Free, Accessible Coding for All

Free, Accessible Coding for All

National Robotics Week is usually a time when kids, parents and teachers across the nation tap into the excitement of robotics for STEM learning. It’s a week that is – under normal circumstances – structured around publicly held events that offer children unique, hands-on learning experiences.

This year’s National Robotics Week is quite different, of course. It's taking place smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic. In spite of this, we push on, finding new ways to learn, explore and socialize... online, from home.

With so many students, parents and teachers navigating at-home education, one thing has become abundantly clear – there is a great need for reliable, effective virtual learning resources.

Amidst this backdrop, iRobot this week announced iRobot Education in order to provide educators and parents with access to educational robots, online resources and programming that we believe offers students unparalleled access to 21st century learning skills.

iRobot Education brings together all of iRobot’s education-based products and services, including the Root? coding robot, Create? 2 programmable robot, a new, free iRobot Coding platform, a learning library with both complimentary and premium academic activities, and the company’s STEM outreach program.

Perhaps my favorite part of this week's announcement is the launch of iRobot Coding, a free platform that allows users to build coding skills both virtually online and through the Root coding robot. For those who are not familiar, Root is a robot that is uniquely designed to help kids learn coding at home and in school.

What makes the new coding platform so great is that it’s accessible to anyone who can open a web browser, giving educators and students who do not have a physical Root coding robot the opportunity to still participate in classroom or at-home coding lessons.

Simply navigate to code.irobot.com and you have instant access to iRobot's free coding platform that puts you in control of a virtual Root robot right on the screen.

There’s also an online learning library that offers access to hours of free tutorials, projects, and activities, while premium lessons modeled after educational standards, such as CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards and Common Core State Standards, are available on a paid subscription basis. On the latter note, iRobot Education is offering free access to the premium content through June 1, 2020. For those interested, enter the code “LEARN” for free access to the paid subscription.

I’d like to thank all of the iRoboteers who were involved in making iRobot Education a reality. Learning to code should be an inclusive, accessible endeavor for anyone who wants to try.

I also hope that the free lessons and coding platform that iRobot Education provides will help facilitate new opportunities for teachers and students while they are outside of the traditional classroom environment.