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Remember Computer Lab?

You learned to type, manage files, and think logically — all skills you still use today. Schools stopped teaching that class. We brought it back, and added coding.

Ages 8–16 Typing & File Skills Python & JavaScript Unity Game Dev 1x/week · 70 min $140/mo
Students working on real computers at Hackingtons Rocklin — the modern computer lab

Rocklin · Stanford Ranch & Sunset Blvd

Try a Free Class (888) 919-4225
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Cathleen · Hackingtons parent
Rated 5 stars

"He loves it more than anything he's ever done."

Students working on real computers at Hackingtons Rocklin — the modern computer lab

Rocklin · Stanford Ranch & Sunset Blvd

Your kids deserve the same foundation you got — and more.

Schools hand out Chromebooks but don't teach kids how computers actually work. No typing class. No file management. No problem-solving with technology. We fix that.

Give your kid a real computer education →

Walking into computer lab
was the best day of the week.

Think back. The hum of CRT monitors warming up. The satisfying click-clack of mechanical keyboards. Oregon Trail loading on the screen. Your teacher showing you how to save a file to a floppy disk.

That weekly trip to computer lab wasn't just fun — it quietly taught you skills you'd use for the rest of your life. Typing. Organizing files into folders. Understanding how a computer thinks. You probably didn't realize it at the time, but that class shaped how you work today.

💾 Things you learned in 90's computer lab

  • Typing — Mario Teaches Typing or All The Right Type drills every single week
  • File management — Save, rename, move, organize into folders
  • Word processing — Write, format, spell-check, print
  • Critical thinking — Figure out why something wasn't working
  • Digital creation — KidPix, HyperCard, PowerPoint projects
  • How computers work — Hardware, software, the basics of what's "under the hood"

Schools gave kids Chromebooks.
They forgot to teach them how to use a computer.

Today's students can swipe, tap, and open Chrome. But ask them to create a folder, manage their files, type without looking at the keyboard, or understand what an operating system does — and most can't. These aren't advanced skills. They're the basics. And they've quietly disappeared from the curriculum.

⌨

Typing

Most kids hunt-and-peck. Formal keyboarding instruction is rare in schools now.

📁

File Management

Cloud-first means kids never learn to save, organize, or find their own files.

💻

How Computers Work

Chromebooks hide everything. Kids don't know what an OS, a file system, or RAM even is.

🧠

Problem Solving

When something breaks, the old instinct was to figure it out. Now it's "ask the teacher."

A Chromebook is a consumption device — great for Google Docs and YouTube, not great for learning how to use a computer. Your child needs more than a browser. They need what you had: a real computer education.

Hackingtons is the computer lab class — updated for 2026.

We teach everything the old computer lab taught — typing, file management, understanding how computers work — plus the skill that matters most now: coding.

💾 What 90's computer lab taught

  • ✅ Typing / keyboarding
  • ✅ File management (save, folders, organize)
  • ✅ Word processing & presentations
  • ✅ Basic computer hardware understanding
  • ✅ Problem solving & troubleshooting
  • ❌ Coding (not offered)
  • ❌ Game development (not offered)
  • ❌ Engineering / hardware projects (not offered)

🚀 What Hackingtons teaches

  • ✅ Typing / keyboarding (built into every class)
  • ✅ File management (real file systems, not just cloud)
  • ✅ Understanding how computers actually work
  • ✅ Problem solving & debugging
  • ✅ Coding — Python, JavaScript, C#
  • ✅ Game development — Unity, professional tools
  • ✅ Engineering — Arduino, circuits, robotics
  • ✅ Real-world projects they ship and share

A Chromebook isn't a computer class.

Schools handing out Chromebooks created a generation that can browse the web but can't use a computer. A Chromebook is a great consumption device. But your child needs to learn to create.

At Hackingtons, kids work on real computers with real operating systems, real file systems, and real development tools — the same ones used by professional engineers and developers.

💻

School Chromebook

A web browser in a box. No local files, no real software, no development tools. Google Docs and YouTube.

🖥

Hackingtons Workstation

Real computers running real operating systems. Visual Studio Code, Unity, Arduino IDE, Python — professional-grade tools that teach kids how software actually works.

Coding is the skill your child will need — no matter what they become.

