The Oracle Education Foundation’s mission is to help young people develop the technical acumen, creative confidence, empathy, and grit to become outstanding designers of solutions to people’s needs and the world’s problems. In our program, Oracle Volunteers coach students through multiday classes at the intersection of design thinking and STEAM disciplines—science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
Currently, Oracle Education Foundation operates at Oracle’s headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, in partnership with Design Tech High School (d.tech), a pioneering public charter high school. We’ve been developing and piloting our new program with d.tech since 2014. Over time, we plan to scale the program to other schools and other Oracle communities.
In our classes, students learn coding, electrical engineering, and user-centered design from real practitioners—Oracle technologists and business people—and then apply their skills and knowledge to prototyping solutions. We offer a variety of 30-hour classes in Levels 1 to 3 and internships in Level 4.
Hello, World!
Introduction to coding and physical computing. Students learn to build simple, interactive circuits and gadgets controlled by hardware and software manipulation.
Data Visualization and Design
Discovering and telling compelling stories using data visualization tools. Students learn to tell their stories onscreen using charts and graphs, and in the physical world using hardware to build interactive visualizations.
3D Design and Production
Turning ideas into tangible prototypes using industry-standard tools. Students learn to model, design, and fabricate 3D solutions while experiencing the processes and challenges of modeling for the real world.
Wonders of Wearable Technology
Solving everyday challenges with wearable technology. Students learn to engineer and code wearable prototypes using open hardware, such as microcontrollers, conductive materials, sensors, and actuators.
Our Hyperconnected World: Internet of Things
Creating user-centered solutions with smart wireless devices. Students learn to build their own Wi-Fi enabled prototypes, leveraging real-time data in the cloud.
Experiential Game Design
Designing and building games to motivate learning and encourage positive behaviors. Students learn the basics of game design, object-oriented programming, and development framework APIs.
Preparation for Oracle OpenWorld
Throughout the school year, we identify compelling prototypes and invite the student teams who created them to present at Oracle OpenWorld. This class is dedicated to refining prototypes and preparing demos.
Internships within Oracle Lines of Business
The Foundation facilitates internships for d.tech students in a wide range of Oracle organizations. In addition to matching Oracle mentors with d.tech interns, we provide support for both throughout the internship period.
Each year, we select a handful of prototypes developed by d.tech students to showcase at Oracle OpenWorld. Students present their prototypes to conference-goers and engage them in coding and making.
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