Who is behind PodPi?
Hi, I'm Jay!
I'm a cartoonist. I'm the in-house illustrator and main character designer for the PodPi adventures. I work on anything that needs pencils, inks and colors, including the characters for the pods, the learning map, and, the comics that will have the lessons for each pod to teach!
Hi, I'm Criss!
I am an artist as well, and am happiest when I am creating something - painting, drawing, sewing, sculpting. One of my biggest roles in this project, aside from helping with the soldering and things like that, is writing the stories and content with Stephane. I will also be preparing the kits we are mailing.
Hi, I'm Stephane!
Creator of the PodPi Adventures. I have been an electronic engineer, software developer and architect for over 30 years. I believe we all learn better through experiences, discovery and failures. I want to provide the best program to prepare your children for the jobs of the future. Let's connect!
Advisors
Seasoned technology executive, co-founder and CEO of one of Sacramento’s fastest growing companies. Investor in Two Wires Lab.
Steven Mille
General Partner of DCA Capital Partners, a leading provider of Growth and Transactional advisory services to companies. Advisor and mentor.
John Tidgewell
Award Winning Executive Business Coach and Vistage Group Chair at Vistage Sarameto. Advisor and Mentor.
Read what fuels our mission in this Medium post by Stephane.
Why the Island of PodPi?
We believe that learning and play go together. Children are curious by nature and our adventures are designed to engage them right away with hands-on experiences and limited screen time. The comic characters and the short stories allow us to illustrate complex concepts in ways that children can understand and relate to. By using printed comic books we are able to limit the screen time, increase retention of the subjects covered and relate the concepts with the physical world. We have observed first hand the difference in engagement when using print over digital.
Fun, yet challenging!
After teaching more than 1,000 kids coding and electronics, the majority of parents have asked us to create a program that will challenge their children. We recognize that there are many wonderful products and programs available on the market to teach coding, electronics and STEM in general. Each program has its own strengths and goals. We've observed that many programs are based on a common "fun & easy" concept with quick rewards for the students. Most are contained within a fail safe environment where trials and failures are mostly non-existent. With PodPi, we seek to challenge your child while making it fun. We use real tools and components. We present complex concepts in way children can relate to and understand and we encourage trial and error - and trial again. While we based our curriculum on JavaScript and electronics, our main goals are to build confidence, problem solving skills and resilience when faced with complex challenges. We seek to empower your child with tools and skills him or her can truly put to use in the future.
Actual quotes from our students
“It was cool to realize I could do something that I didn’t think was possible.”
“I learned that when you make one little mistake in code, it can affect everything after.”
With your support and all our current subscribers, we are committed to continue creating awesome, engaging content that will last a lifetime. We thank you in advance for making us a part of your child's success.
Why the name "PodPi"?
The original PodPi concept was based on the Raspberry Pi platform with smart little Pod devices. The Smart Pods were designed to teach kids a particular topic in electronics. These Smart Pods plugged into a Raspberry Pi console and were accessed in real-time through an interactive web-based comic book.
Raspberry Pi + Pods = PodPi.
Smart Pods
The Original Pod Character
The Raspberry Pi Console
Smart Pods with a breadboard for kids to build electronic circuits that interact with the comic book in real time. A bay was available for batterie operated Pods as well as storing all the electronic components.
The Smart Pods were assigned a unique identity via a comic book character. Today, these characters are called Pod Peeps. There are 28 Pod Peeps, each with their unique characteristics, individual personalities and skills.
Smart Pods connected to the main console, powered by a Raspberry Pi. The Pi ran the code, web server and all elements needed for the interactive lessons.
Are the Smart Pods Available Today?
During our testing phase with many kids and parents we discovered that the stories, unique characters and comic book format were very appealing to everyone. While the technology was fun as well, it wasn't challenging enough. The closed environment did not allow the kids to experiment as much as specific outcomes were designed to be reached. The Smart Pods currently remain in their prototype form and are not available on the market.