I really think that the ability to get our children excited about technology is through free experimentation and by adding a physical activity angle, this Mover Kit has me sold. The Pain Point here is that most tools set up to teach kids to code or work with wearables lack the freedom to allow kids to make their own choices about what they build. By allowing the user to decide what to do with a product, kids tend to be more passionate because they feel like what they created is truly of their own design. It reminds me of the days and weeks we used to spend building sand castle mansions with decks and gardens and walls. What made us keep going was the fact that we were building out the ideas that had come straight from our own imagination. The Mover Kit adds physical movement, which we all know is lacking in the regular classroom.
I have seen Arduino (www.arduino.org) and Raspberry Pi (www.raspberrypi.org) offering kits along the same lines as this, but having ventured into the kit world myself, I can say that things are not as kid friendly as they could be. This pitch really sells the idea that kids can get their head around the ideas without the need for a lot of teacher or adult support or supervision. This is important if you want to avoid the disappointment of needing an adult to oversee every step of the way.
Marketing this Mover Kit is a friendly couple that uses real children and a light-hearted approach that is not intimidating. My only question lies in the fact that the Mover Kit doesn’t emphasize the coding aspect at all and this concerns me. Is it overly simplified coding? Does the coding give the user the ability to really accomplish the sort of activities outlined in the pitch.
The Ask: I think the price point seems very reasonable. Less than a comparable elearning system like Little Bits (www.littlebits.com) and the product does look like it is an MVP that will get polished up as sales grow.
I think this is a great starting point for any teacher looking to give their students a way to break into coding in a “Maker” friendly way.