Education IT Reporter

Minicoders, a startup co-founded by the venture builder, Nuclio, emerged as the first educational platform that aims to teach kids the basic notions of computer programming through video games set in the metaverse, using a play-to-learn model. The platform is developed to guarantee the safety of children, allowing parents to supervise their activity.

Minicoders aims to encourage learning of computer programming for children between the ages of 6 to 12 years by converting the screen time into both productive and entertaining hours. For this reason, Minicoders.com makes available:  1) Minicoders Kids, an educational app with videos and a virtual assistant to introduce informative concepts, and 2) Roblox gaming experience where children can practice the concepts learned.

According to a study performed by the company, school children are using a device with a screen and Internet connection between two and three hours a day. Moreover, 68% of parents are showing concerns for the amount of non-productive hours spent by their children on these devices.

In the beginning of last July, Minicoders.com launched Magic School, its first gaming experience developed in the Roblox metaverse, that has surpassed 20,000 players in a month. Inspired by the famous story of Magic Universes,  in which players step into the shoes of a true apprentice of magic to explore a metaverse filled with different types of experiences.

To access all the magic powers and enjoy the gaming experience, players will have to solve challenges in the form of computer programming blocks from which they gain knowledge on the basic notions of this subject. Parents can follow up on the progress of their children through parental control and safety.

“The use of regulated metaverses such as Roblox combined with technologies such as virtual assistants and video streaming apps allows us to offer children a more complete and effective learning experience than ever before,” said Rubén Aparicio, co-founder of Minicoders. “This learning begins with the introduction of concepts, resolving doubts, and putting into practice the knowledge obtained via the game, always with parental supervision.”

Minicoders is committed to inclusive education. “ Our metaverse-based gaming experiences are genderless, since they are designed to appeal to all genders equally. We also believe that the metaverse brings an important collaborative component to learning,” said Aparicio.

In today’s world, computer programming is one of the most demanded digital competences and will be even more so with the passage of time. Additionally, in the United States, children between the ages of 6 to 12 years spend hour hours daily in front of a screen of a device with an Internet connection or on the TV for pure entertainment; 25% of that time is spent playing video games. Moreover, nine out of 10 parents have demonstrated concern over the time spent by their children on the screen.