San Francisco (US), January 20: Amazon, Pharrell Williams' education equity nonprofit YELLOW, and the Georgia Institute of Technology on Tuesday announced a new educational collaboration called "Your Voice is Power" to encourage middle and high school students to share their voice on equity while learning to code new music remixes.
The "Your Voice is Power" collaboration includes five teaching modules with lesson plans that teach coding while kick-starting meaningful conversations among students and their teachers about the importance of racial justice, the announcement said.
The collaboration is hoping to attract upwards of 100,000 students as a way to add unique, meaningful, and entrepreneurial-minded content to their current virtual learning experiences.
The need for high-quality computer science education is more important than ever, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that from 2014 to 2024, the market for computer science professionals will grow twice as fast as the rest of the labor market.
The National Science Board estimates that the number of Black professionals in science and engineering must more than double to be representative of Black people in the U.S. population in 2030.
"This collaboration between YELLOW, Amazon, and Georgia Tech is a celebration of Black creators and change-makers," said Pharrell, the American songwriter, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
"YELLOW's mission is to even the odds for kids through education. We're teaching for the future," said Mike McGalliard, CEO of YELLOW. "Georgia Tech's EarSketch platform is a powerful tool for kids to explore the connection between coding and creativity. In working alongside Amazon to give kids access to platforms like this, we can help them bring their ideas to life."
"We're honored to join Amazon Future Engineer, and together build further awareness and enlist more artists to join this program that will break down barriers for students from underrepresented communities," said Ryan Redington, VP of Music Industry at Amazon Music.
Source: Xinhua
