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[Show HN: BlockStudio, An Online Environment for Children to Learn Programming] Hi folks, I've been working on this project for a few years now: www.blockstud

[Show HN: BlockStudio, An Online Environment for Children to Learn Programming] Hi folks, I've been working on this project for a few years now: www.blockstudio.app BlockStudio is an online environment for learning programming. Its programming paradigm is different from the more common "code blocks" program construction model. I recommend going through the tutorial if you are sufficiently interested (you'll need to sign up) -- or just play the game featured on the landing page (made by a 9 year-old kid from WA). The website has been around for a while now, but I wanted to share it with this community now because: a) Somebody here might be looking for this sort of thing for their child/niece/nephew/student (I've seen it come up before [0]) b) There's consistent (though low) traffic on the BlockStudio site, and that means there are interesting projects created by children aged 8 through 14, which I thought would be worth sharing with you all. c) The website is at a place where I personally feel comfortable with a large number of people checking it out. Please keep (b) in mind, if you decide to leave comments on these children's projects (commenting is unlocked after creating a user account and completing some tutorials). Of course, I trust this community and welcome your feedback on my work -- especially opportunities for improvement in the system/UI itself. Thanks in advance! [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16764039 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16764039

Impossible 7y ago
Is there a way to learn about or try the language without signing up for an account? I understand it being necessary to save and publish games, but not being able to try the tutorial without signing up isn't a great experience.
- disqard 7y ago
  That's good feedback! The challenge is: 1. There are six tutorials (2-5 minutes each) to learn the basic vocabulary. 2. It's possible to finish them all in one session, but I don't expect anyone to do that 3. I've currently avoided using cookies to save/restore progress within the tutorials, because children in schools often will use the same computer. You do make a very good point that it's a bit much to ask people to sign up just to try the tutorial. I'll think about removing that constraint (while informing the user that they'll lose their progress when they leave). Thanks for making time to check this out.
  - em-bee 7y ago
    i think that's fine. you can use 'saving your progress' as an incentive to get people to register.
    - disqard 7y ago
      Agreed. Thanks for chiming in. It can be hard to calibrate whether a particular strategy is reasonable or not, so hearing what the folks here have to say has been helpful!
nitrogen 7y ago
What does the programming environment look like? I couldn't find anything from my phone without hitting an email wall.
- disqard 7y ago
  Good feedback -- the email wall is a downer. I'll let folks try the environment without signing up. Thanks for taking a look at the site, much appreciated!
  - nitrogen 7y ago
    It kind of reminds me of Klik & Play: https://archive.org/details/win3_KlikPlay https://archive.org/details/win3_KlikPlay Maybe you can find some inspiration there.

Impossible 7y ago

Is there a way to learn about or try the language without signing up for an account? I understand it being necessary to save and publish games, but not being able to try the tutorial without signing up isn't a great experience.

disqard 7y ago
That's good feedback! The challenge is: 1. There are six tutorials (2-5 minutes each) to learn the basic vocabulary. 2. It's possible to finish them all in one session, but I don't expect anyone to do that 3. I've currently avoided using cookies to save/restore progress within the tutorials, because children in schools often will use the same computer. You do make a very good point that it's a bit much to ask people to sign up just to try the tutorial. I'll think about removing that constraint (while informing the user that they'll lose their progress when they leave). Thanks for making time to check this out.
- em-bee 7y ago
  i think that's fine. you can use 'saving your progress' as an incentive to get people to register.
  - disqard 7y ago
    Agreed. Thanks for chiming in. It can be hard to calibrate whether a particular strategy is reasonable or not, so hearing what the folks here have to say has been helpful!

nitrogen 7y ago

What does the programming environment look like? I couldn't find anything from my phone without hitting an email wall.

disqard 7y ago
Good feedback -- the email wall is a downer. I'll let folks try the environment without signing up. Thanks for taking a look at the site, much appreciated!
- nitrogen 7y ago
  It kind of reminds me of Klik & Play: https://archive.org/details/win3_KlikPlay https://archive.org/details/win3_KlikPlay Maybe you can find some inspiration there.