Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
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Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#2That's cool. Looks like it's using Flambe as well. [0]
Myself and a friend worked for Nick a few years back helping build out some of the HTML5 game concepts. We prototyped different games using various engines (PlayN, etc) and ended up along with some other contractors on Haxe-based Flambe as the best choice for HTML5. We actually launched a couple of games [1][2], though a lot of our work ended up internal-only.
When we started, the iPad 1 was still considered a current browser. The performance on that device was abysmal. When the iPad 2 and newer versions of iOS came around, we finally had access to accelerated and could really start making things work.
The other things we prototyped for Nick were in-game video and multiplayer gaming. The in-game video was pretty bad for cross-browser support. In the end, Flambe gave us a tool (Flump) that had the ability to import from Flash animations that was significantly better than trying to force iPads and Android devices to play video reliably and consistently.
Multiplayer support was the least painful new ground we worked on -- using engine.io and Redis on the backend we were able to scale to tens of thousands of simultaneous users without spending too much on EC2. For the most part it "just worked".
If there's one lesson I learned from this experience, it's that developing games for existing properties is tough work. There are so many stakeholders that things take forever to get done. Considering the value of the properties, this isn't surprising.
The second lesson would be that HTML5 is moving so fast that you'll probably have to rebuild your games every few months to support all of the changes that are happening in the space. Most of the games we launched a little more than a year ago are already starting to bitrot.
[0] https://github.com/aduros/flambe
[1] http://www.nick.com/games/spongebob-squarepants-spongebob-sq...
[2] http://www.nick.com/games/data/korra/korra-pai-sho/
[3] http://www.nick.com/games/kca-2013-multiplayer-trivia.html (no longer there -- probably our most polished release)
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#3I really don't understand why it's so critically important we teach our children how to write the next generation of photosharing apps for cats, to the point that we're urging them to do it in all forms of mass media and culture. I can understand trying to get children interested in STEM fields in general, but why does our society direly need mass quantities of programmers in particular? Executives like to talk of "shortages" when they have to pay their workers more than they like, but in reality this meme, and it is a meme, makes no sense whatsoever.
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#4I really don't understand why it's so critically important we teach our children how to write the next generation of photosharing apps for cats, to the point that we're urging them to do it in all forms of mass media and culture. I can understand trying to get children interested in STEM fields in general, but why does our society direly need mass quantities of programmers in particular? Executives like to talk of "s…
The underlying principle behind teaching (except for higher eduction) is not to make productive workers but knowledgeable and discerning citizens.
The number of programmers we need is not relevant here: they may not need to know how to write complex programs, but knowing the basic principles of programming will make them more able in a worlds relying heavily on computers. This is already the reason why we teach basic math, physics, biology, history, geography, English, etc. to kids.
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#5I really don't understand why it's so critically important we teach our children how to write the next generation of photosharing apps for cats, to the point that we're urging them to do it in all forms of mass media and culture. I can understand trying to get children interested in STEM fields in general, but why does our society direly need mass quantities of programmers in particular? Executives like to talk of "s…
Technical literacy is not a meme, it's a skill that becomes more essential as technology further permeates society and its jobs.
The goal isn't to make everyone want to become a programmer as a career, but for more careers to better integrate modern technology.
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#6I really don't understand why it's so critically important we teach our children how to write the next generation of photosharing apps for cats, to the point that we're urging them to do it in all forms of mass media and culture. I can understand trying to get children interested in STEM fields in general, but why does our society direly need mass quantities of programmers in particular? Executives like to talk of "s…
Technical literacy is not a meme, it's a skill that becomes more essential as technology further permeates society and its jobs. The goal isn't to make everyone want to become a programmer as a career, but for more careers to better integrate modern technology.
But programming isn't necessarily synonymous with technology, it's only one relatively minor subset.
Hence the confusion about why we're encouraging interest in programming rather than an overall interest in STEM fields.
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#7That color scheme hurts my life.
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Technical literacy is not a meme, it's a skill that becomes more essential as technology further permeates society and its jobs. The goal isn't to make everyone want to become a programmer as a career, but for more careers to better integrate modern technology.
But programming isn't necessarily synonymous with technology, it's only one relatively minor subset. Hence the confusion about why we're encouraging interest in programming rather than an overall interest in STEM fields.
A lawyer can't apply chemistry skills every day. They can apply computing skills, including basic programming to automate some tasks. This is true in almost every profession. Architects write AutoCAD Lisp, and graphic designers write Photoshop scripts. Basic programming is as essential as math for a productive workforce.
Even in other STEM fields, programming is very helpful. It's very common for physicists to write programs to analyze their own data. Physics as a field is ahead of the curve here, but economics, chemistry, and all the engineering fields are catching up.
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Technical literacy is not a meme, it's a skill that becomes more essential as technology further permeates society and its jobs. The goal isn't to make everyone want to become a programmer as a career, but for more careers to better integrate modern technology.
But programming isn't necessarily synonymous with technology, it's only one relatively minor subset. Hence the confusion about why we're encouraging interest in programming rather than an overall interest in STEM fields.
Schools (at least in the UK) already teach chemistry, physics , biology and some electronics / woodwork. Why not add some CS/programming to that?
Re: Show HN: Nickelodeon joins the effort to teach kids to code
#10Shouldn't there be more of a narrative to this?
What is the goal? I could see kids clicking on stuff for a few minutes, lose interest and close it.