TransmediaKids.com: Robot Turtles

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Let's Do This: Inspiring Kids To Tell Stories & Code

2013 appeared to be a tipping point for the importance of teaching kids to code. Robot Turtles became the most highly funded board game on KICKSTARTER. Edutopia listed 7 Apps For Teaching Children Coding Skills. Fast Company & Wired and others wrote about the Google & Apple alums who created the "adorable robots" that teach kids to code. Computer Science Education Week's HOUR OF CODE initiative was backed by President Obama:

"Don't just play a video game, make one."

22,470,816 people participated. 737,999,347 lines of code were written by students.
So why is this important to the publishing industry? Metadata, ebooks & user generated content.
By 2020 computer related employment is expected to rise by 22%. Some of those jobs will be in publishing. Publishing needs digital storytellers & editors. The world needs stories.

“Thus I rediscovered what writers have always known (and have told us again and again): books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told.” ― Umberto Eco, Postscript to the Name of the Rose

In order to meaningfully participate in an ever increasing digital world, kids need to become creators of content and not just passive consumers. Kids need to be more than data, they need to be able to tell their own stories digitally by learning how to code. They're the future of publishing. Let's inspire them. Let's do this.

You can download this doodle page here: CynthiaJabarKids.com. Happy New Year!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Robot Turtles: Teaching Kids To Code

Robot Turtles is the most backed board game in Kickstarter history. Dan Shapiro invented the game to teach his kids to program a computer, "the single greatest superpower" he could give them. Shapiro goes on to say,

"I made Robot Turtles so that my kids could learn programming basics without needing a computer. In fact, they don't even need to be able to read!I've been told that this would never sell in the toy aisle. I've shown it to board game designers and manufacturers; they told me this would never work on store shelves. Learning programming just sounds too complicated. But I disagree. I think programming can be as simple as playing with these four turtles."

Turtle Robot Board Game, invented by Dan Shapiro

Find out about the Robot Turtle board game on Kickstarter here.
Visit the Robot Turtles website here.
Read about the first Turtle Robot developed by Seymour Papert at MIT here.

This was Valiant’s first product and was probably the most successful Turtle robot. Designed by Dave Catlin in 1983 the Valiant Turtle was included in the Best of British Design and Photography published in 1987 by the Design Council. It was produced until 2011. (from RoamerRobot.tumblr.com)