Tynker Announces AI Block Coding Course for Kids 7 Years and Up 

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2022 -- Kids as young as seven can now build artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications and games, train computers to identify objects and explore how to use AI in live video projects for amazing, dynamic effects. Tynker, a BYJU's company and the world’s leading K-12 coding education platform, today launched a new AI/ML course using AI coding blocks that gets kids coding games, interactive videos and apps. This is a major leap forward in bringing leading-edge computing concepts to budding coders.

Tynker is the first – and only – e-learning platform to bring advanced computing concepts like AI, computer-vision, object mapping, hand tracking, face tracking and natural language processing to “block coding,” the standard approach for teaching key concepts to beginning coders as they progress towards text-based coding. This course partners well with Tynker’s other AI resources found in Tynker’s virtual reality and augmented reality toolbox. Tynker’s revolutionary block-coding interface grows with young coders as they advance to using real-world, text-based computing languages like Python and makes the transition from block coding to text a natural progression.

“We want to make coding education fun and accessible to kids, which helps them build skills that improve academic performance and gain an edge in the jobs of the future,” said Srinivas Mandyam, Tynker CEO and co-founder. “Every kid should have a fundamental education in coding and develop a love of STEM before they are out of high school. Our new suite helps facilitate this: AI and ML technologies are cool and kids want to explore them.”

This latest offering is yet another example of Tynker fulfilling its mission of ensuring every high school graduate learns to code by 2033 so the U.S. can meet the outsized demand for technical skills in the job market, which is outpacing the rate the country’s youth are learning to code. Jobs requiring technical skills will outpace overall job growth by nearly 300 times between now and 2033.

The courses, which are part of a Tynker web subscription including two free coaching sessions, span an introduction to key AI concepts, as well as provide step-by-step guidance so kids can use AI in live video projects for fun and unique projects. The topics covered include:

• AI basics
• Augmented reality
• Pose tracking
• Face tracking
• Hand tracking
• Natural language processing
• Classifiers

Video demos of kids building VR/AR apps available here (password: tynker).

ABOUT TYNKER FROM BYJU'S

Tynker is one of the world's leading K-12 creative coding platforms, enabling students of all ages to develop the coding skills to design and power animations, games, music, robots and drones, smart devices, virtual worlds like Minecraft, and more. The company's award-winning platform helps kids engage at home, school, and on the go, while developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and programming skills to help them be successful today and tomorrow. Tynker's highly successful coding curriculum has been used by one in three U.S. K-8 schools, 100,000 schools globally, and over 60 million kids across 150 countries. Tynker's partners include some of the world's most respected brands, including Apple, BBC Learning, Google, Microsoft, Mattel, PBS, Lego, NASA, and more. Tynker is accessible from any computer with an Internet browser, as well as via the Tynker and Tynker Junior mobile apps, and offers both free and paid subscription options. In 2021, Tynker was acquired by BYJU’S, the world’s largest education technology company.

Source: Tynker