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Miami, Florida. November 7th, 2023. Wonderly is thrilled to announce that we have been chosen as one of the ten Ignite/Launch Track startups admitted into Cohort 04 of the Anjal Z Techstars Founder Catalyst Program, powered by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority and in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), Hub 71 and Techstars.

The team is excited to embark on this journey and contribute to early childhood development in Abu Dhabi and the region, enabling any educator to teach computer science and artificial intelligence without being a subject matter expert. Wonderly will launch its award-winning platform in Arabic language, with content specifically curated for the Middle East.

The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) is a governmental entity that focuses on health and nutrition, child protection, family support, early education and care from the early stages of pregnancy to the age of eight years old. Wonderly’s selection into the Ignite/Launch Track of the Anjal Z Techstars Founder Catalyst Program reflects the platform’s commitment to making a lasting impact on the early childhood development sector.

As a participant in Cohort 04, Wonderly joins a select group of innovative companies who share our passion for education and early childhood.

“We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with experts, investors and mentors from Techstars, as well as leverage Hub 71´s network to accelerate our growth and reach new milestones,” commented Leandro Finol, CEO of Wonderly.

Wonderly’s mission is to provide accessible and engaging computer science education to all in different languages. Our team looks forward to this exciting collaboration that will enable Wonderly to continue succeeding in its mission of empowering educators and inspiring students worldwide.

For more information about Wonderly and its transformative initiatives, please visit our website www.learnwonderly.com

July 2023 – Wonderly is in the final phase of the application process for the 2023-2025 Cohort of the Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC)

Participating organizations will work closely with Scratch and Scratch Partners to increase access to computing opportunities for educators and students in traditionally underrepresented communities worldwide.

According to their website, Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC), “is an initiative that supports and engages participating organizations in a two-year, collaborative cohort experience to strengthen their organization’s commitment to, and implementation of, equitable creative computing”. 

Although Scratch is well known as a powerful programming education tool for kids and teens, the company is constantly working to increase access and eliminate gaps that limit opportunities for educators and students in traditionally underrepresented communities.

The philanthropic branch of the organization, the Scratch Foundation, opened SEC as a way to work towards serving marginalized communities with global organizations that support them with creative computing opportunities.

Wonderly, an American EdTech company that uses ScratchJr to create educational content for elementary school teachers and students, has been named a finalist in the application process for the 2023-2025 SEC Cohort after the Scratch Foundation reviewed the impact of Wonderly in low-income communities.

Being part of the SEC 2023-2025 cohort will allow the Wonderly team to bring creative coding

using ScratchJr to the next level, by implementing an original and developmentally appropriate curriculum, and localizing their materials to create a unique teaching experience for these underserved teachers and students.

Following the comments made by the SEC team, all participating organizations will also receive access to a global network of thought leaders and cutting-edge organizations in the creative coding space, learning sessions facilitated by Scratch Foundation Partners, Access to the SEC community where hundreds of creative coding educators share ideas, resources and actively collaborate, and of course, opportunities for funding to support learning resource creation and implementation. 

Learn more about Wonderly on their website www.learnwonderly.com

Computers are shaping our daily lives. They allow us to design, create, and communicate more efficiently than we ever imagined. We can now process tons of information, share and collaborate with individuals on the other side of the world, and solve complex problems in science, engineering, business, medicine, education, and more.

That is why the field dedicated to studying computers is more relevant than ever, and instilling this knowledge in future generations is crucial for fostering critical thinking in those who will build the computers of tomorrow.

In this blog post, we will explore the importance that computer science has gained and why it is critical for our schools to start teaching this subject, just like they do with natural sciences. Let’s get started!

What is Computer Science? 

As with any other science, the field of computer science is widely studied and theorized. Computer science is based on a deep understanding of computation, its algorithmic foundations, the interactions between hardware and software, and the potential uses that can be given to computers in general.

Computer scientists not only theorize about how to build the most powerful computer in the world, but they also study other aspects of computing such as architecture, programming languages, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and many other subfields that we often interact with in our daily lives without even realizing it.

Both computers and fields like physics, chemistry, or biology have their own areas of study that follow the scientific method to increase our understanding of the respective topics.

Why are Computer Science important?

 Computer science is essentially the foundation of all software. As early as the mid-20th century, in the relentless pursuit of increasing the efficiency of precise mathematical calculations, thousands of experiments were conducted to create the first computer/calculator that could solve simple mathematical problems.

We have come a long way since then, as you are probably reading this article from a mobile device capable of connecting to the internet, taking photos, processing large amounts of information, and, of course, calculating the total cost of your grocery list.

