Opportunity Network Launches Free Learning Platform for College and Career Prep
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 11/05/20
A
new open access learning platform can help students advance their
college and career goals through online courses in how to network,
how to prepare for college, how to budget in college, how to explore
careers, social media best practices, how to prepare for interviews
and other relevant topics. The program, named UninterruptED,
is an initiative of the Opportunity
Network,
a nonprofit that supports underrepresented young people with the
tools and training they need to succeed in life. All of the courses
are available free.
According
to the organization, the platform on which the program runs was
"purposefully selected to be readily accessible to all
students"--including those with limited internet access--and can
be accessed through a smart phone, Chromebook, tablet, laptop or PC.
While
the platform was designed for students to access directly, educators
who want to integrate the career resources into their virtual
instruction can also access whole courses and lessons, through the
Career
Fluency Partnership
program. The courses can be used for self-directed, asynchronous
learning to supplement existing curriculum or as the base for virtual
instruction.
"COVID-19
is already laying bare and exacerbating the pervasive and deeply
entrenched opportunity gaps our students face every day, the same
gaps driving OppNet's mission," said OppNet CEO, AiLun Ku, in a
statement. "We hope that UninterruptED will help to close this
divide and level the playing field, providing opportunity to all."
To
expand the spread of the program, OppNet is working with Reach
Higher,
an initiative begun by Michelle Obama that guides and supports
students to and through higher education.
The
work is being supported by a number of foundations, including the
Michael
& Susan Dell Foundation,
AT&T
and Coach
Foundation.
Students
can sign up for UninterruptED through
one Google form,
and educators through
another.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.