HP Innovation Journal Issue 15: Summer 2020 | Page 52

Acceleration of Change
Education
assignments and picking up homework. In response to
the pandemic, HP launched HP Turn to Learn, a new
program with curated content from partners such as
NASA, Britannica, and TIME for Kids, some in both
English and Spanish, to help students without technology
continue learning at home. By converting digital
content to printed booklets, the program allows students
to access material offline.
HP piloted the program for kindergarten through
fourth grade in public and charter schools in Oakland,
California, reaching more than 20,000 students and
teachers with nearly 100,000 booklets. Some schools
sent booklets home along with free and reduced meals,
while others designated times when parents could pick
up the material.
“HP Turn to Learn is really supporting those who
don’t have smartphones, who don’t have devices at
home, who might not even have internet,” says Michele
Malejki, Global Head of Sustainability and Social
Impact Programs at HP.
Another program, HP Print, Play & Learn allows families
to download and print out worksheets and articles
that kids can use at home. Partners include Crayola,
Canva, Conservation International, Jane Goodall’s
Roots & Shoots, Teachers Pay Teachers, and the Worldwide
Wildlife Foundation Wild Classroom.
One benefit of both programs is that students
have access to the most up-to-date content, whereas
traditional textbooks can quickly become obsolete,
according to Todd Gustafson, US President of Public
Sector & Education at HP. Families can also personalize
the information they are downloading to match the
student’s interests.
The content for both programs focuses on concrete
activities for younger children. “They are not necessarily
able to read or write on their own,” Malejki adds. “We’re
trying to get pen-to-paper activities where kids can sit
down, learn to write, learn to draw, and learn to create.”
For older students without internet, Arist provides
an alternative, mobile phone–based solution. The
text-message learning platform was founded in 2018 by
a Babson College student who was trying to help refugee
students in Yemen who were more likely to have access
to mobile phones than to the internet. Today, teachers
are able to use the platform to design text message–
based courses, and the company is allowing educators
to use the platform free until September.
Moving ahead
Drawing on their experience this spring, educators are
now taking a step back to consider what school might
look like this fall. Many local districts are still awaiting
guidance from state and federal authorities about plans
for reopening. Lone Star principal Greg Heideman says
that the Nampa School District is doing a lot of contingency
planning, including creating an online school for
families that don’t want to send their children back to
school until a vaccine is available. The online school
will serve up to 1,000 of the district’s 14,000 students.
The district is also looking at how to maintain social
distancing, policies on masks, and how schedules might
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHAD HUNT
INNOVATION/ SUMMER 2020
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