Computers, and more specifically, software, have made immeasurable advancements in the last decade, making computer science even more relevant. It is now present in our daily lives not only to provide entertainment and connectivity but also to save lives in hospitals, ensure that travelers reach their destinations safely by air, land, or sea, and even to carry out the most incredible architectural projects that humanity has ever seen.

Now, computer science is taking the next big step in its relatively short history: we are creating algorithms that mimic human behavior, capable of making decisions and solving problems with little or no human interaction. This is what we call artificial intelligence, which, when employed correctly, can help us solve the most important problems we face as a civilization.

Computer science is important because it shapes and will continue to shape fundamental aspects of our lives.

Why Teach Computer Science in Schools? 

Until recently, computer science was mostly studied at universities or large companies. However, considering what was discussed in the previous section, it is now more important than ever for schools around the world to include this subject in their curricula, just as they currently do with natural sciences.

In the technological boom we are experiencing, it is critical for young people to understand the technology that surrounds them from an early age so that they can make informed decisions in the future. Furthermore, artificial intelligence is changing the world much faster than academic structures can adapt. We need to start now!

According to a study conducted by Google, 91% of parents in America want their children to learn computer science. However, only 53% of schools in the United States offer this type of instruction in their curriculum. In Latin America, the number of schools teaching computer science is considerably lower.

Increasing these numbers is crucial because students who receive instruction in computer science during their school years are much more likely to graduate with a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) degree from university.

Various sources indicate that girls who take computer science courses in school are 10 times more likely to obtain a university degree in computer science, while students from low-income backgrounds, in general, are seven times more likely to achieve a degree in computer science.

Furthermore, given the widespread use of computers in all industries, two-thirds of current job vacancies require some form of computer knowledge. This correlation between individuals with a degree in computer science and high incomes is evident, as they earn five times more than the average minimum wage.

In other words, including computer science in the school curriculum has the potential to improve the economy and quality of life in less privileged communities around the world.

How to Incorporate Computer Science into the School Curriculum?

 At Wonderly, we have developed a course on the principles of computer science in Spanish, following the curriculum of the College Board in the United States and the best pedagogical practices of Finland, something unprecedented for Spanish-speaking students.

With our hybrid model, which combines instructors and engaging animated videos, we offer the best learning experience in the world for digital skills, specifically in computer science.

Our curriculum focuses on introducing high school students to the foundations of computer science, demonstrating how the devices they use in their daily lives influence the world they live in. Students who take our program learn how to creatively solve real-world problems using the computational tools we provide, fostering their critical thinking, logic, research skills, abstraction, and algorithmic thinking.

Most importantly, through Wonderly, they develop all these skills while having fun, which is crucial for students to be attracted to the concepts the instructor wants to teach.

To incorporate Wonderly into an existing curriculum, there is no need to be an expert in computer science. Any STEAM teacher is perfectly capable of leading computer science courses using our curriculum and the flipped classroom methodology, where students watch a short video and then discuss the lessons with the rest of the class. In addition, the teacher will have the necessary tools for student assessment.

Wonderly runs on any device with an internet connection, although its use in computer labs is recommended whenever available. It is also available through a simple API that allows the integration of the learning platform directly on the school’s server, if desired.

Computing has become as important in our lives as physics, chemistry, or biology. That is why the branch of science dedicated to its study is gaining more and more relevance in the educational field. Our students, the ones who will develop the computers of tomorrow, must acquire knowledge that will allow them to grow not only intellectually but also economically and socially.

It is critical to include computer science courses in schools, and with Wonderly, it is now easier than ever. Start today through the following link: learnwonderly.com

June 2023 – gener8tor selects Wonderly to participate in the gBETA Social Impact Equity in Education program

The venture capital firm will help EdTech Founders to connect with growth investors and partners during the summer.

gener8tor is a nationally-ranked venture capital firm and accelerator that brings together startup founders, investors, corporations, job seekers, universities, musicians, and artists. The gener8tor platform includes various programs spanning startup accelerators, corporate programming, speaker series, conferences, skills accelerators, and fellowships.

As part of the firm’s mission of equal opportunities regardless of race, place, or gender, they have opened the gBETA Social Impact Equity in Education Program for EdTech Startups that somehow contribute to this goal. 

Wonderly, a Florida-based award-winning computer science education platform built for teachers and students, was selected by gener8tor panel of experts to participate in this program to tackle the critical shortage of qualified teachers the US is currently facing, especially outside large metropolitan areas.

“Less than 10% of schools in the US offer instruction in advanced digital skills, mainly due to a shortage of qualified teachers. We need 10 million K-12 instructors to teach computer science (CS) and AI properly to 100 million students in America. We have less than 100,000.”, commented Leandro Finol, Wonderly’s CEO.

