We Are Committed to #KeepAllKidsLearning
Endless Network is committed to #KeepAllKidsLearning, and this month, we are excited to feature stories about real people being inspired by internet connectivity. Here’s why, how, and ways you can get involved.
Over the past year, kids, educators, and families have turned to the internet to bolster students’ education as the pandemic continues to keep kids in virtual, remote and distance learning settings. Video calls, virtual whiteboards, and online textbooks are the new normal in living rooms around the United States. With many unknowns about the return to school this year, the reliance on online resources and technology is poised to intensify.
But what about the 15 million American school children who don’t have access to the internet? According to one recent survey of teachers nationwide, over 95% of respondents have utilized online tools for lessons and remote learning*. Imagine, then, a student who can’t stream a lecture fails a test simply because she missed out on critical teaching time due to unstable connectivity. Another student can’t do background research for his project because the WIFI connection keeps cutting out. Bright, young students around the country are struggling with problems we know we can fix.
Pre-pandemic, the digital divide was already taking a toll in this country. Now more than ever, it’s critical we find solutions to minimize the divide and ensure all our kids can access the educational tools they need, regardless of their learning setting.
To tackle these issues with powerful resources, Endless Network is excited to launch #KeepAllKidsLearning, an initiative that is actively mobilizing content creators and organizations to overcome this crisis. With these global partnerships, we will spread the word about offline learning resources for families who may not be able to connect and encourage content creators to make their educational content available as a free download.
We know that many education and edtech organizations already have a ton of great content that helps kids and teachers do their best learning and teaching. And with free and open-source tools that can help translate those resources to an offline format, the #KeepAllKidsLearning campaign calls on creators to make that content accessible to all, regardless of internet connectivity status.
Here’s what we’re already doing to #KeepAllKidsLearning:
Endless Network supports Common Sense Media's Wide Open School Initiative, which helps families and educators find trusted, high-quality resources to enrich and support distance learning for free. Common Sense Media is a leader in curating relevant educational resources, and through a grant from Endless Network, is working to provide offline content and tools to families without Internet access.
The Endless OS Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on issues of access and affordable technology. They have committed to the #KeepAllKidsLearning initiative by creating the Endless Key, a USB Drive preloaded with tons of engaging apps, games, and educational content like Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TED-Ed, and more - a content library at the fingertips of those without Internet. These Keys are available for purchase at cost or available for free to interested families in need. You can read more about the launch of the Endless Key here.
Learning Equality, supported by Endless, is an expert in building technology solutions to support learning environments without internet access. Inspired to make Khan Academy videos accessible offline, they now enable those who create digital learning resources to bring them offline via adaptable, open-source software. Learning Equality is focused on expanding access to quality resources by creating tools to make it possible to explore the world of digital learning without internet connectivity.
And there’s so much more to come - several organizations have already committed to make their educational content free and downloadable so that we can address the growing digital divide, one click at a time.
The reliance on digital educational tools is not going away any time soon, and now is the time to ensure digital equity among all our learners. What will you do to #KeepAllKidsLearning this year?
*https://www.prometheanworld.com/microsites/the-2020-state-of-technology-in-education/