We wanted players to become obsessed with solving these increasingly challengingly logic puzzles without even realizing they were learning to program.
Louisville, CO (PRWEB) October 15, 2013
A Colorado web development team has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund BotLogic.us, an online game that introduces computer programming concepts to students as young as four.
According to data compiled by Code.org, an advocacy group backed by industry giants like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, an estimated 1.4 million programming jobs will be available by 2020, with only 400,000 computer science graduates to fill them. Despite increasing demand for skilled programmers, fewer students choose to study computer science than did ten years ago. Only 2.4 percent of today’s college students are graduating with computer science degrees. Further, the vast majority of US public schools offer few, if any, programming courses. Those courses offered are generally elective.
BotLogic.us aims to address the gap between computer science jobs and qualified candidates by engaging students in programming activities at an early age. Unlike games that teach specific programming languages, BotLogic.us helps players develop the foundational skills, like logic and spatial reasoning, that they will need to eventually learn coding.
“Our goal was to get players excited about programming,” says BotLogic.us CEO Brad Wedell. “We knew the game had to be fun, engaging and accessible even to young kids. We wanted players to become obsessed with solving these increasingly challengingly logic puzzles without even realizing they were learning to program.”
Since its launch in August of this year, BotLogic.us has seen rapid growth in popularity, with over 22,000 levels completed and over 71 million points awarded to site visitors from 184 countries. It has been used by educators in at least 18 countries, and a team of 30+ educational community advisors are currently working alongside the BotLogic.us team to optimize the game for classroom use.
If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, the BotLogic.us team plans to use the funds to enhance gameplay, add more challenging levels, introduce more advanced programming concepts and add management tools for teachers.
For more information or to become a project backer, visit http://botlogic.us/kickstarter.