The participation of Wonderly in the gBETA Social Impact Equity in Education Program will allow the company to further bring its unprecedented multilingual computer science and AI curriculum to district schools and teachers nationwide, which represents an important step to increasing low-income minority representation in the STEM field.

“Our educational content in computer science has been built to boost the intrinsic motivation of students through relevant storytelling: the lessons are led by instructors and animated characters with the same backgrounds as the students that we serve. They act as role models and foster users’ emotional and cognitive engagement,” added Finol.

The program will take place during the Summer, starting in June. Participants receive individualized coaching and mentorship from the team of experts from gener8tor on company growth and investor readiness, in preparation for a round of investor pitching in late July, including $1M+ in deals and perks from vendors like IBM Cloud, Rackspace, Amazon, Paypal, Zendesk, Hubspot and Microsoft

Learn more about Wonderly on their website www.learnwonderly.com

June 2023 – Wonderly finalist in the 2023 UNICEF Lab Social Accelerator

The collaboration between UNICEF Spain and ISDI Accelerator seeks Unicorns with social impact in Spanish-speaking countries

UNICEF Lab is conducted by the Spaniard HQ of the organization and ISDI Accelerator. With this initiative, they are “multiplying the impact” of future and current unicorns, startups with scalable projects that are already generating a real social impact focused on Mental Health, Digital Rights, and Workforce & Entrepreneurship Development of youth under 21 years old.

Historically, UNICEF Lab accelerates only 5 companies per cohort, which makes a rather prestigious and tight selection process. This year was no different, with hundreds of applicants submitting proposals and not matching all the selection criteria. Only 20 were selected as finalists to be assessed by a panel of judges in the “Jury Day” held in Madrid in May 2023. 

Among those finalists, Wonderly, a computer science and AI education platform focused on serving teachers and students from underrepresented minorities in Spain and Latin America presented a proposal to fulfill the Workforce & Entrepreneurship Development goal of UNICEF Lab, mainly to bring their innovative technology courses to students 8-18 years old in the region.

Wonderly’s value proposition to the competition sat upon four pillars: 

1. Reducing social inequality and providing access to quality education to Spanish-speaking children and adolescents.
2. Bringing children and teens closer to emerging technologies.
3. Provide teachers with the necessary tools to improve the academic performance of their students.
4. Empower girls and young women and teachers with training in digital skills.

Although not directly selected to participate in the accelerator program, UNICEF Spain and Wonderly are set to collaborate to conduct pilot projects in different schools in the country. This is a very exciting opportunity not only for the company but also for teachers and students with little access to technology courses to get certified in digital skills such as Introduction to Artificial Intelligence or Computer Science Principles, which ultimately will help them get a job in the highly valued tech industry.

“Collaborating with UNICEF Spain is a very exciting opportunity to bring quality education, reduce inequalities and enhance decent work and economic growth to underrepresented Spanish-speaking minorities”, stated Wonderly’s CEO, Leandro Finol.

We will follow up on the news coming from this interesting collaboration between Wonderly and UNICEF Spain. If you want to learn more about Wonderly, feel free to visit their website www.learnwonderly.com

April 2023 – Wonderly, an award-winning education platform, was selected as a top startup at ASU+GSV 2023—Brave New World! 

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Wonderly a fellowship to amplify impact opportunities.

Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV) bring the annual ASU+GSV Summit, connecting leading minds focused on transforming society and business around learning and work. This year’s event, titled “Brave New World”, took place from April 16th to 19th in San Diego, CA in which the global EdTech environment discussed the present and future of equitable access to education, including the impact of artificial intelligence.

 

The conference got started with a keynote by Bill Gates and his insights about the disruptive times that we are witnessing. Leandro Finol, CEO and Co-Founder of Wonderly presented to the audience as part of the University of South California (USC) Edtech accelerator program.

 

Finol presented Wonderly to educators, investors, and partners. The award-winning platform allows any teacher to guide Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) courses without being a subject matter expert.  With groundbreaking computer science content in 3 languages (Spanish, Italian, and English) the startup aims to provide knowledge and critical thinking to the next generation of students in AI, a topic that is in everyone’s mouth.

 

“We just entered the new era of artificial intelligence, and all students need to understand the implications of the technology that they are consuming, and how it’s being used to make informed decisions”, added Leandro Finol.

 

AI is transforming teaching and learning faster than educational structures can accommodate, and Wonderly’s solution is an interesting approach for teachers and district schools to prepare educators to create and apply AI curricula regardless of their subject matter expertise.

 

As part of Wonderly’s collaboration with the USC Rossier School of Education, the startup plans to train 1,000 educators, and 10,000 students from underrepresented groups (Girls, Blacks, Latinos) in 2023.

