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Nelson company offers online answers in face of potential school closure questions

Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
By Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
January 10th, 2022

The ever-increasing threat of school closures in the midst of the fifth wave of COVID-19 has many parents casting about for answers as to how they might school their children.

With the re-start of the school year after Christmas break delayed one week — and a new slate of restrictions, including the expectation of school closures — there is now a real concern amongst parents of school-aged children on how their educational needs will be met.

But a local online education company is stepping up right now to offer parents and teachers unlimited open access to “premium interactive educational content” contained in its library until Jan. 31, 2022.

Called Live It Earth, the Nelson-based online learning startup only requires a free account to be set up in order to begin the learning.

“We know that things are tough for parents and teachers right now with schools closed and people getting sick,” said Live It Earth CEO, Mike Irvine, in a press release. “So we want to help out by opening up our online learning materials to everyone at no cost.”

Live It Earth “makes learning fun by delivering programs that are designed to spark conversations and inspire deeper learning,” Irvine pointed out.

Although the company is a fresh face on the educational scene, it has not gone unnoticed. It was recently named a finalist for the 2021 Company of the Year – Startup award from the BC Tech Association.

 What’s involved

With the account people can have access to hundreds of hours of educational programs — including activities and prompts to inspire kids to learn on their own.

But it’s not all screen-based learning, Irvine stated, with many lessons focused outside classrooms.

In addition, there is a series of eight new interactive episodes per school year with lessons that “take kids up close and personal with wildlife, trek them to lava-spewing volcanoes and explore issues like natural resource transition, ocean plastics and wildfires,” he said.

Irvine called it guilt-free screen time.

“It’s a great way to get kids engaged while you’re in those Zoom meetings, and also inspire them to go out and learn in their back yard when the programs are over.”

 Getting there

Anyone can access the entire Live It Earth library for the rest of January 2022 by visiting https://app.liveit.earth/ and creating a free account.

• Visit www.liveit.earth for more information, or contact colin@liveit.earth.

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