Playgram is a programming education app developed by PFN’s software engineers who are at the forefront of artificial intelligence technologies. The app will be introduced to selected schools operated by Yaruki Switch Group in Japan with classroom and online options available, beginning August 2020.

1. 1．Bridges the gap between visual and text-based coding
   Children can learn how to program step by step at their own pace, starting from block-based visual programming, then moving on to typing and text-based coding using Python.

2. ２．Rich 3D interface that inspires creativity
   By moving robots and flying a character in the sky in a video game-like 3D world, children can enjoy using programming to solve problems while enhancing creativity and spatial reasoning.

3. ３．Adaptive learning system and user-friendly tutorials
   Playgram analyzes learning data to identify the child’s strengths and weaknesses, visualizes the progress and personalizes the learning experience, which helps teachers and parents give instructions even without programming knowledge.

As one of the companies supporting the Japanese government’s programming education initiative, PFN provided teaching materials for elementary school children on the basics of deep learning. PFN developed educational videos introducing the latest technologies, hands-on material that translates hypothetical hand-written Martian language using deep learning, and slides that trigger children to think about the impact of automation technologies on society. The materials were used in 33 schools in Japan in the 2019 academic year.