 

Learn more about Wonderly on their website www.learnwonderly.com

When it comes to our children’s free time, the dilemma of which extracurricular activities would be most suitable for our children comes to mind. This situation is multiplied by each kid that we have at home bored or watches many videos on YouTube.

The options we have are the typical ones: enroll them in activities such as Sport, Language, Art, Music, etc. But, how can we know which activity is best suited to the tastes and needs of our children? How to prevent them from feeling frustrated by being in something they don’t like?

There are currently options for extracurricular activities online, but they can be very expensive. But don’t worry! To help you on this journey, we’ve created the ultimate guide to extracurricular activities for your kids. Here you’ll find tips for figuring out which courses are best for you and how you can try them out remotely, and, in some cases, for free!

Why are extracurricular activities important?

An extracurricular activity can be something as simple as a study group or assignments in the afternoon, or something which takes a lot concentration and commitment as a team sport or playing an instrument in an orchestra. Regardless of the activity itself, it is proven that participation in some type of extra-class activity has positive effects on the academic performance of our children.

According to a study carried out in primary schools in Switzerland, it was shown that the performance in Mathematics was considerably benefited in the group of children who attended first-third grade of primary school, who were enrolled in some intense extracurricular activity, such as be Physical Education, Music or intense sports like Soccer. And, the more courses or more intensity, the more the academic performance tended to improve.

In studies about Spanish children and adolescents of different ages who are in the first years of secondary school, the results were similar to the previously mentioned. It was also established that, in order to improve academic performance, there was a combination of extracurricular and sports activities.

In simpler words: children who, for example, have Language, Music or take courses on a specific subject, or kids who also practiced a sport, were the ones who had the best school performance. As additional information, personalized tutoring was also one of the best practices in this regard.

There are thousands of similar studies, some focus on school effects, others on cultural effects for our children, such as discovering other children with the same tastes and interests. Within the social effects we find that extracurricular classes are essential for introverted children, who learn to relate better; extroverts, who manage to improve their communication skills with all kinds of people; Children with some type of mental condition or physical disability will also benefit, with physical and mental strengthening, as well as their social inclusion with children and adolescents of their age.

At this point, there is no much to say on the benefits of enrolling our children in extracurricular activities. We should now ask ourselves the following questions: which, how and when?

Extracurricular Activities: In-person or online classes. Which is better?
When you were a child, it was easy for your parents to answer this: there was no internet and any extracurricular activity that you liked wasn’t online. But, in the Internet era, the options have diversified to the point that now we don’t really know what to choose regarding the activity itself and the way in which it will be taught (online or face-to-face?).

Mother Helping her Daughter with Homework
So far, regarding online or face-to-face classes, there are not many studies on which are the most appropriate. Thus, the idea is to resort to our own needs and possibilities to make the decision.

We should determine what type of course we are interested in exploring; according to exerts, the best option is to enroll our children in an academic activity and a physical activity. Consequently, we should combine face-to-face activites (Soccer or gymnastics) and online activities (an English course).

However, not everyone can achieve the ideal scenario, so we must consider the options based on our reality and ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have an unstable internet connection? Choose face-to-face classes.
• Don’t have a car or live far away from the academies? Choose online classes.
• Is the budget not a problem? There are academies which combine face-to-face and online classes.
• Do you prefer reducing costs without lowering quality? At Wonderly, we have top-level courses on Programming, Robotics, Game Development, App development, Web Design, English, and Math. And you can try it completely free!

Do your children have a preference? Ask your children what they would like to do. They are the ones who will attend! Their opinion is extremely important.

3 Pros and cons of online and face-to-face extracurricular activities

Pros and cons of face-to-face extracurricular courses

Pros	Cons
Our children develop their social skills and discipline better. They improve physical abilities (Sports).	There are more distractions and, depending on the instructor, there will be more or less discipline. Risk of injury (Sports).
There are lots of options available, which cover practically all of our children’s preferences.	When there are lots of options, it is more difficult to find the right one. If we enroll our kids in something they don’t like, they might get frustrated.
It is good for our children to go outside to learn and explore other places apart from home and school.	If we have any limitations in terms of mobility (damaged car, traffic, bad weather), it will be difficult or impossible to take our children to the course.

