codeSpark by Begin Reviews 29

I have just been charged a few days ago, even though I cancelled my subscription more than 2 years ago!!!! Now I'm talking with my bank how to handle it because I found out online that they are notorious for these charges.

UPDATE: Turns out they've been charging me for the past 3 years every December since 2023! I cancelled on Apple Sep 2023. My fault for missing them.

They only refunded this year because it's still within the 30 day period. BEWARE!!!

ITS SOO FUN LIKE I REALLY LUV THIS GAME IM STARTING TO MAKE PROJECTS WITH THE CHARACTERS!!!!!!

Very difficult to cancel. Still being billed 15usd a month after "canceling" on their app

The gameplay, and coding activities are fun but...
*You can not demo or model this game as a teacher if you signed in through Clever (they won't even give me another account to sign in so I can play it even though I have paid for a subscription already.)
It is hard for kids to scroll down to basic levels as there is no scroll bar, so if you are using laptops, PCs, or Chromebooks, it is very hard for little kids to do it.
It often kicks kids out after they finish level 8, afterwhich, they need to go back to the homepage, scroll down to the level they were on, click on it so that level 9 shows up.
“Game stuff" should be at the bottom and the coding levels should be at the top.
Some of the answers they provide on their guide (Kite Plight) are WRONG.
There should be an arrow so students can easily switch screens between levels 1-8 then to 9-16 (or 17)
There are often problems going back to a page and there is an error. You have to reopen it, log out, then open it again to log back in, very frustrating.
After contacting them, they don't seem to be too interested in fixing anything.

Parents beware - these guys refuse to cancel subscriptions and dont answer any support emails. I have begged to cancel and will call my credit card company and file a complaint and with the Better Business Bureau.

They renewed my subscription without my approval (I had cancelled before the renewal date) and refuse to refund it. They blamed it on Apple, but I have documents from Apple that it was not charged through them! DO NOT GET THIS APP! Now I have to worry that they will do it again next year! Contacting Federal Trade Commision

They will NEVER cancel your subscription. Be very cautious. I am getting recurring charges every year for 80USD even though I have their written confirmation that my account is inactive. I need to block my credit card in order to stop all the charges. So far I have been charged for 2 subscriptions

The classes are really fun and immersive. Children learn and play at the same time and can meet other friends that are interested in the same game. Teachers are super, super friendly and patient. They listen and are very helpful.

Really been happy with the courses to date! We're on to the 2nd course with them. Our daughter loves it. Customer service is also great.

My teacher was nice and she helped me when I have questions. I learned about how to create a second scene and added a few edits to my little red riding hood story. It was really fun

My daughter was very frustrated not knowing how to code and so this class has really helped her navigate with CodeSpark. She looks forward to every class.

My daughter was very excited to learn how to personalize her game. She is enrolled in a month-long class and the teachers have been very patient. She was even able to view a missed class and feel like she was still able to gain those skills.

My son had a great time over winter break completing a 4 day Coding a Game program. He learned different computer science terms and was able to create a game on the CodeSpark platform by the end of the week. It's a good experience.

My son absolutely loves CodeSpark and had a great time in this class. We’ve done a lot of zoom camps, school, and classes over the last two years, and this was the only one that he was totally engaged all on his own. I was able to leave the room and shut the door and know that he was having a great time and able to do all the projects.

This class taught my children so much about the game and was a kid-appropriate introduction to coding. My kids loved it. Their teacher was terrific, and it was a small group which made it easy for the teacher to be attentive and give each kid attention for troubleshooting. I will be doing another one!!

My daughter told me about codeSpark Academy after learning about it on YouTube. We set her up and she's been enjoying it quite a bit. She shared some games she made after only a short while. Then, we learned about the Game Maker course so I signed her up.
She's only been to two of them thus far but she's learned a lot and is eager to attend subsequent classes.

The teacher is patient and very knowledgable. The class is small so each child gets a lot of personal attention which I believe is key to a great experience.

We are very happy with codeSpark Academy and I'm planning to sign my daughter up for more classes in the future.

My son just started classes and he enjoys them so far. I am looking forward to him learning more and creating more games.

My kids both really enjoy CodeSpark! The material is suitable for both my 5 year old and 8 year old who both have about one year of coding experience from other apps. We have tried several coding apps and they outgrew most of the others already, but they still enjoy CodeSpark very much! We recently tried one of the courses they offer and the staff was awesome and the course was fun!

H (age 8) has been jealous of his brother’s (K 13) online coding classes (another site). They didn’t have anything that we felt was appropriate for H’s level. We wanted something introductory with a lot of guidance. As a child of pandemic learning, H hasn’t had a lot of experience navigating in groups. We gave the Game Maker (series 1) a try and it was a hit. They were focused not only on coding (concepts) but instructional support/guidance. His teacher Nicole is great at keeping the kids on track and inspiring them to come up with ideas. I LOVE their “brain dump” model. It is a useful skill that can be applied to other aspects of life. IF I had to find a flaw, I would say that I wish that range of the students (maturity and knowledge) were closer. There were definitely students who were more advanced than H and some that were behind him. But it’s not a huge deal and a good opportunity to develop important social skills. We are on our second series of the Game Maker classes and have already harassed the staff about coming up with a third series ;)

TLDR; perfect fit for what our 8 year old needed. This class may not be heavy on coding language, but it teaches coding concepts which is just as useful, especially for the younger minds/beginners. Lots of support for those who need it in group learning. Would highly recommend for similar students.

My son enjoys the class, and says the instruction is fun and engaging! He wishes there was a higher level, though, as he doesn't feel challenged every session. I would highly recommend codeSpark Academy to other parents.