Students in kindergarten through high school are getting free access to Figma and FigmaJam, a cloud-based design tool. The release of the program follows a nationwide beta test in select high schools across 50 districts from urban areas like Portland to smaller rural districts in Texas.
Figma said in a news release that by bringing its application to schools, teachers saw an improvement in students’ foundational skills like problem-solving, collaboration with others, and building empathy. Teachers will be able to download the design tool to each computer where students will be able to create their own designs, interact with others on their projects, and receive feedback, all in real-time.
Students will be able to “use industry-leading design tools in the classroom to help students thrive in life after school,” Figma said in its press release. David Curran, a STEAM teacher in San Luis Obispo, CA was quoted as saying, “I’ve seen students absolutely transform over the last couple of months.”
Schools will have free access to FigJam, an application that will allow teachers to re-create the in-classroom and virtual learning experience by sharing interactive lesson plans, group projects, and study guides with students. But more importantly, the company said in its release: “Figma and FigJam transformed the culture of classrooms, students’ sense of connection and belonging.”
Figma teamed up with Google to bring the software to students of all ages for free, with the caveat that the software work exclusively with Chromebooks. The offer comes as more students are bringing laptops to class rather than taking handwritten notes, and since classes switched to virtual learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, schools have begun to provide laptops to their students.
Design thinking has become an integral part of children’s learning in recent years, building up skills like creativity, collaboration, compassion, and confidence that students can use in the years to come, Dr. Maria Shaheen, Senior Director of Early Childhood Education, wrote in eSchoolNews. By working with design programs, it creates what’s known as “design thinking,” which provides the tools needed “to approach problems from a human perspective,” Forbes reported.
Figma’s announcement comes only days after the European Union Commission launched an anti-competition investigation into Adobe’s acquisition of the design company after receiving requests to review the business deal, four sources close to the matter told The Financial Times. The U.S. Department of Justice is also reviewing the merger and is reportedly preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block Adobe’s acquisition of Figma.
While Figma faces the doom and gloom of multiple investigation, its campaign to offer its software to classrooms across the country for free appears to be garnering a positive response from educators. According to Figma, teachers reported that their students had developed essential skills that were otherwise lacking in the classroom after the Figma tool – which incorporates stickies, high-fives, emojis, and comments – was added to their classrooms, particularly amongst students with learning disabilities.
“In working with students diagnosed with moderate to severe autism, FigJam has emerged as an invaluable tool,” Meredith Greene, a special education teacher in Massachusetts, said in the release.
