Camp Fire collaborates with AT&T on free online learning

School is back, baby! You’d think an organization with Camp in its name would get moody come September, but we love the smell of fresh school supplies almost as much as just-toasted S'mores.

Camp Fire affiliates all over the country promote year-round learning, including out-of-school time programs. This year, we have a really fun collaborator to help us: AT&T created The AchieverySM to provide free digital learning accessible anywhere. The online platform pairs 500+ learning activities with fun clips from hit movies and shows to keep the academic exploration rolling. The best part? It’s open to anybody: Camp Fire programmers, parents, caregivers, curious students…and you!

What’s the digital divide?

As part of the White House’s 2024 Improving Student Achievement Agenda, AT&T committed more than $1.9 million to help out-of-school programs like ours engage under-resourced students as part of the company’s $5 billion commitment to bridge the digital divide.

What does “under-resourced” students mean in an era where so much learning is driven by technology? As the Office of Educational Technology states, “Technology has the potential to allow students and educators to collaborate with peers and experts worldwide, engage with immersive learning simulations, and express their learning creatively.”

But not all students have the same access to tech’s educational advantages. Here are three ways the promise of tech breaks down:

  • The Digital Use Divide: Inequality in how students are asked to use digital tools: actively (“analyze, build, produce, create”) or passively (just get the assignment done).
  • The Digital Design Divide: Inequality in time/support for educators’ tech training/development.
  • The Digital Access Divide: Inequality in whether students have access to “connectivity, devices and digital content.”

Collaborating on STEM solutions

AT&T aims to lower barriers to digital learning, through both The AchieverySM and out-of-school-time funding. For example, Camp Fire Snohomish County has partnered with AT&T to expand STEM and robotics programming, including at low-income housing and domestic violence shelter sites. The funding also helped support professional development for robotics educators.

Nelly Osborn, Community and Small Group Programs Director at Camp Fire Snohomish County, loves working with and helping kids. She’s been using The AchieverySM to shape lessons about plants and ecosystems, including activities about water, water waste and volumes, seeds and plant uses. From water bottle planters to tinfoil boat-building, Nelly said The AchieverySM is making her dream job even easier.

“All the content is safe, vetted and updated, which is hard to come by when searching online,” said Nelly. “It’s also been so nice because the platform is FREE. I am able to go into The AchieverySM and search by keyword and age, find activities that are self-contained and that I can easily adapt, and that I know young people will enjoy.”

“What I’d tell other leaders and staff members is this: The AchieverySM is easy and accessible — an extremely helpful tool that will expand education and allow you to stay current with what you need for the youth you serve,” continued Nelly. “Personally, I’ve even found some writing and creative courses that I want to take in my free time!”

Expanding digital learning

Here’s how some other Camp Fire affiliates have been collaborating with AT&T to help kids and teens find their school sparks:

  • Camp Fire Central Oregon: New low- or no-cost STEM and robotics programs designed to engage underrepresented groups.
  • Camp Fire First Texas: Expanding STEM and robotics afterschool programs and buying additional microscopes and telescopes for camp and outdoor programs.
  • Camp Fire Heartland: Purchasing STEM programs and equipment for afterschool and summer day camp sites.
  • Camp Fire Inland Southern California: Integrating STEM and robotics programming into afterschool programs.
  • Camp Fire Minnesota: GPS units, planetarium projectors and an inflatable planetarium for environmental education at camp and school-time programs.
  • Camp Fire North Shore, Inc.: Tablets and robotics equipment to expand afterschool digital learning.
  • Camp Fire Sandusky County: Expanded STEM programming, including no-cost options, alongside new tablets, 3D printers and other tech equipment.

And it’s not just Camp Fire programs getting in on the digital learning action! This summer, we invited alumni to The AchieverySM Challenge. We pulled six special lessons for alumni to do with the young people in their lives, everything from Curiosity Counts to Water: Air Pollution Effects. The good news—your young person can do the lessons and earn an emblem too! See details here.

Are you ready to get learning, too? Register for free at The AchieverySM. (Here’s a step-by-step video to get you there fast!)