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For refugees in Kenya, an education in hope

Deirdre Fernandes

July 07, 2018 |

The Boston Globe |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya

Far from its location in Boston, Southern New Hampshire University is offering refugees at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya a shot at getting an education. SNHU offers associate's and bachelor’s online degree programs in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Lebanon. A degree could be life changing, given that only 1 percent of refugees have access to higher education. The online program is “self-paced, offered in English, and costs less.” So far, 84 have enrolled and 24 have graduated.

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Special delivery: Text messages bring courses to disconnected students

Stacy Teicher Khadaroo

May 09, 2018 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Yemen

A group of college students has developed a text-message based entrepreneurship course designed for students in locations where "phones are common, but internet access is not," including in Yemen. The founders hope that their curriculum will help to close the persistent "social-capital gap" in business education.

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These College Startups Don't Charge Tuition Until Grads Make $50,000 a Year

Sonya Mann

February 05, 2018 |

Inc. Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

In response to the rising cost of college and a changing labor market, several startups are offering an alternative to traditional 4-year higher education programs. In exchange for on average one year of training in computer programming at no cost upfront, students turn over a portion of their salary for a set number of years after graduating. If they are not offered a job within a certain period of time, students don't have to pay. "How many people have tried to learn programming on their own and not made it?" co-founder of Lambda School said. "Usually that's just a matter of not sticking it out ."

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The controversial Silicon Valley-funded quest to educate the world's poorest kids

Jenny Anderson

January 22, 2018 |

Quartz |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya

Founded by Silicon Valley veterans and funders in 2007 to serve the world's poorest students and most under-resourced teachers, Bridge International Academies now operates 600 low-cost private schools in Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, and India. In Bridge's model, teachers read scripted lessons developed abroad directly from their tablets. While supporters say Bridge is delivering an otherwise unavailable service, at scale, and is seeing improved scores and teacher attendance, critics fear Bridge takes the human element out of learning, strips teachers of agency and fails to teach critical thinking skills.

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Can a ‘No Excuses' Charter Teach Students to Think for Themselves?

Kate Taylor

January 11, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Several charter school networks have found that a strict and structured approach to instruction, while it may be improving test scores, is not resulting in the anticipated increase in timely college completion rates for its alumni. One network is piloting a new model that aims to develop more adaptable, "independent thinkers" by encouraging "self-directed learning." Can the introduction of online learning tools, immersive career discovery trips, and increased parent involvement into the current charter school environment help students down the road?

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A digital solution when children can't find books in their mother tongue

Gretel Kauffman

December 26, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Rwanda

Research says that bilingual kids reap significant benefits from reading in their primary language. One nonprofit working in Rwanda, Congo, Haiti, Cambodia, and Mongolia provides digital books in students' strongest language and recruits local writers to create age-level books with local context: "It's not just a matter of translating materials," a professor at Columbia's Teachers College notes. "It's a matter of valorizing the home culture and language of the learners."

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Can This Game-Like App Help Students Do Better in School?

Tara Garcia Mathewson

November 29, 2017 |

Wired |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fresno, California

The Fresno school district is getting surprising results following the rollout of Strides, a student portal app that gamefies the learning experience and in doing so incentivizes students to stay engaged. Like with other social media apps, students earn points and maintain streaks, but in this case they rack up awards for attendance, academic performance, and extracurricular participation. Still digesting the success of the technology, schools are working to strike the right balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to ensure students remain interested in the app and their school work.

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VR at the Tate Modern's Modigliani exhibition is no gimmick

Jamie Rigg

November 28, 2017 |

Endgadget |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: England, London

Tate Modern’s 2017 exhibition on painter Amedeo Modigliani included a virtual reality recreation of Modigliani’s final studio in Paris. Seated on wooden chairs with VR headsets on, visitors can explore the studio and hear firsthand accounts of the space from Modigliani’s friends.

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How an Online Personalized Preschool Experiment Could Change the Way Rural America Does Early Education

Carolyn Phenicie

November 26, 2017 |

The 74 |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Utah

Since Upstart launched in rural Utah in 2009, 30,000 children have completed the online personalized preschool alternative from their homes. Upstart provides participating families with computers and internet access in addition to planned group gatherings intended to simultaneously encourage students' socio-emotional development. Following Utah's success with the program, an additional seven states are now piloting the model.

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Online preschool: Does it work?

Jackie Mader

November 03, 2017 |

PBS NewsHour |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Mississippi

In Mississippi, where only four percent of four-year olds are covered by state-funded preschool, free online curricula offer an enticing opportunity. UPSTART, one of these programs, provides complementary training for parents and access to a computer that might not otherwise be available. Critics warn of the effects of increased screen time and decreased social interaction, but advocates still see a few hours on the computer as a better alternative to no kindergarten readiness preparation at all.

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