Pros and cons of online extracurricular activities

Pros	Cons
Children learn to navigate the digital world safely. They develop essential computer skills for today’s world.	We should pay special attention to our children while they are browsing the internet so as not to compromise their and our safety. Only enroll your children in sites with good references.
Although there are fewer online class options, most of them are significant for the intellectual and professional development of our children. Many have free tests and, if they do not like a course, you wouldn’t have spent much money than in a face-to-face class.	The options are more limited. Traditional sport is out of the question. (But let’s not forget that e-Sports exist!)
In online extracurricular activities, kids interact with teachers and other kids from all over the world, fostering their social skills, adaptability, learning, and respect for other cultures.	If we do not have an internet connection or if it is unstable, we will be quite limited or directly prevented from using certain online tools. (Make sure the courses allow you to watch the classes on-demand or pre-recorded)

5 essential extracurricular courses

1. Languages – English (best: online): english has become the most spoken language worldwide. About 60% of English speakers aren’t natives. This means they learned English as their second or third language. English is the global language in which your children will connect with the rest of the world. It also allows them to improve how to learn other languages and digital skills which are mainly in English. The best part is that your children can start for free today.
2. Sports (best: face-to-face): whatever Sport they choose, the physical activity, discipline and teamwork that any sport requires is essential for human development. Also, Sport is perfect because it can be easily combined with academic activities to achieve comprehensive training. However, not all children like Sports; If your children are not interested in this at all, check out the new e-Sports academies.
3. Programming (best: online): programming is similar to English in terms of importance: it lays the foundation for a lot of knowledge that will be extremely useful for navigating the digital world. Even if our children are not going to be developers, it is recommended that they take at least one level of programming so that they understand how the programs they normally use work and will use frequently in the future. Although many face-to-face courses exist, we recommend starting virtually, as it tends to be much more accessible in terms of cost, devices, and language options. Take: a free option for your children to learn programming!
4. Music (best: face-to-face): arts in general are the center of human culture. However, music has a plus compared to the rest of the skills, and that is that it allows your children to develop discipline, commitment, teamwork and the importance of this subject. In addition, Music passively teaches logical-mathematical skills that can later be applied in other courses. Although there are online options, we think face-to-face teaching would be best, since it allows the tutor to correct and motivate our children in a more efficient way… and without depending on the quality of the microphone.
5. Mathematics (best online): math is probably not the first option that crosses your mind when looking for extracurricular activities for your children. This is largely due to the fact that many of us were taught in a traditional, monotonous and uninteresting way for someone so young. However, some teaching tools give this a twist, using digital games and puzzles to teach concepts and practice Mathematics in a fun and interesting way. Take a look at our Math program here.

How do I know which extracurricular activities are best for my child(ren)?

The most important thing when choosing one or more extracurricular activities for our children is to understand their interests. There’s no use in enrolling them in Music, Soccer, and Programming at the same time if only one of those really likes them. In relation to this, the objective is quality, not quantity; And, by quality, we refer to the comfort with which our children face the challenge of joining each class.

Going back a little further in this article, we recommended for you to ask what activity to choose. Now we will recommend questions to ask your kids directly:

• What would you like to learn?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• Would you like to play (or learn) this sport?
• Do you want to learn how to create a video game?
• Would you like to create a robot?
• Do you want to learn about the world?

With these types of questions, you probably get the idea of ​​what kind of answers we are looking for. In the end, the most important thing is to understand what they like the most. Remember that, in Wonderly, you can do it completely free!

BONUS: If your children don’t give you enough clues with their answers, you can also check their behavior. For example, if you see that he tends to follow the rhythm of the music or if you see that he is methodical with his toys, communicates easily with others, understands videos in another language, etc. All of this can help point you in the right direction.

3 Tips when taking our child to an extracurricular activity for the first time

Regardless of which activity(ies) you and your children ultimately choose, in their first classes will be usually facing a situation that is probably unknown to them. Whether they are in the face-to-face mode, or they are studying at Wonderly, these three tips will help you be 100% prepared for that first day.

1. Research the course/sport/skill/activity they will be doing.

It would seem obvious, but the number of parents and children who go the first day expecting X and finding out that it really is Y, is surprising. A very common example is Music: it’s not just playing an instrument or learning to sing, you go through sheet music and rhythm concepts that are much more complex and academic and it can be frustrating if they do not follow their expectations.

Another example is giving our children the wrong equipment: shoes that aren’t proper for playing soccer, uncomfortable clothes for dance classes, poor or non-existent internet connection for virtual classes, etc.

Learn everything you can about the course and prepare yourself and your children in advance.

2. Meet the tutors/instructors/teachers.

No matter what, knowing who we are leaving our children with is vitally important and it should be a decisive when choosing one course over another. We look for tutors who, not only have the preparation and certifications necessary for teaching, but also are reliable and give good treatment to our children.

You should look for references (from other parents or pages) about the tutor our children will have. For virtual classes, make sure there is a list of their instructors.

It is recommended to attend one class with a certain tutor, and see if our children feel comfortable with this person. At Wonderly, you can try for free first, so you and your kids can have that first meeting.

