FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Britannica Digital Learning partners with education trendsetter Ravi Hutheesing, Ravi Unites Schools
CHICAGO (September, 2018) For the 2019 EdTech Awards, in the category of “trendsetters,” Britannica nominates Ravi Hutheesing in recognition of his efforts to bring educators and learners together with the pioneering initiative, Ravi Unites Schools.
With a growing network of over 100 school across four continents, Ravi Unites Schools uses the latest in videoconferencing to provide “real-time audio-video interactions” between classrooms around the globe. This program perfectly embodies Britannica’s mission to “ignite curiosity and the joy of learning” by fostering collaboration, cultural sharing, and friendship.
“I believe cultural competency will be the most important skill in the age of globalization and artificial intelligence,” says Hutheesing. “Using available technology to create peer-to-peer learning opportunities that organically bridge cultural and socio-economic divides has great potential but is currently underused. One teacher remarked, ‘We covered more in 45 minutes than I could in months—the students loved it!’”
Britannica believes that initiatives such as these—powerful in their innovative use of available technology to achieve a simple goal—are exactly what the next generation needs to move the world forward in understanding, progress, and knowledge. Both Britannica and Hutheesing hope that this nomination will lead to a further partinering of digital resources and education technology to truly personalize learning on a global scale.
“We must allow youth from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds to bond naturally,” says Ravi. “So that they discover how much they have in common and become genuinely curious in learning about each other’s differences.”
Media Contact:
Rhea Vitalis, Associate Director of Marketing
Britannica Digital Learning
[email protected], (312) 347-7175
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About Ravi Unites Schools:
Launched in 2018, Ravi Unites Schools provides a unique opportunity for educators and school administrators from around the world to connect in order to promote cultural competency and peer-to-peer learning among students.
Ravi Unites Schools began with just three schools in its network but now includes nearly 100 from the US, India, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Canada. The School Superintendents Association (AASA) began partnering with Ravi Unites Schools this summer with an initial focus on China, with plans to expand globally.
With the support of a Ravi Unites Schools facilitator—or Ravi himself, whenever his schedule permits—students are able to connect over topics of mutual interest during a 30-45 minute video conference. In preparation, Ravi Unites Schools will help organize everything from finding the right school and students, managing schedules and time-zones, organizing a technical rehearsal, and hosting the actual exchange.
About Ravi Hutheesing:
The first American-born member of India’s Nehru-Gandhi family, Ravi bridges cultures and unites generations. His journeys as a rock star, aviator, cultural diplomat, and now as a global keynote speaker inspire audiences to build essential connections and relationships to lead in a world of globalization and artificial intelligence.
Ravi served abroad as a cultural diplomat for the U.S. Department of State from 2015 to 2017, fostering entrepreneurship and youth leadership in Russia, creating songwriting and cultural entrepreneurship programs that bridged the most severe cultural and religious divides in Indonesia, and carrying those lessons to similar programs in Iraq and Lebanon.
For nearly a decade, Ravi has partnered with Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project in India—a non-sectarian boarding school providing a holistic upbringing in a high quality educational setting for the poorest of the poor. The school is the subject of the 2017 Netflix documentary series, Daughters of Destiny. raviunites.com
About Britannica Digital Learning:
Our mission is simple; to ignite curiosity and spread the joy of discovery. Future dreamers, leaders, and builders depend on educators every day to help them learn to examine their world more deeply. We partner with over half of all U.S. schools and 1.6 million teachers, reaching over 25 million students, to provide them with effective, enriching, and innovative tools, resources, and ideas to meet the needs of their students and communities. britannicaeducation.com
