Terminal Two is making coding education entertaining for kids

• The US company is building confidence in kids at an early age through a collection of games.
• Kids find themselves solving problems and tinkering with ideas central to computer science.

Dubai: The motto of US-based Terminal Two is to teach coding concepts through immersive and engaging online games.

Terminal Two is an initiative of Endless, an organisation that brings digital agency and access to kids around the world through Endless OS, games, investment, and philanthropy.

Alex Meyer, Technology Lead at Terminal Two, told Tech Channel News, that their games not only encourage kids to learn but also create and build for themselves.

“We have a collection of games and each game connects its mechanics to a programming concept. Kids will find themselves solving problems and tinkering with ideas central to computer science,” he said.

Games are designed by educators and professional game designers and include Frog Squash, Aqueducts, White House, The Passage, Ovum City, The Maze, The Bunker, Dragon’s Apprentice, to name a few.

However, early games start without formal coding, instead focusing on computational thinking, teaching ideas such as to how to use abstraction to focus on and solve problems.

Games advance to more challenging concepts and players have to see, modify and then write actual codes, he said and added that coding should be fun and can be a source of positive change or create new challenges.

Coding is universal language

“We teach players the foundation of programming and expose them to real Javascript programming syntax and to read, edit and debug real code to solve puzzles in-game,” Meyer said.

Coding is the future for the digital world; he said and added that every kid needs to be fluent in the language of coding in evolving the next generation of technology development.

“Creating opportunities at an early age to learn digital skills along with other subjects are important in a bid to shape them prepare for a bright future. Coding skills open up professional opportunities in a wide range of growing industries,” he said.

Terminal Two had worked with six studios to develop games but now, they collaboratively work with four third-party studios, two of them are in Egypt – Rubikal and 2024.

“Large part of our focus is to make good games. For kids, it is like playing a game but it gives them knowledge. Kids like to play games and parents like it because it teaches kids computer science,” Meyer said.

The games are available on PC, Mac, Apple iPad and iPhones, and as a web game.