Skip to main content

Want to learn code? The cStyle bracelet wants to help make it fun and easy

It seems the key to getting girls interested in code is through — bracelets?

Google’s collaboration with Shapeways in 2014 allowed girls to create a custom, 3D-printed bracelet via Google’s visual programming editor, Blockly. Now, there’s an Indiegogo campaign that’s harnessing the power of the customizable bracelet to build interest in coding and the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (collectively known as STEM).

Related Videos

A 2013 National Science Foundation study found that 66 percent of fourth-grade girls and 68 percent of boys liked science, but by eighth grade, “boys were twice as interested in STEM careers as girls.”

Enter cStyle — a codeable bracelet launched on Indiegogo by a company that wants to change those numbers. PinkThink launched in 2013 and offers resources, games, and other information on STEM subjects. The company is attempting to attract and retain girls into STEM, and through cStyle, PinkThink wants to make coding accessible and fun with via its own mobile app and drag-and-drop programming software on the web.

The wearable is a pretty straightforward looking clasp bracelet, with PinkThink’s logo styled as an element on the periodic table. It comes in silver and white, and it can be programmed to light up in 250 colors based on factors such as body temperature, ambient light, and notifications. The device can be connected via Bluetooth or a Micro USB cord, and has an on and off switch, so you can save battery. Otherwise, a full charge will last you seven hours.

c

The cStyle software includes coding tutorials, online forums, tetris and matching games, stories that challenge coding knowledge, as well as a blank workspace where users can create and test anything. Coding portfolios can be shared with the online community and also features password-protected sharing.

PinkThink is still finalizing the mobile app, and the company has various stretch goals on its Indiegogo campaign such as a gold-colored band, and even the option to eventually store videos, music, and documents on the band. If the campaign hits $300,000, the company will add a proximity sensor, allowing users to control smartphones, robots, and computers with a “swipe of their hand.”

PinkThink says it has worked with partners and interviewed more than 200 pre-teen girls to develop the product to ensure proper engagement. The company is trying to raise $50,000 and as of publication has raised $1,925.

The bracelet will cost $100 and will include the software, but the campaign has various purchasing options to choose from beginning at the $60 early bird special. It’s expected to ship in March of 2016.

Editors' Recommendations

New Windows 11 update adds ChatGPT-powered Bing AI to the taskbar
Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 feature that makes the OS photos app compatible with Apple's iClould.

Microsoft has just unveiled the latest update to Windows 11 which has already started rolling out. There are plenty of changes on the horizon, including those involving the ChatGPT-based Bing AI search.

The new update lets Windows 11 users communicate with the AI-powered version of Bing right in their taskbar. The AI model itself also seems to have received an update that might make conversing with it less bizarre.

Read more
Google just announced 9 new features for your Android phone and watch
Samsung Galaxy S23 showing Google Photos

Google has announced some big new features coming to Android and Wear OS devices during the Mobile World Congress 2023 event in Barcelona, Spain. These new features are beginning to roll out starting today, February 27, with others to come later.
New Android features available starting February 27

Google Drive users will now be able to do freehand annotation on Android phones and tablets. This means you are now able to use a stylus or your fingers to annotate PDFs directly in the Google Drive app on Android.

Read more
Microsoft is already expanding Bing Chat to Skype and phones
Microsoft Edge browser showing Bing Chat on an iPhone.

Bing Chat, the AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT, is one of Microsoft's most exciting products, and the Windows developer is wasting no time in incorporating artificial intelligence into more of its products, including three of its mobile apps: Skype, Bing mobile, and Edge.

Microsoft announced the news in a blog post this morning. The Edge browser and the Bing app are obvious choices for adding AI-enhanced search, and early access users will begin seeing Bing Chat in those apps soon. We'd seen hints about Bing Chat on mobile, just two days ago, so Microsoft is moving quickly.

Read more