Microsoft and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have together announced the launch of the Learning Passport, a global learning platform that aims to help youngsters continue their education remotely. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost all sectors around the world, including education.
Microsoft, UNICEF launch The Learning Passport
The Learning Passport provides children with a digital remote learning platform. The initiative started off as a partnership between Microsoft, UNICEF, and the University of Cambridge.
The program is primarily aimed at displaced and refugee children who are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Commenting on the initiative, Microsoft President Brad Smith said:
“Just as COVID-19’s impact has no borders, its solutions must not have borders, as it requires the collaboration across public and private sectors to ensure every student stays engaged and continues learning.”
It’s clear that Microsoft and UNICEF have together come up with the Learning Passport idea in such a way that it bridges the digital learning gap for millions of students during the pandemic.
Education is among the worst affected sectors during the on-going COVID-19 outbreak since schools in over 190 countries have temporarily shut doors, forcing more than 1.57 billion students from their classrooms.
“With long-term partners like Microsoft, we are able to swiftly deploy innovative, scalable solutions for children and youth,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
The Learning Passport has been in development for the past 18 months. In fact, it was supposed to start as a pilot program this year.
However, the program significantly expanded in the wake of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak around the world.
Now all countries with a curriculum capable of being taught online will be able to facilitate online learning for children and youth with devices at home.
The Learning Passport: How does it work?
The University of Cambridge explains it will provide teachers with access to a platform, which consists of learning materials. It will also keep track of all the learning progress.
This is not the first time Microsoft is working to promote distance learning. Since the outbreak, Microsoft for Education has come up with several initiatives that help both students and teachers easily transition to remote-learning.
