A collaboration aiming to develop STEAM and computer science education programs
Tokyo, Japan—Sony Global Education, Inc. (President: Masaaki Isozu) today announced that it has agreed with Raspberry Pi (headquartered in Cambridge, UK) to collaborate in developing and spreading packaged solutions for STEAM*1 and computer science education.
In an era of information technology advancing to an even much higher degree, Sony Global Education proposes the need for “STEAM education” which develops the basic skills of information technology, and the importance of training in the ability of “Computational Thinking.” In preparation for the “coding education” which has been mandatory in elementary schools in Japan since the academic year 2020, the company has been providing educational services such as KOOV®︎*2, a robotics coding kit; and PROC®︎*3, a hands-on digital learning content. As the so-called “Society 5.0*4” — a society where IoT, AI, and Big Data are utilized to create new value — is pursued, the company regards STEAM and computer science to be the core education curricula for developing human resources with 21st-century skills who are able to improve their ability to think, judge, express, and solve problems proactively within a society that is becoming more complex.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation engages in spreading computer science education through different activities including awareness-raising of coding education, developing courses for educators, and managing communities. Raspberry Pi (Trading), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Foundation, develops and sells “Raspberry Pi,” a series of single-board computers which have over 30 million cumulative shipments worldwide. The “Raspberry Pi” series was developed by Eben Upton, founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, under his philosophy of “there is a value in knowing how things work,” with the purpose of providing many people with low-cost, easy-to-program computers for STEAM and computer science education.
Throughout this business collaboration, both organizations, with the common purpose of spreading STEAM and computer science education further, aim to leverage one another’s strengths, and by combining Sony Global Education’s software for educational content with Raspberry Pi’s hardware, provide a packaged solution to innovate STEAM and computer science education. The goal is to create an environment where, regardless of the academic discipline, the skills and knowledge required by the future society can be learned in a structured way while having fun. As the first project, the organizations are in the process of developing educational content for the Japanese market, which is scheduled for release in fiscal 2021, and they are aiming to contribute to the global development of STEAM and computer science education in the future.
*1 STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.
*2 KOOV is an educational robotics coding kit that cultivates learning and creativity by using blocks to freely create “shapes” and then give them various movements through coding. With the concept that each person can create their own unique “shape,” this teaching tool has been released globally in the US and China in addition to Japan.
*3 PROC is a hands-on digital educational content for students. While having fun, students can learn the concept of computer science using some approaches of coding.
*4 Society 5.0 is a human-centered society, where economic development and resolution of social problems are both achieved at the same time, using a system that highly integrates cyberspace (virtual space) and physical space (real space). It was proposed for the first time in the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan which was established by the Japanese government in January 2016.
- KOOV®︎ and PROC®︎ are registered trademarks of Sony Global Education, Inc.
- Other mentioned company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of each company.
