More than 30 Canadian schools such as the BC Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser, Waterloo, Ryerson, University of Toronto, Ecole de Technologie Superieure and Dalhousie have joined the Amazon Web Services’ AWS Educate program. The central focus of the program when launched was to help college students become equipped with cloud computing fundamentals and best practices to help future innovators be positioned for success. At the AWS re:Invent 2017 conference on November 28, 2017, the company announced the expansion of AWS Educate to students ages 14 and older, bringing access to the cloud and its many applications to secondary school students around the world. AWS Educate delivers personalized pathways for students, including content, knowledge checks, and the opportunity to earn AWS Educate Badges that showcase their accomplishments. Each pathway guides the learner through a specific cloud journey. The specialized introductory content and hands-on activities are designed to get young students comfortable with the basics of cloud computing and to introduce them to tools such as AWS’s AI services including Amazon Lex, Amazon Polly and Amazon Rekognition.
Beginning students are presented with a series of “missions” designed to introduce them to foundational computer science and cloud computing topics. Upon successful completion, the students earn their first AWS Educate Badge in Cloud Literacy. Students wishing to pursue more advanced learning will have access to the existing AWS Educate features such as in-depth Cloud Pathways and access to the AWS console. Once they reach the age of 18, they will also gain access to the AWS Educate Job Board, which features jobs and internships from leading cloud companies around the world.
To learn more, visit https://aws.amazon.com/education/awseducate/.