3. Listen to your children

They are the ones who will attend the classes, so their opinion will always be the most important. Even if you want them to be the best programmers and build the new Microsoft, if they don’t like this, or if they aren’t comfortable with the tutor, or if they just want to do something else, the best thing to do is enroll them in another activity. Otherwise, they might get frustrated and they won’t want to participate in different courses.

Listen to them before they attend the first class, observe how interested and curious they are about it. If you notice that he is attending for obligation rather than for genuine interest, ask him if he would be interested in another activity instead… You may end up discovering that your son does not want to be a professional Soccer player, but a robot Designer!

Of course, the feedback after the first class is also essential to know if you will participate in the second and third class, or if it will be better to not taking that course.

These are the online activities that you can find in Wonderly

At this point, you are probably already an expert in choosing extracurricular activities for your children. As you may have noticed, you can try many of the recommendations we gave you for free on Wonderly. But, what classes are available on our educational platform? Keep reading!

Programming

Have you ever wondered why your kids love video games so much? Their creators love to play games just as much as your children, and they pay a lot of attention to the virtual environments they develop. Your child can learn how their heroes manage to create technological wonders like Minecraft or Fornite and create their own in just a few weeks. Start programming the future here.

Robotics

Robotics went from being a science fiction concept to something possible and real. Thanks to gamified teaching, your child can learn the basics and design their first robot at home.

Web Design

This is fascinating area for your kid. With this course, your child will learn to read and write codes, in order to create their personal web page and awaken their inner genius, preparing for their future.

App development

The applications are diverse and have a world within them. They are part of our daily life and help us with many things and many tasks. Kids can learn to create their own applications and, thus, they begin to solve the problems of the future.

Video Games development

Enjoy playing video games is part of people’s childhood, doing that by themselves can be enjoyable too. Creating unique worlds by acquiring technological skills and exercising creativity is possible for your child. It’s time to create what you want.

Stay connected with us! Soon we will add new courses to our catalog of online skills and activities for children.

In this guide we have dealt with how to become experts when choosing extracurricular activities for our children. We know that it is essential, in terms of comprehensive training, that our children participate in extracurricular courses, both academic and non-academic. In this way, they can strengthen their cognitive development, social, physical and problem-solving skills while they learn and practice something they like. We also know that there’s no activity that’s better than the other one, but there’s an activity that is better for each child, according to their interests. That is why it is important to listen to them and to know that they’re part of the decision-making process regarding what skill they want to develop. Evaluating the options and measuring what is best for us and our children is the key to success in choosing the perfect extracurricular activity. Would you like a little more help choosing the skill that best suits your children? Try Wonderly for free!

It’s been eight months since this adventure began and we couldn’t be happier! We have discovered there is a tremendous need for learning and developing skills that will help children build their careers and, we hope to even create the robots that will explore and colonize Mars. It’s already been eight months since the adventure began in Wonderly, the place where children and adolescents learn by playing and awaken their inner genius.

In Wonderly, you learn by playing
The key to the great advances we have achieved with parents, representatives and students lies in the emphasis we put on pedagogy when teaching, since learning should be considered as a blessing.

Our friends from the newspaper “El Estimulo” already said it, in an interview carried out a few months ago:

“Singing to learn vowels and numbers, or playing memory games to recognize colors and shapes are gamification strategies that have been present in any child’s school curriculum for years, but, nowadays, this is not enough. Consequently, Wonderly is a platform that invites kids to learn about robotics, programming, mathematics and English through video games.” El Estímulo, 2021.

Modern education created by and for students and curious people
We love teaching and we love learning even more. We are constantly discovering new ways to innovate in terms of extracurricular activities for children.

This is the heart of Wonderly as an educational startup:

“Our idea is to provide an education where students can ask, discover and create, not just memorize.”

Leandro Finol, interview with El Estimulo, 2021.

Variety and quality in online activities for children
At Wonderly, the entire student experience is easy to use. That is why we implement our on-demand courses.

Apart from live classes with teachers, kids can program a video game or design a robot themselves by watching on-demand classes led by our animated characters Wonder, Beep, and Learny. Plus, the first level of Programming is completely free on our YouTube channel!

Get started for free!

Starting to use our educational platform is completely free. During the trial period, you will have personalized accompaniment, you can have individual sessions with our teachers and your child will even be able to obtain their first certificate!

For more information, you can write to us through our Instagram or WhatsApp accounts. You can also check other technology related courses for children on our page to discover the one that interests your children the most, and our team will show them to you.

We are so excited to have you in the Wonderly family.

Let’s awaken the genius in your child together!

When you were little, you probably dreamed of being an Astronaut, a Firefighter, or maybe a famous Hollywood Actress. Our children have exactly the same dreams, even if these professions have diversified a bit. Apart from astronauts, our children want to build robots, they want to program apps, create their own web pages and develop video games without having to wait for college.

