ProtoPie News6 min read

ProtoPie for Education : Why Design Students & Teachers Need ProtoPie?

Discover why both design students & teachers need ProtoPie in the classroom. Learn how students & teachers can use ProtoPie for free today.

Julie Ko
Julie Ko, Growth MarketerMay 27, 2021
ProtoPie for education (CSP) thumbnail image

ProtoPie is free for all students, teachers, and schools as we believe in investing in the future—the designers of tomorrow. If you are learning, studying, or teaching interaction design, UX design, or prototyping, then this is definitely for you.

We have two different kinds of programs:

  • Student Support Program for students — Use ProtoPie for free.
  • Class Support Program for teachers — Use ProtoPie for free together with your students.

Learn more about ProtoPie's educational solutions. Apply for the program that's right for you.

What is ProtoPie?

ProtoPie is the easiest tool to turn your interaction design ideas into realistic prototypes. Create interactive prototypes for mobile, desktop, web, and IoT.

Designers of all levels use ProtoPie as their core tool at leading companies worldwide, e.g., Google, Microsoft, GoPro, Nintendo, and Reddit. Also, many students and teachers have been using ProtoPie to kickstart their design careers or to teach the fundamentals of interaction design.

Discover what's possible with ProtoPie.

Why ProtoPie in the classroom?

“What I learned about interaction design and prototyping in university was the foundation that led me to work at Google prior to founding ProtoPie.”

—Tony Kim, CEO and co-founder of ProtoPie

Don't just take our word for it. Learn how lecturer Paolo Perego from Politecnico di Milano has been using ProtoPie with his students.

For students

ProtoPie helps you to free your ideas as well as accelerate your learning experience.

As a student, you work on projects that require certain deliverables, e.g., interactive prototypes, or encourage you to go through a typical design workflow. ProtoPie can be helpful either way.

Projects like these are ideal as they allow you to fully learn and explore ProtoPie. Using ProtoPie gives you a glimpse of what it's like practising interaction design and prototyping in the real world. Figuring out how to structure your prototypes or hand off your work to stakeholders are real-world examples that you can get familiar with.

So, in short, why should students use ProtoPie?

  • Act on your ambition by mastering a skill that gives you an edge in your career.
  • Learn how logic, systems, and interactions work in the context of design.
  • Get a glimpse of real-world experience.
  • Score higher grades by improving your deliverables.

For teachers

ProtoPie is not just a prototyping tool, it's a vehicle for teachers to educate their students on certain concepts like systems thinking. Due to the logical approach ProtoPie employs, it's a great way for students to put theory into practice—tangibly and practically.

Prototype the way you speak—ProtoPie's conceptual model is similar to using natural language. Students are encouraged to think logically and understand the causality of each interaction they make with ProtoPie. Moreover, students learn how to compose interactions at a granular level from a technical point of view, without any programming involved.

So, in short, why should teachers use ProtoPie with their students?

  • Take a practical approach to teaching particular concepts, for example, systems thinking.
  • Teach students about interactions and prototyping in the context of design.
  • Prepare students for the real world.

Student Support Program

Students get ProtoPie for free—a free Individual plan (grandfathered, available only for students) for a year, to be exact. The world needs your talent. We'd be happy to help you develop your talent.

The license is valid for 1 whole year. Once this runs out, simply apply again for next year. All students at accredited schools are eligible to apply.

Application form for the student support program
  1. Create your ProtoPie account using a valid school email address. If you don't have a school email account, please use your personal email address. Just make sure it matches your name.
  2. Fill out the form.
  3. We need to verify your student status. With the form, include a valid copy of your student ID or proof of enrollment showing your full name and current school year.
  4. Submit the form. We'll contact you soon after verifying.

Apply for the Student Support Program.

Class Support Program

Teachers, together with their students, get access to the Pro plan for free. Besides getting to use ProtoPie, you get to benefit from all the team features, e.g., easy collaborating for students and the ability to give feedback on students their deliverables. Learn more and get the most out of your free Pro plan.

Comments from teammates in team space
Teachers can give feedback on student's work.

The license is valid for 1 whole year. Once this runs out, simply apply again for next year as long as there's a clear educational purpose to using ProtoPie.

Application form of the class support program

Create your ProtoPie account using a valid school email address.

  1. Fill out the form. We would love to know what the educational purpose is and how you'd like to use ProtoPie.
  2. Include a file on the course information or syllabus of the course or program you teach displaying your name. A link to the course page is usually helpful too.
  3. Submit the form. We'll contact you soon after verifying.

Apply for the Class Support Program.

Dive right into ProtoPie

Once you are all set up, it's best to just dive right into ProtoPie. This workshop, tailored to students, would be the ideal starting point to learn ProtoPie.