Our mission

Learning Equality is committed to enabling every person in the world to achieve a quality basic education, through supporting the creation and distribution of open educational resources, and facilitating their use around the world. Through this work, we aim to build a new, open, and fundamentally student-centered educational model, and ultimately promote human flourishing.

Our story

The year was 2012. Jamie Alexandre was part way through his Ph.D. in Cognitive Science at the University of California at San Diego. That summer, Jamie had the opportunity of interning at Khan Academy, and was inspired by the vision of open education enabling universal access.

But at the time, the global connectivity divide saw ⅔ of the world's population unable to access the Internet and take part. It was also around that time that the low-cost, pocket-sized, Raspberry Pi computer hit the market. And when it did, something clicked for Jamie: the game-changing potential this mini portable computer could have in enabling new educational opportunities for communities in the most remote areas of the globe. Along with a fellow intern, they created a prototype of software that could distribute Khan Academy videos and exercises offline, using the Raspberry Pi.

That fall, when Jamie headed back to UC San Diego, he found support from a group of undergrads, and fellow Ph.D. student Richard Tibbles, who, with a background in teaching and teacher training, helped ensure that the edtech they were developing addressed the needs of educators as well as learners – something imprinted in Learning Equality's DNA to this day.

Driven to create a more equitable, inclusive, and socially just world where all learners could flourish, the hopeful group of students worked tirelessly, cramped in a tiny office at UC San Diego, on a learning platform that would not only enable offline use of Khan Academy's videos and exercises, but also provide built-in supportive tooling for educators. And just like that, KA Lite was born.

Officially launched December 2012 via Reddit and Hacker News, KA Lite grabbed the attention of Liz Vu, a Ph.D. candidate with a research background in Marine Biology who was motivated to volunteer, and jumped on board to help field the enthusiastic global response: along with rapid uptake came a flood of requests for support, features, and partnerships. It was a clear indication of not just a hypothetical need, but also a strong global demand and readiness for offline-first edtech, with most of the world still facing connectivity barriers to participation.

This enthusiastic response bolstered the group's decision to go against the “online” current, and focus on developing offline-first education technology that was inclusive, co-designed with community, and adaptable to meet diverse educational needs. This bold move challenged the idea that offline-first edtech was "not needed" or "too hard", and advanced the possibilities for edtech in low-resource, low connectivity environments.

In order to achieve their vision of all learners having agency to create positive transformation in their own lives and in the world, the group incorporated Learning Equality as a nonprofit organization in April of 2013.

Year by year since, Learning Equality’s impact has flourished thanks to the unwavering efforts of its global community, who have worked tirelessly to support learners and educators, and to the passion and talent of its diverse team, carefully selected to steward key areas of the organization, including: Educator Support, Community, Impact, Monitoring & Evaluation, Partnerships, Systems Infrastructure, Software Engineering, and more.

You can learn more about the people of Learning Equality here.