The Opportunity Network (OppNet) has launched UninterruptED: Unstoppable Learning, an open-access learning platform. Available free of charge and easily accessible to any first-generation student and young person of color, this platform is designed to mitigate the learning loss and opportunity gap caused by the pandemic. UninterruptED is built as a technology-lite platform to minimize the heavy demand on internet bandwidth that many technology applications rely on today. OppNet sees UninterruptED as a tool to support those who are most impacted by the digital divide. 
OppNet is a nonprofit organization that provides underrepresented young people with the support, tools, and training they need to thrive in college and careers. The UninterruptED platform distills key learnings from OppNet’s six-year Fellows program and national Career Fluency® Partnerships program. Since 2003, OppNet has worked with nearly 10,000 students around the country through its programs and partnerships.
“As our world confronts the educational and economic crises caused by Covid-19, OppNet’s mission emerges as more critical than ever,” says OppNet CEO AiLun Ku. “We are acutely aware that this crisis is disproportionately impacting under-resourced communities, which also face greater risks of being left behind during the recovery process. Now, when it is needed most, we are proud to offer UninterruptED as a free resource to any young person who wants to develop their skills as they chart their paths to thriving careers.”
To get UninterruptED into as many hands of students and teachers across the country as possible, OppNet is excited to partner with Reach Higher, an initiative started by former First Lady Michelle Obama aimed at guiding and supporting more students to and through higher education. Ku recently participated in Reach Higher’s 2020 Beating the Odds Summit to support students who have overcome obstacles to graduate from high school and commit to continue their higher education.
According to Reach Higher Director of Programs and Community Outreach Stephanie Owens, “We have been working with OppNet since 2014 to bring students the resources and support they need to pursue higher education and fulfilling careers. We selected OppNet as a partner because they consistently step up to meet the evolving needs of first-generation students and young people of color. This approach is exemplified by the new UninterruptED learning platform, with its ease of use and timely topics.”
OppNet’s leadership team has set an ambitious goal to have as many as 11,000 students and participants using the platform after its launch.
The courses on UninterruptED are interactive and engaging learning experiences, centering students and their most relevant needs. Lessons include Introduction to Networking, Budgeting in College, Professional Interview Prep, Values & Career Exploration, and many more. The straightforward technology used in the platform was purposefully selected to be readily accessible to all students, from rural communities to inner cities.
The platform was designed for students to access directly, but also as a resource for teachers, staff, and instructors who want to integrate Career Fluency® into their virtual programs and their classrooms. Benefits to instructors include:
- Flexible courses that can be used for self-directed, asynchronous learning to supplement existing curriculum or the foundation for virtual instruction;
- Lessons grouped in “learning pathways” that build off one another and provide a more cohesive learning experience;
- Alignment with online learning best practices to drive usage and persistence, including shorter modules with high levels of engagement and gamified context to incentivize users; and
- High-quality content through an effective and intuitive learning management system.
AiLun Ku concludes, “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. We hope that UninterruptED will help to close this divide and level the playing field, providing opportunity to all.”
This work is made possible by a strong network of supporters and funders, including the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, AT&T, and Coach Foundation for critical seed funds to launch and scale UninterruptED.
For more information about UninterruptED or to access the platform: visit: https://opportunitynetwork.org/uninterrupted/
Media Contacts:
Scott McDowell
The Wakeman Agency
212-500-5953 x120; smcdowell@thewakemanagency.com
Judy Klym
The Wakeman Agency
203-921-9039; jklym@thewakemanagency.com
