SAN FRANCISCO, CA – May 08, 2019: Piper, a leading STEAM education startup delivers PiperCode Spanish in a free update to the Piper Computer Kit. Providing multilingual coding support and resources, PiperCode Spanish addresses the current gaps in access and equity to STEAM education. PiperCode is project-based learning software that teaches coding in Google’s Blockly environment and now provides multilingual support. PiperCode Spanish enables wider access to STEAM and Computer Science education. 

 

“At STEM.org, we always take into consideration accessibility when products are submitted for authentication, and PiperCode Spanish addresses the needs of a growing audience of STEAM learners which distinguishes it from other kits on the market and which helped it achieve a perfect score during our evaluation process,” said Andrew B. Raupp founder of STEM.org Educational Research.

 

Equal access to STEAM learning opportunities is critical to avoid underrepresentation in the workforce. As a continuation of Piper’s mission to create greater access to STEAM and Computer Science education opportunities, PiperCode expands to offer multilingual learning. Addressing the critical need for STEAM education English language learners (ELL) resources, Piper chose to provide PiperCode Spanish as its first offering. ELL’s and those who are learning a second language or Dual language learners (DLL) can explore computational thinking, increased comprehension and build stronger connections in both language and coding with PiperCode Spanish.

 

"The population of English learners in public schools has grown to almost 4.6 million students nationwide," said Jose Vasquez, STEM Program Manager, Porterville Unified School District. "It’s exciting to see Piper addressing the needs of the traditionally underserved ELL students with their launch of PiperCode Spanish, helping close the equity and access gap for STEAM Education.

 

 

“Piper’s mission is to empower students and educators with better access to STEAM learning. When we designed the hands-on Piper experience, equity was part of our vision,” said Melissa Belardi, Head of Education, Piper. “If we can change the life of just one student through our dynamic, engaging and student-centered Computer Science and STEAM programs, we will be doing our job.”