ChonkyBlox
Block-based coding platform that uses AI on the back-end instead of complicated algorithms to derive code from block programs: each block carries an LLM instruction plus rules defined in a bespoke back-end harness. Kids can code using cardboard cut-out blocks and import programs by taking a photo; the system generates Arduino firmware, compiles, and flashes it to ESP32 from a single Docker web application. A working desktop application adds code assistance inside the Arduino IDE using the same web server API, and a simple PCB breadboard breakout with component connectors is still in development. It is a cheaper, open source alternative to current classroom coding systems, to be launched via Patreon.
What it addresses
Current block-based coding systems are expensive, and many schools in the South African education sector may have only one computer available for a classroom to share.
Shared over time
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ChonkyBlox
Block-based coding platform that uses AI on the back-end instead of complicated algorithms to derive code from block programs: each block carries an LLM instruction plus rules defined in a bespoke back-end harness. Kids can code using cardboard cut-out blocks and import programs by taking a photo; the system generates Arduino firmware, compiles, and flashes it to ESP32 from a single Docker web application. A working desktop application adds code assistance inside the Arduino IDE using the same web server API, and a simple PCB breadboard breakout with component connectors is still in development. It is a cheaper, open source alternative to current classroom coding systems, to be launched via Patreon.
Problem: Current block-based coding systems are expensive, and many schools in the South African education sector may have only one computer available for a classroom to share.
Audience: South African education sector, from very small kids to advanced learners, including schools that may have only one computer available for a classroom to share.
Posted by @tomjuggler · Original comment ↗
“ChonkyBlox: A new approach to Block based coding - instead of complicated algorithms to derive the code from block programs I am using AI on the back-end, which actually makes a higher level of abstraction possible with the blocks. Each block has an LLM instruction attached, along with rules defined in the bespoke back-end harness.”