Free SAS educational app generates money for UN sustainability goals while students learn, and is available in App Store

GatherIQ™, from SAS and Curriculum Pathways, is bolstered by partnerships with Zoe Empowers, WaterAid, Girls Who Code, DoSomething.org, World’s Largest Lesson, Participate Learning and others

What if a high school student, concerned about poverty, could generate money for that cause simply by studying it? That will soon be possible through GatherIQ™, a free app and website that teaches students about the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) for 2030 and inspires them to take action to make the world a better place. And by the very act of exploring and interacting with GatherIQ, users will unlock donations to organizations supporting the Global Goals mission.

The latest donation campaign will focus on the goal of No Poverty and will benefit Zoe Empowers, a GatherIQ partner. Zoe Empowers equips orphans with tools and training to overcome life-threatening poverty.

“We are able to promote our work and methodology through GatherIQ to bring awareness to the issues of and solutions to extreme poverty,” said Gaston Warner, CEO, Zoe Empowers. “GatherIQ offers an innovative way to tap into the innate passion and desire of young people to change the world, in a classroom setting.”

The Global Goals address many critical challenges, including poverty, hunger, gender inequality, lack of water and sanitation, and education inequality. GatherIQ’s story-based content and videos virtually transport students around the globe as they learn about each Global Goal. Students can interact through quizzes and data visualizations.

Data literacy is a critical skill for students living in an age defined by data and analytics. GatherIQ is the latest free educational offering from SAS, a global leader in analytics software for business. Through free software, advocacy, volunteerism and partnerships with educational institutions and nonprofits, SAS supports its belief in quality education for all. For over 20 years, SAS has produced educational K-12 software for schools through a philanthropic division, Curriculum Pathways.

A beta version of GatherIQ is being showcased this week at the International Society for Technology in Education Conference (ISTE 2019). To continue supporting organizations that are dedicating their efforts toward achieving the Global Goals, microdonations are available this summer for users to unlock donations for ZOE Empowers. A similar effort raised $5,000 for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas during SAS^® Global Forum in April.

“GatherIQ is an intersection of SAS Data for Good efforts and the company’s enduring commitment to education,” said Susan Ellis, Director of Corporate Social Innovation at SAS. “The Global Goals are an ideal basis for instruction that empowers teachers and inspires learners. As we add additional content for each goal, we will cast a wide net for corporate and nonprofit partners that share our commitment to improving education and the world.”

Putting GatherIQ™ into action in the classroom

GatherIQ’s resources are perfect for project-based learning and are easily integrated into classroom instruction through Curriculum Pathways^® Crio™, a free digital lesson building platform. Educators can create and customize lessons for any class size or type.  

The curriculum experts from Curriculum Pathways have developed over 2,000 resources that align with education standards. Through Crio, teachers can draw from these resources, as well as content from GatherIQ, to jump-start classroom projects that are relevant to what is happening in the world today. In addition to opening new windows to our world, GatherIQ’s gamification challenges students to make an impact. 

As students explore the app, they will uncover microdonations that benefit nonprofits working on the Global Goals. Students learn how organizations are making a difference while also climbing the ranks of other students to unlock more donations. Each donation a student finds will range from 5 cents to 25 cents. When thousands of students unlock the microdonations, their efforts turn into real change. 

For instance, student action in GatherIQ will ultimately fund a water accessibility nonprofit that is building a well for a community in need. When learning about poverty, students will transform the life of an impoverished family by donating a small flock of chickens through an organization focused on eliminating poverty.  

Current nonprofit partners include Girls Who Code, the UN International Organization for Migration, DoSomething.org, WaterAid and Rise Against Hunger, among others.

Partnerships to create more globally aware students

SAS has just launched two partnerships with organizations devoted to fostering global education by exposing students to a variety of cultural experiences and preparing them for success in an increasingly connected world.

Launched by the UN, the World’s Largest Lesson produces free and creative resources for educators to teach lessons, run projects and stimulate action in support of the Global Goals. SAS will use digital-lesson builder Crio to transform many of the World’s Largest Lesson’s static lessons into interactive ones with assessments and feedback capabilities built in. SAS will also integrate content from the World’s Largest Lesson’s library of compelling and engaging content.

SAS and Participate Learning will co-create a new learning experience focused on teaching the Global Goals with Crio. Participate Learning seeks to integrate Global Goals into instruction to help students become more culturally aware, learn empathy and become more active citizens.

Catch GatherIQ™, Crio™ and Curriculum Pathways^® at ISTE 2019

GatherIQ is on display at Booth 700 at the International Society for Technology in Education Conference (ISTE 2019), along with Crio, CodeSnaps and other Curriculum Pathways resources.

Attendees can also learn more at the poster session U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: A Global Scaffolding for Inquiry-Based Learning, taking place from 1 to 3 p.m. at Level 4, Terrace Ballroom Lobby, Table 46.

SAS will also show CodeSnaps at the conference. CodeSnaps is a no-cost app that teaches coding basics by enticing students to actively work together, hands-on, to control Sphero, an app-enabled robotic ball that students command using code and an iPad^®. CodeSnaps can be used in any learning environment, including traditional and blended classrooms, 1-to-1 or at home. The collaborative coding activity requires only one Sphero robot and one tablet.

Crio and CodeSnaps are two of the more than 2,000 free tools, resources and apps from SAS covering English language arts, mathematics, sci­ence, social studies and Spanish. Used by nearly 5 million teachers and students in traditional, virtual and home schools, Curriculum Pathways increases student learning and teacher effectiveness by targeting higher-order thinking skills. Resources are mapped to individual state standards.

Continuing investment in education and a skilled workforce

From pre-K to adult learners, SAS education programs seek to create stronger foundations and brighter futures for students and adult learners. Education has been the company’s primary philanthropic focus for more than 25 years and was a key pillar of a recently announced $1 billion AI investment.

In addition to Curriculum Pathways, Crio, CodeSnaps and GatherIQ, SAS offers free and low-cost software and programs to build the current and future generations of analytics talent. SAS offers many flexible ways for students and adult learners to learn SAS analytics and data skills:

• SAS Programming for High School provides five days of training, all instructional materials, assessments and teaching guides necessary for educators to teach SAS programming to high school students for free.
• SAS^® Viya^® for Learners offers free access to AI and machine learning software for higher education educators and students.
• SAS University Edition and SAS OnDemand for Academics provide educators, students, researchers and independent learners free access to SAS software.
• Free e-learning and video tutorials are available for a variety of analytics topics.
• SAS has collaborated with colleges and universities around the world to launch 75 degree and 212 joint certificate programs in analytics and related disciplines.
• A SAS Learning Subscription offers e-learning, help from experts, digital badging and performance tracking to help people plot a path to successful certification.