An initiative of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Out of Eden Learn is a free online program for students aged 3-19 that has so far served over 30,000 students in 60 countries. On Out of Eden Learn’s custom built, social media platform, students of similar ages from diverse geographical and socioeconomic settings come together for collective learning experiences.
Out of Eden Learn currently offers several 8-12-week long learning experiences, or “learning journeys,” designed around three broad learning goals. All of the journeys combine offline activities with online interaction and invite young people to:
- slow down to observe the world carefully and listen attentively to others;
- exchange stories and perspectives with one another; and
- make connections between their own lives and bigger human stories.
This is a free-of-charge online curriculum for students aged 13-18 called Remembering the Past? This curriculum broadly invites young people to explore how the past is remembered both privately and publicly, and who or what is included in that remembering and why. It asks them to explore the role and presence of history and memory in their own families and local communities. It also gives them opportunities to think critically about current civic and moral debates concerning the public remembering of the past and develop opinions about how it could and should be remembered today. Students will learn about these issues by completing tasks that promote cultural self-awareness. They will also interact with peers from other countries completing these tasks, thereby broadening their perspectives on culture and history. The course is 8 weeks long and allows each group to create their own schedule for completing assignments. A basic understanding of English is recommended for teachers and students.
