CuriousJr, an ed-tech start-up and online coding platform for kids, is on a mission to build, develop, and provide accessible and free coding education to kids on mobile phones, and it's looking into the possibility of exploring other vernacular languages for its courses to meet the needs of different demographics in India.
A class 8th student Rojesh Kumar from Netaji Subhash Public School, Jamsedpur has received a blue tick from CuriousJr app post publishing 23 apps and games. He has been extensively using the app on his mobile and learned coding from the same. He is also a Writer and a YouTuber as well. This clearly show that within two years of launch, the app is on a success path to achieve their goal of reaching to all children, regardless of their location, region or native language
CuriousJr currently offers all of their courses in both English and Hindi, including Javascript, Block Coding, and Computer Fundamentals. CuriousJr currently has 70 percent of its students studying in Hindi. With over a million downloads, the platform serves 220,000 monthly students who have created over 400,000 apps on the CuriousJr App Store.By adding more languages, many children across the country will be able to learn to code in their native tongues and be a part of a bright future.
Curriculum or course content is being expanded to target students in grades 6 through 12, with age-specific content also being considered. The courses will include vernacular languages and will be launched in the coming months. Other languages being explored include Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, and Gujarati, in addition to Hindi and English, which are currently available on the platform.
According to Mridul Ranjan Sahu, Co-Founder, CuriousJr, coding is undoubtedly one of the most important skills to learn for current and future generations. Considering the advantages of coding, the accessibility of this for everyone, despite their location, region, and native language, can be achieved by enabling and providing content in vernacular languages. Learning in one’s mother tongue empowers young students to think and harness their coding skills more effectively to become excellent coders for tomorrow. Learners will be able to recognize and educate themselves with in-demand abilities thanks to the vernacular touch. This may not only aid in the molding of knowledge dynamics, but also in the upliftment of India through accessible education.
Since nearly 88 per cent of the students still do not have access to a laptop. On the other hand, nearly 45 per cent of the students have smartphone access. This is expected to reach 60 percent in a year’s time and 70 percent in two years, assisting all students in learning to code using just smartphones.
