Apple Announces New 'Sesame Street'-themed Show to Teach Kids Coding Basics
Photo Credit: An actor dressed as Sesame Street character "Big Bird" speaks with a puppet named "Cody" during an Apple Inc. event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Monday, March 25, 2019. The company is unveiling streaming video and news subscriptions, key parts of Apple's push to transform itself into a leading digital services provider. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Apple Announces New 'Sesame Street'-themed Show to Teach Kids Coding Basics

Vanessa Taylor

Vanessa Taylor. Mar 26, 2019.

On Monday Apple’s fairly “secretive” event took place and shared a lot relating to its new streaming service, Apple TV+. That included one thing parents and kids can look forward to, which is a new Sesame Street-themed show where kids will learn coding basics, as reported by TechCrunch.

The show, Helpsters, was introduced on stage by Big Bird and a muppet named Cody, who shared, “We use the big ideas behind coding to solve problems.”

Helpsters’ introduction and the appearance of Cody can be caught around the 11:35 mark in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=694&v=JiDnNUN9ERA

Apple announcing a show dedicated to teaching kids to code isn’t surprising because the company already invests in that. The company has an Everyone Can Code program that includes a curriculum to teach coding to students from kindergarten to college.

As part of the program, Apple designed its own coding language, Swift, and developed Swift Playgrounds for “first time coders.”

There wasn’t any actual footage from Helpsters or even a trailer played, so it’s unclear how Apple plans to present coding to kids. However, given that it’s a Sesame Street theme, it’ll probably incorporate dancing, singing, and other games for kids.

It’s clear that Apple is trying to dominate as many markets as possible, from its introduction of Apple TV+ to its Apple News services. Getting kids into tech is a big focus for the tech industry right now. So, if done right, Helpsters has the chance to be wildly successful.

Besides, Apple can at least ride off the love that everyone has for muppets.