Virtual Coding App Addresses Diversity in STEM

To address gaps in women and minorities entering STEM careers, Pitsco Education and SmartGurlz are debuting Smart Buddies, a new solution that focuses on third to fifth grade students. The app guides students through a virtual experience in which buddies lead them through a series of coding exercises. The buddy characters enable students to address systemic and personal issues related to diversity, race, gender differences and content resolution, while learning the basics of block-based coding. Students control the movements of their buddies as they balance on programmable scooters called Siggys, using problem-solving techniques that cover the fundamentals of coding such as a sequences, loops, events, conditionals, functions and variables. Everything we do at Pitsco Education is rooted in providing future-relevant skills for all learners, regardless of their race, gender, or socioeconomic background, said Stephan Turnipseed, chief strategy officer at Pitsco Education. With Smart Buddies, we are on a mission to help more children identify with STEM, be much more inspired to continue their coding and STEM education journey, and ultimately contribute to bringing much-needed diversity to the STEM workforce.