PRESS RELEASE
Maker Ed Selected for Google RISE Award to Engage Underrepresented Youth in Computer Science Education
Award will Support Maker Ed’s Young Makers Program To Offer New CS-Related Opportunitie
Oakland, CA, February, 2015:
Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) is thrilled to announce that it is a recipient of the 2015 Google RISE Award, a grant that supports organizations that engage girls and underrepresented students in computer science programs.
The Google RISE Award will directly benefit Maker Ed’s Young Makers program and will enable the creation and implementation of computer science-related workshops that combine coding with physical making (physical computing) to be offered to mentors and youth. These workshops will also serve as models for professional development for educators and organizations interested in making and computer science nationwide.
Maker Ed’s Young Makers program is a flexible club model that brings together a community of young people, ages 8-18, with mentors and a space to make. In small clubs, Young Makers work together on youth-chosen, open-ended, group or individual projects through a 3-4 month season, which culminates in an opportunity to share and exhibit at a showcase event.
“Through our Young Makers program, the Google RISE Award will provide more opportunities to engage youth of all backgrounds — particularly those in underserved populations — to learn vital computer science skills through making,” says Stephanie Chang, Director of Programs at Maker Ed. “It will also enable us to provide mentors the training they need to facilitate making experiences for youth. With this support, youth will have the opportunity to not only develop exciting new skills and make imaginative projects but also explore and deepen their interest in science and technology. Many of these youth may serve as peer mentors in the near future as well!”
Roxana Shirkhoda, a K-12 Outreach Program Manager at Google and project lead on RISE Awards, notes, “It is critical for students, particularly girls, underrepresented minorities and students of low economic background, to recognize they have the power to not only consume technology – but create it. We’re invigorated by the work of the 2015 RISE Award winners and look forward to partnering with them to inspire the next generation of computer scientists around the world.”
Maker Ed joins 36 other organizations in 17 countries that will benefit from the Google RISE Award. These organizations make up a community of passionate and vibrant educators and advocates. In collaboration with many of its partners, Maker Ed looks forward to transforming the lives of youth through making.
About Maker Ed
Maker Ed is a project of the Tides Center, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit public charity. Maker Ed’s mission is to create more opportunities for all young people to develop confidence, creativity, and spark an interest in science, technology, engineering, math, the arts, and learning as a whole through making. Maker Ed plays a national leadership role in developing a maker network of educators, youth serving organizations, statewide afterschool networks, corporations, foundations, and makers seeking to accelerate and deepen the maker movement.
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