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AWS Commits $100M in Cloud Credits to Support Educational Institutions in Developing Learning Tools

Today, AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing division, introduced the Education Equity Initiative, aimed at equipping “education organizations with the technology needed to foster digital learning innovations for underrepresented communities.” Over the next five years, AWS is investing $100 million in cloud credits to support this mission.

According to Tom Berry, who oversees the educational initiatives within AWS’ Social Impact and Responsibility team, this program marks a shift in the company’s approach to such initiatives. Historically, these programs have concentrated on directly training teachers and students.

“We have learned from our experiences with organizations like Code.org that the best way to impact underserved learners is by supporting those organizations that are creating experiences in those communities,” Berry stated.

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The initiative intends to assist hundreds of nonprofit organizations worldwide over the next five years, enabling them to create tools for teaching coding and other technology-related skills within their communities. AWS is also prepared to provide direct assistance in developing and enhancing the applications these organizations will produce.

A pilot program was successfully conducted with 50 organizations across 10 countries. One example includes Rocket Learning, an India-based nonprofit focused on providing quality early childhood education for underserved children, which is utilizing Amazon Q in AWS QuickSight to assess the effectiveness of their educational materials.

Code.org, a prominent nonprofit dedicated to delivering computer science education to K-12 schools, is another early collaborator in this initiative and has a history of partnering with Amazon on similar educational projects. Recently, Code.org introduced a new AI teaching assistant tool for computer science educators as part of this program.

“The challenge we see in computer science education is that many teachers are inexperienced with the subject. They did not receive formal computer science training during their college years,” explained Karim Meghji, Chief Product Officer at Code.org. “As a result, they often lack confidence when it comes to project-based learning, where we encourage students to infuse their own identity and creativity into their projects. Teachers, confronted with numerous projects and rubrics, often ask: ‘What do I do with all of this?’”

This new initiative will operate alongside Amazon’s existing programs, such as the Future Engineer program and the AI and ML Scholarship program.

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