James on Software

I'm a huge fan of screencasting. It's a great way to learn about software development. Screencasting is also starting to be used to teach general daily computing topics. Nevertheless, it remains something of a niche. The general public still doesn't really know about screencasting.

There certainly isn't a whole lot of screencast content aimed at kids, except maybe a programming tutorial or two. There's nothing (I can find) aimed at young girls.

Hailey Hacks aims to fill that void in the market. Hailey is a savvy pre-teen girl. She's fun — and a little bit rebellious. You might think of her as a cross between Bart and Lisa Simpson.

In the first episode, titled April Fools, Hailey teaches you how to play pranks, low tech and high. First, she suggests that you fill your father's shampoo bottle with ketchup. Later in the episode, she recommends using wakerupper.com to incessantly ring your father's phone while you're at school. I'll let Hailey show you the rest of them.

So far, we've got one other episode up there, in which Hailey teaches you to make your own lolcats. Lots more are coming. Hear first by following @HaileyHacks or subscribing to Hailey's blog.

Despite the fact that this is web 2.0, we're selling the videos for 2$ each over at the Hailey Hacks site. We'd love to hear what you and your kids think of them!