There’s a good post up over at O’Reilly’s Radar talking about the challenges and opportunities of teaching kids with hardware.  I agree with all his points.  It’s particularly apropos for us because we really want to find a way to get kids interested in what we’re doing.  Not because we have our eyes on that market segment, but because we think kids are best equipped to think in entirely new ways.  A BUG is a new concept and the children I’ve introduced it to always surprise me with their insights. 

One of the key "Aha!" moments for me was when I realized that most people/kids don’t really care about hardware per se.  They care about the information it gives them, or the job it performs.  We buy cameras not because we want a hunk of metal, plastic and glass.  We want pictures.  I think it’s telling that the first really popular robot did only one thing – but it was a useful thing – it vacuumed your floor. 

So the challenge is to use the hardware as a means to an end, as a window into a set of data/information that the user is interested in, and not just momentarily.  In essence, it has to spark a feeling in the user that the more they learn about it, the more real, tangible benefit they will receive.  It’s obvious to think of that ‘user’ as a software programmer or a gadget junkie, but what about a 10-year old?

At Bug Labs, getting this right is something we’re spending a lot of time on.  We’ve started with our BUG+EDU program, but have a lot more envisioned for the future. I’d love to hear everyone’s feedback and suggestions!