KidsRuby goes global with French, Japanese, and Spanish versions

KidsRuby‘s open-source programming software is now available in Japanese, French and Spanish, its parent company The Hybrid Group announced today. As you may have guessed from its name, it is a free Ruby-based platform for kids to learn programming.

While we have already covered KidsRuby several times since its launch in English, the three new languages included in its version 1.2 should help it reach a whole new audience around the world. As a matter of fact, the inventor of the Ruby programming language is showing interest in using the platform for his own child:

“My teenage son has shown interest in programming, but had a hard time getting started. I am a bad teacher,” Yukihiro ‘Matz’ Matsumoto joked. “My tools are too advanced and tailored for a UNIX hacker. KidsRuby (especially its Japanese version) will help him learn programming by himself. Awesome.”

It is worth noting that the translation work was crowdsourced, The Hybrid Group’s ‘Ringleader’ Ron Evans explains: “Software is not limited by borders or languages, and neither is the joyfulness of children. Now thanks to the efforts of contributors all over the world, KidsRuby is ready for the global village.”

Here’s how KidsRuby looks like in Spanish:

In addition to its computer platform, KidsRuby has also branched out offline with one-day free programming workshops that brings kids and professional Ruby developers together. While these events have taken place in the US so far, similar programming camps can now be organized in a much larger number of countries.

This could make a big difference in Latin America, where a growing number of initiatives are helping the next generation learn about coding (see our article about Coderise).

“I’m happy to see KidsRuby in Spanish because it will allow more kids in countries such as mine to start manipulating computers before they even learn a second language. This is something that can truly level the playing field.” says César Salazar, founder of Mexican.VC and venture partner at 500 Startups, which recently acquired the Mexican seed fund.

In other words, this is about giving kids a new fun tool, but also possibly about shaping the future of tech entrepreneurship around the world.

Image credit: Deadprogram