Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Bitsbox is a clever, well-designed program to teach an actual programming language. We stopped our subscription after the 4th installment and have no regrets for trying it out. What We Like About Bitsbox: * Kids are learning a programming language with real-world applicability * Beautifully designed materials delivered in a box that lights up our kids' eyes when it shows up * Step-by-step instructions about how to develop each app * A unique QR code technique to transfer an app from a web browser to a mobile device * Includes extra material for parents, encouraging engagement together Concerns: * Having to use a text-based editor instead of a visual programming interface is, in our opinion, a limitation. If a child has good typing skills, this is less of a deal--and it might not be a problem for you. I've just seen how they engage longer in visual programming environments. And if they're preparing for something like Mindstorms, learning in a visual environment with blocks is a helpful thing to get used to. * There are other ways to learn programming that are free. Personally, I think Bitsbox is a little overpriced for the value in comparison to other options. However, there are a couple different pricing options on the website that we didn't catch onto when we started. Our bottom-line: Our 9 year old prefers MIT's Scratch. It has a visual programming interface, it's fun, and you can take someone else's program and "see inside it", which is to say "you can learn from their code". You can re-mix someone else's program, which is an interesting learning technique. And she enjoys the community aspect of Scratch. Our 7 year old prefers Bitsbox! Despite his just typing in what he's seeing in the code provided, he enjoys the games and when we work together on Bitsbox projects, I think he's picking up on some little things. Where Bitsbox shines is the step-by-step learning process, which is not nearly as strong with Scratch. If you don't mind the Bitsbox subscription fee, do both! The key is that the kids ultimately find that programming is fun and engaging. UPDATE: My 7 year old wanted to jump back into Bitsbox this week. We started tweaking a game and came across a coding issue we couldn't solve. I sent a support email to Bitsbox and literally less than 5 minutes, someone got back to us with a clarifying question. We answered the question, she reviewed the code, and replied promptly explaining the issue in a way we could understand, with an offer for further help. So impressive! I'll suggest that's why Bitsbox may be worth paying for. Good job, Bitsbox! I wish I could share the name of the person who provided the great support but I'm pretty sure it's against Review policy guidelines. But thank you!