White House Recognizes Destination Imagination and Oracle Academy Collaboration to Advance Computer Science Opportunities for Students
Organizations join forces on the development of two coding challenges
Organizations join forces on the development of two coding challenges
CHERRY HILL, N.J., Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Imagination (DI), an educational non-profit organization dedicated to teaching students the creative process skills needed to become the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and industry pioneers, has collaborated with Oracle Academy to advance coding and computer science opportunities that will help students thrive in the future workforce. Oracle Academy works globally to expand knowledge, skills, innovation and diversity in technology through computer science education.
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"There is an urgent need to provide students and teachers access to computer science education," said Dr. Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. "The Association for Computing Machinery estimates that by 2020, one out of every two STEM jobs will be in computing. However, nine out of 10 K-12 schools do not currently provide computer science education. As computing technology continues to grow and evolve, it's essential we provide students with affordable access to computer science opportunities that will inspire and engage them in career-ready learning opportunities. We're excited to work with Oracle Academy to ensure students connect to the needs of the future workforce."
Through the collaboration, Destination Imagination will release two new computer science challenges—Dear Hero and Co{DI}ng Space—in hopes of engaging 10,000 students in computer science education this year. Each challenge is designed to spark kids' interest in coding and encourage students of diverse backgrounds to incorporate their artistic expression while learning skills such as collaboration, storyboarding and perseverance.
"The technology skills gap presents a tremendous opportunity for today's students and demands global attention," said Alison Derbenwick Miller, Vice President, Oracle Academy. "By expanding students' access to computer science, they can become college-ready and learn the skills needed to be productive in a variety of fields once they graduate. We're thrilled to join Destination Imagination on a shared mission to help put students on a pathway to future success."
The Dear Hero coding challenge will be released on February 15, 2016. For the challenge, students will choose a real-life hero and use Oracle Academy's Alice 3 coding software to demonstrate how their chosen hero has made a significant and positive impact on their lives. Students who participate will have the opportunity to have their projects evaluated and qualify for a chance to present their coding project at Destination Imagination's Global Finals 2016—the world's largest celebration of student creativity.
The Co{DI}ng Space computer science challenge will be released in summer 2016, with more details to come in the following months.
The White House recently recognized Destination Imagination and Oracle Academy for their commitment to helping students learn coding through their 2016 computer science challenges.
For additional information on participating in a Destination Imagination Challenge, visit: http://destinationimagination.org and for more information on Oracle Academy, please visit https://academy.oracle.com
About Destination Imagination
Destination Imagination, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) cause-driven, volunteer-led non-profit organization whose purpose is to inspire and equip students to become the next generation of innovators and leaders. The most popular education offering is the Challenge Program, where student teams solve open-ended STEM, arts and service learning Challenges and present their solutions at tournaments. Founded in 1982, Destination Imagination has impacted more than 1.5 million students worldwide. To learn more, please visit http://destinationimagination.org.
About Oracle Academy
As Oracle's flagship philanthropic educational program, Oracle Academy supports more than 2.6 million students in 106 countries. The program aims to advances computer science education globally to drive knowledge, innovation, skills development, and diversity in technology fields. To this end, Oracle Academy offers students and educational institutions a free and complete portfolio of software, curriculum, hosted technology, faculty trainings, support, and certification resources. The program works with public and private partners to provide the tools educators need to engage, inspire and prepare students to become innovators and leaders of the future. Through Oracle Academy, students receive hands-on experience with the latest technologies, helping to make them college and career ready in the era of big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and beyond.
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Contact: Heather Ripley, [email protected], (865) 977-1973
SOURCE Destination Imagination
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