Pluralsight One has formed new partnerships with Code.org and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and is offering steeply discounted access to the Pluralsight learning platform to further its philanthropic mission to democratize technology.

Pluralsight One was formed in 2017 as a social enterprise to improve equal access to technology skills and at this year's Pluralsight Live, the company's second annual user conference, its co-founder and CEO Aaron Skonnard announced new products, new partnerships and funding for Code.org.

For those not familiar with it, Skonnard stated:

“When we created Pluralsight One a year ago, we wanted to build something that would meaningfully contribute to making the world a better place for everyone. Whether it’s working with displaced youth, deeply understanding the needs of nonprofits and those they serve, funding programs that provide technology access to women and girls, working with organizations like Code.org and CSTA, Pluralsight One is democratizing technology skills to create a better future for us all.”

The press release announcing new products for non-profits explains that they have been created combining best practices from the humanitarian and development sectors with Pluralsight’s Directed Discovery process and tested though a pilot with 40 nonprofits across 16 countries. It also announces not only discounted access to the Pluralsight platform for nonprofits but enabling nonprofits to make the platform available to their beneficiaries in order to enable non-profits to serve their communities. 

Lindsey Kneuven, head of social impact for Pluralsight commented:

“Technology touches every industry and fuels innovation, participation and creation. Unfortunately, nonprofits often lack the resources to keep pace and are being left behind in the midst of digital transformation.” 

New support and education products have been developed for both teachers and K-12 students. Through the partnership with the membership organization Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), Pluralsight One will support CTSA's mission to empower, engage and advocate K-12 computer science teachers worldwide. Pluralsight has created a free curated course offering for that will provide established computer science teachers and those new to the field with a resources to help them prepare for computer science teacher certification exams. The course library contains 33 courses with over 100 hours of content covering everything from how to jumpstart a career in IT to UX design and front end development to Java and Python

The partnership with Code.org means that Students taking Code.org’s Computer Science Principles course gain free access to Pluralsight’s curated intermediate and advanced courses to continue their learning journey. Curated by expert technologists, the library features over 150 courses totalling over 500 hours of content across four major areas: IT/OPs, software development, design/creative, and product management.

In addition, the Pluralsight One Fund is providing a $1.5 million grant to Code.org over three years to deepen opportunities for girls and students of color to access computer science education and continue their technology skills development beyond the classroom. The grant and the partnership will help enable Code.org to grow their resources for teachers and students, continue to develop curricula across K-12, expand their efforts to retrain America’s K-12 teachers to teach computer science, scale impact through their network of regional partners, debunk misconceptions about computer science through their annual Hour of Code campaign, and support Code.org’s international expansion.

Skonnard expressed his commitment to Code.org's fgounding premise, "Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science", saying:

“My father taught me to code when I was eight years old, and I believe every child, no matter the circumstances, should have the same opportunity. Educating our youth is one of the most important actions we can take as a society. With Pluralsight One, we are supporting teachers with access to continued learning and empowering students to be lifelong learners, problem-solvers and creators, while giving them a direct path into the professional world that so desperately needs their technology skills.”

Code.org Founder and CEO, Hadi Partovi responded:

"Code.org is dedicated to giving all students a foundation in computer science to open up the best future opportunities regardless of what they ultimately pursue,"  "We're excited that this partnership will allow Code.org students who uncover a passion for computer science to delve even deeper into subjects that our courses introduce."

and Jake Baskin, Executive Director of the CSTA, stated:

“Computer science teachers across the nation are at the forefront of a dramatic change in U.S. education, and through this partnership we’re thrilled to provide our members with even more resources to deepen their computer science knowledge and skills. Together we’ll ensure more teachers have the support they need to teach all students this foundational skill.”

More Information

Pluralsightone.org 

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