Out of Eden Learn

In this era of interconnection, disconnection, and rapid change, it is vitally important to offer young people opportunities to dialogue and build understandings with peers from different backgrounds. 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. The program 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: 1) slow down to observe the world carefully and listen attentively to others; 2) exchange stories and perspectives with one another; and 3) make connections between their own lives and bigger human stories. Out of Eden Learn is also an active research project that examines such themes as students’ conceptions of culture, the character of their online interactions, and what they learn when they slow down to observe the world closely both with and from one another. Out of Eden Learn began in 2013 as an experimental collaboration with journalist and National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek, whose Out of Eden Walk involves him retracing on foot the migratory pathways of our ancient human ancestors around the world. It has since evolved into a promising model for promoting thoughtful cross-cultural inquiry and exchange, drawing inspiration from the ways in which Salopek and other writers and artists combine “slow journalism” with local and global storytelling.