In this post, we will focus specifically on video games development and video games as an educational and even therapeutic hobby for children.

We will explain to you why your children love to spend hours and hours with their tablet or console and what things you can do, in order to avoid repressing that hobby, your children get the most out of their favorite activity. Let’s get started!

What are video games?
A video game is a software, just like any other. What differentiates them from other computer programs is that it is also a piece of audiovisual and interactive content. Young and adults enjoy this activity to the point that they make it their lifestyle. Regardless of whether we are talking about action, sports, strategy or simulator games, all video games have one goal in common: to entertain.

Unlike other entertainment media such as television or movies, the interactivity in video games is an important factor, not only for their popularity, but also for the hundreds of applications they have other than mere entertainment. Other notable elements are the worlds recreated in video games, where the only limit is the creator’s imagination.

One of the most interesting and important uses of the video game is teaching. If we take the points discussed in the previous paragraph (interactivity and recreation of virtual worlds), it is possible for a 10-year-old boy to learn Newton’s laws in video games like Minecraft without even noticing that he was taking a physics class. That is the magic of video games.

Brief history of video games
The first video game was created in the 60’s, developed in an American university. Since then, more and more computer students were interested in developing these interesting interactive programs. A decade later, the first successful video game would hit the “market”: Pong. The goal was very simple, to play ping pong on the screen.

These games, that were brand new back then and didn’t have many practical uses beyond simple curiosity, unleashed a wave of enthusiastic programmers who wanted to make their own interactive program. At that time, there was no specific subject in universities for “game development”, so this generation of developers worked extremely hard. The first big video game companies were born in the 80’s: Atari, Nintendo, SEGA.

From that point on, the growth of the industry was exponential. Not only there were more and more people creating video games, but also more and more consumers who were desperate for increasingly complex, colorful, three-dimensional, infinite games; a new paradigm was created in the software development job market: now programmers wanted to… create video games!

In universities around the world, academic programs have been created to train video game developers, mainly in Europe and the United States. Some other Latin American universities have also started to implement these programs. But with more and more people of all ages interested in video games, it was inevitable that kids would also be curious about how they managed to create the worlds in which they spent so many hours on a Saturday afternoon.

Today there are some enthusiastic video game content creators who teach what they know through platforms like YouTube. But this content is not necessarily for 6-15 year olds. Because of this, at Wonderly, we have decided to launch our new video game development program for children and it will be announced in greater detail very soon.

Benefits of video games for children
Your children most likely love video games and they probably would love to create their own video games. But what are the advantages of playing and creating video games?

Benefits of playing video games:

• Encourage cognitive development
• Improve spatial ability
• Develop the ability to solve complex problems
• Improve reflexes. Mental acuity
• Relieve stress
• In certain instances, they improve psychosocial abilities
• Facilitate the learning of new concepts (for example, new languages)
• In games like “Just dance” or “Wii Sports”, they improve motor skills.
• Boost creativity
• There are therapeutic uses to promote mental health in adolescents and even to treat pain in patients -children- with various conditions.
• They are super fun!

Benefits of learning to create video games:

• Improve logical-mathematical skills
• Depending on the area that interests your children the most, they could boost their artistic vein
• Promotes teamwork and camaraderie
• Develop abstract thinking
• Several of the benefits of playing with video games are related to mental development as well, given the entertaining nature of the process of creating a video game, such as:

1. Problem resolution
2. Spatial ability
3. Logical-mathematical ability
4. Cognitive development

While it is true that excessive consumption of video games is, like any other addiction, negative, the reality is that with discipline and a reward system based on responsibility, it is more than enough for our children to have a healthy relationship with this and any other means of entertainment.

It is also important to consider what type of games our children are playing. Just like with movies or series, video games have a recommended age rating system. So, whenever you buy or download a game for your children, be sure to check it to see if it suits their age and tastes.

The same thing happens with learning video game development. Although there are some courses or video tutorials to achieve this, most are focused on a more adult audience, so it is essential to do some research to find courses that adapt the pedagogy for kids. Did we mention that our game development course is coming out soon?

How is a video game developed?
A video game, considering it is a software, is developed following the same rules that a programmer would use to create an app for your bank. There is an important work of code and programming languages that are used to create the set of elements that make up the world and the logic of the game in question. Things like the physics or the size of the characters come from a code line.

The big difference between the development of “normal” software and a video game is that, for the latter, there are also audiovisual elements: the objects present within the world, the colors, the shape of the characters, the sounds, the voices and even the narrative.

Developing a video game is a daunting task that requires a lot of teamwork and years of practice. However, you don’t have to create a game from scratch to be a full-fledged developer. In fact, in most cases, you start by modifying existing video games: creating new rules for your world, adding characters or changing the color of the sky, among many other examples.

