PR86535

LONDON and REDMOND, Washington, Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Microsoft and the Open Data Institute (ODI) announced today the launch of an

Education Open Data Challenge to shine light on the relationship between

broadband access and K-12 (ages 5 to 18 years old) education outcomes. In the

wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Education Open Data Challenge will help

educators and research organizations better understand the potential long-term

impact the ongoing disruption to traditional learning will have on the world's

most vulnerable learners.

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Microsoft and the ODI are encouraging teams that wish to participate in the

challenge to help generate innovative solutions to close the digital divide in

K-12 education to go here (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=1672758439&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheodi.org%2Farticle%2Feducation-open-data-challenge-the-impact-of-digital-access-on-education-during-covid-19%2F&a=here ) to learn more.

The winning team will be invited to elect a non-profit organization of their choice

to receive a GBP 50,000 award, with the runners-up electing non-profit organizations

of their choice to receive GBP 30,000 and GBP 20,000 awards. The challenge is open

to teams and individuals based globally.

"As students around the world increasingly rely on technology and connectivity

to succeed in school, we must find ways to allow every student, everywhere, to

succeed. Combining datasets in new ways can help unlock solutions to expand

equitable and robust access to broadband," said Jennifer Yokoyama, Microsoft

Vice President and Chief IP Counsel. "We're excited to join in the launch of

this Education Open Data Challenge to help close the digital divide and level

the playing field for students around the world."

Participants will receive access to tools and resources from Microsoft, the

ODI, and BroadbandNow, as well as data made available for the first time as

part of this challenge:

    -- Participants will have access to a more granular version of

       Microsoft's U.S. broadband usage data, this time with differential

       privacy applied. Microsoft will make available documentation that

       demonstrates the impact that applying differential privacy has had

       on the data.

    -- The ODI will provide access to several eLearning modules on

       Open Data Essentials (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=2199437693&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheodi.org%2Fservice%2Fcourses-and-training%2Felearning%2F&a=Open+Data+Essentials ),

       Finding Stories in Data (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=2566132503&u=https%3A%2F%2Ffindingstories.learndata.info%2F%23%2Fid%2F58888c96b61c46e176e7e6bb&a=Finding+Stories+in+Data ),

       Guidance for data users on data licensing (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=1715726845&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheodi.org%2Farticle%2Freusers-guide-to-open-data-licensing%2F&a=Guidance+for+data+users+on+data+licensing )

       and How to anonymize datasets (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=3755899100&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheodi.org%2Farticle%2Fanonymising-data-in-times-of-crisis%2F&a=How+to+anonymize+datasets )

       for participants who wish to contribute their own data, as well as

       mentorship. Participants are also able to access free

       MS Learn (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=627367971&u=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Flearn%2F&a=MS+Learn )

       training resources and training modules.

    -- From BroadbandNow, participants will be able to access U.S.

       broadband terrestrial provider data.

The use of privacy-preserving technologies will become more prevalent as

organizations seek to collaborate across the spectrum of data (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=1268928478&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheodi.org%2Fabout-the-odi%2Fthe-data-spectrum%2F&a=spectrum+of+data ). The datasets that will be made

openly available with the challenge will help participants to assess and

understand the effect that technologies such as differential privacy can have

on data insights and analysis.    

"Organizations like Microsoft and BroadbandNow possess a wealth of interesting

data that can be used to provide insights and support decision-makers in the

education sector and beyond, especially as they face unprecedented challenges.

This Challenge will stimulate the exploration of innovative uses for this data,

outside the boundaries of the organizations that hold it," said Jeni Tennison,

Vice President & Chief Strategy Adviser of the ODI. "The ODI is here to help

organizations that want to ensure the data they hold brings the most value to

the sectors, communities and societies they work in."

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted learning for more than 1.6 billion children

and youth worldwide, as governments across the globe have closed educational

institutions to stop the spread of the virus. In response, schools and teachers

have made an unprecedented effort to reach students remotely through distance

learning tools and platforms.  

As the digital divide is expanded by the abrupt global transition to remote

learning, understanding how and where the digital divide affects communities

will be critical for managing the short-term delivery of education and ensuring

a sustainable, equitable economic recovery.

"We are thrilled to participate in providing data for the Open Data Challenge

and look forward to discoveries made by the participants," said John Busby,

Managing Director of BroadbandNow. "Access to affordable broadband internet is

crucial to education and digital equity."

Participating teams will be asked to identify gaps in digital infrastructure

that affect the delivery of education services online, pinpoint potential

impacts on learning outcomes, and suggest innovative and realistic solutions to

address these gaps in a cost-efficient way. Some of the questions the challenge

seeks to answer include:

    -- How do students access remote learning, especially those who may not

       have easy access to digital infrastructure (e.g., technology and

       internet connectivity)?

    -- What level of digital access to learning do students from

       disadvantaged groups have, relative to more advantaged groups?

    -- What is the relationship between levels of digital skills and

       learning outcomes for different demographics?

Participants will have four months to complete the challenge from the opening

date. Individuals and teams interested in participating in the challenge can

learn more and register interest here (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2977290-1&h=1672758439&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheodi.org%2Farticle%2Feducation-open-data-challenge-the-impact-of-digital-access-on-education-during-covid-19%2F&a=here ).

Once registered, individuals will be invited to attend dedicated activities

to preview the data, learn more about it from the involved partners, and get

equipped on how to best use it ahead of the public release on December 10, 2020.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era

of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower

every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

About the Open Data Institute

The ODI was co-founded in 2012 by the inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee

and artificial intelligence expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt to show the value of

data, and to advocate for the innovative use of data to affect positive change

across the globe. We're an independent, non-profit, non-partisan company

headquartered in London, with an international reach. We work with companies

and governments to build an open, trustworthy data ecosystem, where people can

make better decisions using data and manage any harmful impacts.

SOURCE Microsoft Corporation

CONTACT: Microsoft Media Relations, WE Communications for Microsoft, +1 (425)

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