance for adults and precocious kids.

• Bitsbox Stickers. App-specific stickers that you can give out for completing projects.

 

Additionally, students at each site will receive:

• Coding Workbooks. A book in which to write and draw about the apps they make.

• App Trading Cards. A five-pack of random, short coding projects to build and swap with others.

 

This Bitsbox Product Description for New York Edge document shows a detailed view of what your site will get.