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I would love feedback on my project BlockSchool from anyone who is interested in ed-tech! BlockSchool is an online coding school for kids ages 6 to 13. We hire

I would love feedback on my project BlockSchool from anyone who is interested in ed-tech! BlockSchool is an online coding school for kids ages 6 to 13. We hire teachers from top colleges and companies like Stanford and Facebook, and connect them with students who don't have easy access to high-quality instruction. Our classes are conducted via video chat in a fun 3D block-based world where everything can be controlled by writing Puzzle code (our visual programming language), JavaScript, and Python. It's collaborative, social, and kids love the creative freedom we give them. We are focused on 1:1 and 1:2 instruction now which isn't 'scalable' but later on, we plan on offering a help service for kids only when they get stuck or need a new concept explained. This will lower the cost for students substantially. We hope to follow in the footsteps of VIPkid on this front. We are based in Seoul/SF, so we have a number of students in China, Japan, and Korea already, but a majority of our customers are in the US. If anyone is interested in offering feedback, here is our website: https://block.school https://block.school We'll be applying to YC too! Hopefully our project is relevant to what they're looking for. We're also growing quite fast :)

hobaak 9y ago
I am running a startup that is a market place, http://greensprout.co http://greensprout.co for afterschool programs and summer camp providers (limited to Bay area). Naturally I am interested in this space. As a Korean, it is great to see startups working from Korea. The coding school is getting popular. So, it is a good place to start. But, there are many varieties. This seems to me like a tutoring service for computer programming. As you said it is video chat, is there youtube video to introduce the service? That will be helpful. I have one kid, who is at your target. But I am not sure if I need tutoring like for block programming. I am more interested in real programming. Also, it is not clear what you will achieve at the end. But, keep doing the good work since you have traction and I guess that people like the teaching quality, which you need to keep it consistent.
- tonydiv 9y ago
  How old is your child? Has he/she done programming before? We strongly believe any beginner should start with visual programming first. Happy to share all the reasons with you if you're interested. Here's a short clip of a class (it's also on our website): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xaiZrbD_Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xaiZrbD_Y
tarr11 9y ago
I run an after school coding program for kids in the bay area. Happy to talk if you would like. Info is in my profile.
crpatino 9y ago
I know you (and many people in HN) do not want to think about this, but have you considered the legal liability of exposing a bunch of underage children to a group of adults under minimal/non-existent oversight? Adults taken from a demography that's famous for their low social skills and awareness, not to mention empathy. It does not have to be just sexual predators (which is probably the worst case scenario, although still on the table), but anything that could offend the parents, or any activist with an axe to grind, really. I teach a high school programming class these days, and I had to change my class plan which included the "99 bottles of beer" classic example because it is against school policy to encourage alcohol consumption in any form. You may argue whether this was justified or not, but this is the state of affairs already set in place, and you are an outsider of this industry. Even if you are right, the energy and resources devoted to fight off this conflict can derail your startup if not properly planned for and prevented.
bskinny129 9y ago
Hey Tony - I've been planning on reaching out to you. I've run Breakout Mentors (https://breakoutmentors.com/ https://breakoutmentors.com/) for almost 7 years now (mostly Bay Area, some online) so one of the longest for the hot kid coding space. Plus started the CoderDojo Silicon Valley chapter (http://www.coderdojosv.org/ http://www.coderdojosv.org/) and ran the tech side of things for a few years. Hit me up at brian@breakoutmentors.com

hobaak 9y ago

I am running a startup that is a market place, http://greensprout.co http://greensprout.co for afterschool programs and summer camp providers (limited to Bay area). Naturally I am interested in this space. As a Korean, it is great to see startups working from Korea. The coding school is getting popular. So, it is a good place to start. But, there are many varieties. This seems to me like a tutoring service for computer programming. As you said it is video chat, is there youtube video to introduce the service? That will be helpful. I have one kid, who is at your target. But I am not sure if I need tutoring like for block programming. I am more interested in real programming. Also, it is not clear what you will achieve at the end. But, keep doing the good work since you have traction and I guess that people like the teaching quality, which you need to keep it consistent.

tonydiv 9y ago
How old is your child? Has he/she done programming before? We strongly believe any beginner should start with visual programming first. Happy to share all the reasons with you if you're interested. Here's a short clip of a class (it's also on our website): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xaiZrbD_Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4xaiZrbD_Y

tarr11 9y ago

I run an after school coding program for kids in the bay area. Happy to talk if you would like. Info is in my profile.

crpatino 9y ago

I know you (and many people in HN) do not want to think about this, but have you considered the legal liability of exposing a bunch of underage children to a group of adults under minimal/non-existent oversight? Adults taken from a demography that's famous for their low social skills and awareness, not to mention empathy. It does not have to be just sexual predators (which is probably the worst case scenario, although still on the table), but anything that could offend the parents, or any activist with an axe to grind, really. I teach a high school programming class these days, and I had to change my class plan which included the "99 bottles of beer" classic example because it is against school policy to encourage alcohol consumption in any form. You may argue whether this was justified or not, but this is the state of affairs already set in place, and you are an outsider of this industry. Even if you are right, the energy and resources devoted to fight off this conflict can derail your startup if not properly planned for and prevented.

bskinny129 9y ago

Hey Tony - I've been planning on reaching out to you. I've run Breakout Mentors (https://breakoutmentors.com/ https://breakoutmentors.com/) for almost 7 years now (mostly Bay Area, some online) so one of the longest for the hot kid coding space. Plus started the CoderDojo Silicon Valley chapter (http://www.coderdojosv.org/ http://www.coderdojosv.org/) and ran the tech side of things for a few years. Hit me up at brian@breakoutmentors.com