In the 90's, "knowing computers" meant you could type and use a spreadsheet. Today it means you can think logically, automate tasks, and understand the technology that runs everything. Coding isn't just for future programmers — it's for future doctors, architects, business owners, and artists.

Logical Thinking

Coding teaches kids to break big problems into small, solvable steps — a skill that applies everywhere.

Automation

Every profession is being shaped by automation. Understanding it — not fearing it — is the advantage.

Digital Fluency

Not just using apps — understanding how they're built, how data flows, how systems connect.

Career Readiness

Whether they become an engineer, doctor, or designer — tech literacy is the baseline expectation.

Everything the computer lab taught. Plus everything it didn't.

Kids choose their track — but every student builds typing skills, learns file management, and understands how computers work. That's the foundation. Then they go further.

Engineering

Build circuits, program microcontrollers, and make real things that move and respond.

Learn more →

Programming

Real code, real languages, real projects. Python and JavaScript — the languages the industry runs on.

Learn more →

Game Development

Build professional-quality games in Unity — the same engine behind real titles on Steam and mobile.

Learn more →

CAD

Design and prototype like a real engineer. 3D modeling, iteration, and creative problem-solving.

Learn more →
Kids building projects at Hackingtons Rocklin

What a week at the modern computer lab feels like

Remember walking into computer lab and knowing exactly where your seat was? That same routine matters. Kids come in, sit with their team, and pick up where they left off. There's structure — check-in, build time, showcase — but it feels like their space, not a classroom.

Typing skills develop naturally because they're coding every week. File management clicks because they're saving, organizing, and versioning real projects. Problem-solving becomes instinct because their code won't run until they figure out why.

Tuition is $140/month. Classes meet once per week for 70 minutes — after school or Saturdays.

At a Glance

  • Ages 8–16
  • Schedule 1x/week · 70 min
  • Tuition $140/month
  • Skills Typing, file management, coding, engineering
  • Tools VS Code, Unity, Arduino IDE, Python
  • First Step Try a Free Class
FOUNDATION

Typing is built in — not bolted on

When kids write real code every week, typing becomes second nature. No boring drills — real motivation to get faster because their project depends on it.

REAL SKILLS

Files, folders, and how computers actually work

Kids save projects locally, organize assets into directories, and learn what's happening under the hood — not just inside a browser tab.

FUTURE-READY

Coding is the new literacy

The 90's computer lab taught you to use a computer. The modern computer lab teaches kids to think with one — and build things that didn't exist before.

Parents who grew up with computer lab get it instantly.

"I told my husband — this is exactly what we had in school, but way better. Our son is learning to actually code. We just learned to type and print."

— Hackingtons parent

"My daughter's school gives them Chromebooks but never teaches them how computers work. After two months at Hackingtons she was explaining file systems to me."

— Hackingtons parent

What parents notice first:

  • "My kid can actually type now — fast."
  • "They organize their own files without being asked."
  • "They explain how their code works. To me. And I don't understand half of it."
  • "This is everything I wish their school would teach."
Rocklin instructor team

Real results, real projects

  • Students have shipped a game to Steam: Corporate Chaos
  • Annual Hackingtons500 competition with 100+ participants
  • Browse the Rocklin Arcade — real projects, made by kids

Class starting times at the Rocklin location

Classes meet for 70 min (1x/week)
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Sat
3:10pm9:00am
4:30pm4:30pm4:30pm4:30pm10:20am
5:50pm5:50pm5:50pm5:50pm11:40am

Most teams have 2–4 spots open. Don't see a time that fits? Email us — we'll help find the right team.

6011 Stanford Ranch Rd. Unit 102

Questions? Call (888) 919-4225

First day tip: arrive 5 minutes early so your child can meet their team and pick a seat — just like the old days.

Give your kid the computer education you grew up with.

Try a free class — most parents say they knew within one visit.

Questions? Call (888) 919-4225

Want to learn more?

Tell us about your child and we'll help find the right class and schedule.

How class meetings work

Each class has three parts: quick check-in with your team, focused build time (coding, game dev, or robotics), and a class showcase. Just like computer lab had structure — log in, lesson, free build time — ours does too.

Watch this week's "Best of Hackingtons" showcase

Computer lab class shaped who you are today.
Give your kid the same head start.

Same foundation. Better tools. Skills that will matter for the rest of their lives.

Try a Free Class (888) 919-4225