In our game development course for children, they are introduced to the mods world, right after completing the Scratch programming course. The professors will teach them how to modify what is probably one of your favorite games: Minecraft.

Can a child develop a video game?
If a child can learn to program, they can definitely create video games on their own. Sure, it is not an easy task and it requires interest, motivation and education before achieving it.

To determine the level of interest of our children in learning to develop video games, ask them first. If they are not so talkative, perhaps telling them that there are children creating the games they love so much can help to clear this topic.

As for the motivation, it will be the consequence of their interest. If your children are interested in this field, they will be more than willing to give this world a try. If the interest is more yours than theirs, convince them to attend your first class with them, without pressure or expectations.

And regarding education, it is essential that you can find experts in the field with didactic capacity and experience in primary or secondary education so that they can adapt the very complex underlying issues of video game development, to an everyday language that is easy to understand for your kids and teenagers. Have you check our teaching staff yet?

Some real examples of children creating video games

• Antonio Garcia Vicente, Spain
  This boy learned to develop video games in Scratch and he has created more than 100 titles so far. He has a bright future ahead of him, either working in a big video game company or starting his own studio. He is only 14 years old!

• Basil Okpara, Nigeria
  Basil’s curious story begins with his parents who were angry because he spent hours and hours playing with his tablet. His father, frustrated that his 7-year-old boy did nothing but play Candy Crush, asked him to create his own game. Basil took this very literally and, with Scratch in hand, he started developing his own video games. Today he is 12 years old and has already participated in several development camps, just like Antonio.

• Sam Smith, England
  Sam’s parents introduced him to the Game Maker tool. Since his father is a Programmer, the teaching and learning process was much easier. Besides, he is a natural and, consequently, he has created an official video game for Android and iOS by himself with only 12 years old. Sam is now 20 years old and on his way to being one of the UK’s top creators. Check out his story here.

Your children can be part of the next story we share on our blog, so stay connected with us through our social networks to be among the first to sign up for the future game development course for children.

Video games are not only fun, but also very powerful educational and therapeutic tools that do not mean “just playing”. With proper guidance (a good instructor, a good tutorial, and a programming interface), kids can easily create their own video games.

In addition, video games, as a software, share the same educational benefits for children as learning programming (link to programming course), emphasizing cognitive development, teamwork and abstract thinking, much-needed skills for the modern world.

Go ahead and discover more about this exciting world and stay connected with us to be among the first to enroll your kids in our future video game development course for children.

January 2023 – Wonderly is one of the top 12 EdTech Startups With More Impact on The Future of Learning and Teaching in the world.

SXSW EDU (South by Southwest E-D-U) Conference & Festival, it’s an annual event that promotes innovation and learning within the education industry.

This year’s event will take place in March in Austin, TX as a four-day event in which different players (companies, investors, educators, students) will be able to experience firsthand the most innovative solutions in the EdTech environment.

Wonderly will participate in the conference as a runner-up for the Launch Competition, which is an EdTech Startup award taking place also in the conference.

Of hundreds of applications that SXSW EDU received from startups in Finland, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Scotland, Wonderly was selected among the top 12 most impactful companies in the future of teaching and learning.

The main issue Wonderly has identified is that 72% of high-demand jobs go unfilled because employers can’t find enough qualified talent.

According to their breakdown, the reason is that Less than 25% of schools offer educational digital skills programs, and Girls, Blacks, and Latinos are critically under-represented. Additionally, a million instructors are required to teach coding to 100 million students around the world that are currently lacking access to this knowledge.

The keys for Wonderly’s educational programs to be in the spotlight of the Launch Competition are mainly its accessibility and measurable impact on learning. These are 5 examples:

• Culturally-relevant video lessons to promote underrepresented groups. 
• Optimal hybrid content that combines instructors and animated videos.
• Practical learning experience: students watch video lessons and practice on one screen.
• Cutting-edge pedagogical practices.
• Only multilanguage coding learning platform for kids and teens.

“Current alternatives are out-of-reach academies offering expensive live or virtual coding classes. There’s no high-quality, scalable solution like Wonderly, and participating in renowned awards like Launch Competition by SXSW EDU, it’s instrumental for us to keep delivering the best educational programs right into the hands of the students that need them the most.”

– Leandro Finol, Wonderly CEO.

There will be 3 prizewinners in the awards ceremony to be held at the SXSW EDU Conference & Festival in March 2023: the Launch Award (the main prize), the Impact Award (based on research, what is the most impactful venture), and the Community Choice Award (most voted Startup by the attendees). The winners and final standings will be announced after the event.

Learn more about Wonderly on our website www.learnwonderly.com