My daughter and I have been trying to learn coding together for some time. We tried two online coding classes.
I first tried the Avishkar India platform. I wrote about it later in the post. Then I found White Hat jr,cute name, right?
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My journey with White Hat Junior
White Hat jr is giving away free introductory classes. They do a lot of advertising with a free class for grabs. This one is a great marketing plan to get people enrolled. You don’t need a credit card to join. We had a lovely teacher and a fun time.
After the introductory level, they sent a report with many complimentary words. COVID season means you want children to enjoy something new. That’s what I thought too. I signed up first for eight classes and then again 8 classes—a total of 16 sessions over 16 weeks or 4 months.
But now we are taking a break and waiting for the certificate we were promised after each level of class.
Also, I heard they offer a certificate, once after the first class, then after 8 sessions, again only after 48 lessons. Not explained anywhere. I found out after inquiry for the certificate after 16 experiences.
Approximate price for classes: they have varying discounts at different times, so the price may not match.
8 Classes -Rs6299
44 Classes -Rs35999
144 classes -Rs107999
I opted for two sets of 8 classses according to the curriculum.
What do you need for White Hat Jr class?
A laptop
High speed internet connection
The pros of White Hat Jr
The platform is innovative,designed with an eye to what kids will love.
The teacher we had was well experienced, encouraging the Child and making her enjoy classes.
We loved the homework after each assignment.
We loved the hats they award for punctuality, etc.
We loved the dashboard showing how far they have come.
Homework is checked by the teacher and the feedback provided.
Easily choose dates and time slots to set up your classes and choose your teachers.
In the first few classes, I had to supervise her and help,when she did her homework. After 4 classes, she did it by herself. My daughter definitely enjoys some version of coding now! Whether its useful, in the real world, is something I will only know later.
They have several competitions for coders. Most of the time, anyone can participate, you don’t need to pay. But you have to create an account. That is, a parent has to.
What I didn’t like-Cons of Whitehat Jr
If the Whitehat jr faces server issues, they will not compensate the time lost.
They encourage Facebook and WhatsApp sharing of competition, results, certificates, and the shares count towards children winning.
Now Facebook is not a children’s platform, so you have to do social sharing. Again much like online gaming. Then again, the winners are given points according to their score plus social shares. So results are not entirely merit-based.
Update 04/07/2020: I found that for the current championship going on, they have changed rules.It includes two categories of winners.Only merit based and another based on merit plus social shares.Definitely works better on multiple levels.
The hackathon however is open to VIP members only.
How to reschedule or cancel classes?
This something you will find out when you actually cancel a class. I will make it easy . You forfeit the class. If it is less than 24 hours notice. Not explained by the people who call you up to get you on board. Lack of transparency is a big problem. They go on about visiting Silicon valley though.
If the teacher is running late, no one will inform you about it. I had to phone the teacher and find out. If you call the helpline, no one knows anything, and you end up talking to at least 3 people who will tell you they will call back. They don’t.
They have relationship managers and someone who will call you up when your subscription is due. But no real help otherwise.
The dashboard showing scores of other students has a look of online gaming to it. It makes kids obsess about the next class and their rating. Not really needed.
I was told by a representative that the certificate doesn’t matter because your child is learning something.I was very clear about this.If I am paying a premium price, the lessons, learning, and certificate plus service all matter.
Very steeply-priced with no sure shot benefit. I was told about a scholarship my daughter won after she finished 8 classes. This could only be redeemed if I booked her for the full 144 classes. That was almost a lakh! It didn’t make sense.
The hard sell about chance if a visit to silicon valley etc, and show you the dream. But that happens after you spend around a lakh. You have no real idea about what they are teaching because they provide end goals and rough lesson plans.
All classes are game-based and don’t teach coding independent of the White Hat Jr platform. Not helpful in the real-world then. It is not a customized teaching plan and has nothing to do with actually teaching kids to code on open-source platform.No obvious study material or
knowledge bank is shared, for further self-learning.
Will the child learns to code independently after 16 classses ?Not really.
Takeaway
Your money and your decision. But the dream about selling an internet bubble to kids’ parents is not a long term good marketing plan.
Bad service.
Good teachers.
I am still looking for the right platforms for coding for kids. Not into buying fake dreams, though.
My daughter finally got her certificate in August.
I heard about Byjus buying out White hat and the current TV ad made me cringe with dismay. Coding just became a recipe for parents buying into the one-app-millionaire dream!
Did you now Byjus has offline tuition classes and coaching for NEET ?Homework is checked by the teacher and the feedback provided. Easily choose dates and time slots to set up your classes and choose your teachers or academic writing services online for other work related to academic writing.
Review of my experience with Avishkar India coding
The first platform for live online coding for kids was the Avishkar India platform.Not customized for new coders and beginners. I attended a series of paid webinars. Not very useful for my daughter’s age. We had 3/4classes (forgot the number). Not useful as kids of different ages and levels were together. Imagine trying to teach in a classroom with age group 7 to 15yrs. Who learns what?
Still looking for coding that works in real life.Let me know, if you find one.
We are using several other resources. Will update as things get clearer. The Google Summer Camp 2020 was fun though.
A book we liked How to Code in 10 Easy Steps.
Other post in the #CauseAchatter series are here
Other post in the #CauseAchatter series are here
