The word archivist has appeared in 90 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 4 in “Stories by Harper Lee to Appear for the First Time in a New Collection” by Alexandra Alter. The article is about literary works Harper Lee wrote before she published her novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”:
She tried and failed to get them published. Scholars and biographers have long thought the stories were lost or destroyed.
But Lee was a meticulous archivist. She stashed the typescripts of the stories, along with the rejection letters, in her New York City apartment, where her executor discovered them after her death in 2016.
Can you correctly use the word archivist in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
If you want a better idea of how archivist can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.
Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.
In February 2025, Alison attended the Omniverse Africa Summit in Lagos, Nigeria, where Alison Founder and CEO Mike Feerick delivered a keynote speech. The summit brought together education leaders and representatives of the Nigerian government to explore the future of education and showcase the outstanding achievements of the Nigerian educational sector.
Mike delivered a memorable message on the transformative power of education and its crucial role in Africa’s development. After his speech, Mike was joined on stage by CNN Africa’s award-winning Senior Editor Africa, Stephanie Busari, and together, they discussed how innovation in education can shape Africa’s future. With access to quality learning still out of reach for many, their conversation explored how digital education can democratise learning, upskill entire workforces, and create new career pathways – all without financial barriers.
As the world’s largest free online learning platform, Alison has long been committed to making education accessible and relevant to all. With over 45 million learners across 193 countries, our presence at this event reinforced our mission to bridge skills gaps, empower individuals, and reshape global education access in Africa and worldwide.
The Future of Online Learning and Certification
The landscape of education is undergoing a profound transformation. As digital learning platforms continue to rise, traditional education models are being redefined, with more learners than ever embracing online education for its flexibility, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. Alison is at the forefront of this shift, with more than 7 million people enrolling in one or more of our 5,500+ free online courses in 2024 alone. Online learning is no longer just an alternative – it’s becoming the norm, empowering millions worldwide to gain valuable skills, earn certifications, and advance their careers without financial barriers.
These facts laid the foundations for Mike’s address to the conference attendees. He highlighted that while only 8% of the world’s population has attended college, technology can educate 100% of people at a fraction of the cost of traditional learning. Soon, anyone will be able to study any subject, at any level, in any language – for free, thanks to AI-powered platforms that will enable full online high schools and universal education access.
Once Mike was joined on stage by Stephanie, they discussed how innovation in education can shape Africa’s future. With access to quality learning still out of reach for many, their conversation explored how digital education can democratise learning, upskill entire workforces, and create new career pathways, all without financial barriers. Mike also emphasised how AI is set to revolutionise hiring practices, allowing employers to test candidates in real-time instead of relying on degrees earned a decade ago, making traditional certificates less relevant.
With Africa projected to make up half of the world’s new workforce by 2030, Alison’s commitment to free, accessible learning ensures that African learners are equipped to thrive in an evolving job market and contribute meaningfully to the world’s economic future.
Opportunities for Nigerians: Skills, Jobs, and Economic Empowerment
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is undergoing significant economic and educational transformation. The country faces a rapidly evolving job market influenced by technology, globalisation, and shifting business needs. However, a considerable skills gap threatens to leave many Nigerians behind in this dynamic landscape. Notably, according to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate stood at 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024, with youth unemployment higher among those with post-secondary education. This indicates a mismatch between educational outcomes and market demands.
Additionally, a 2024 report by the African Development Bank Group highlighted that 66.9% of manufacturing firms in Nigeria experience significant skills gaps, underscoring the need for targeted skills development.
The Omniverse Summit provides a platform for global leaders to discuss how education can address these issues. During his keynote speech, Mike focused on how platforms like Alison can help bridge these gaps by offering Nigerians the opportunity to upskill at no cost. As more Nigerians turn to online learning, they gain access to courses and certifications that can open doors to better job prospects and economic empowerment.
So, what key skills should Nigerians focus on to stay relevant in the workforce over the next five years?
Current Skills Gap in the Nigerian Workforce
1. Technology and digital literacy: Nigeria’s tech sector is growing rapidly, but there is a shortage of skilled professionals, particularly in areas like data analysis, software development, and cybersecurity. As more businesses embrace digital transformation, the demand for tech talent will only increase. Nigerians who develop these skills will be better positioned to land high-demand jobs in the coming years
2. Entrepreneurship and business skills: Nigeria has a growing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but many lack the business management skills to succeed. With the proper training in areas like finance, marketing, and strategic planning, Nigerian entrepreneurs can scale their businesses and create more job opportunities for others. Alison’s free business and entrepreneurship courses, for example, provide essential skills in these areas.
4. Healthcare and wellness: With a rising focus on health and wellness, the demand for healthcare professionals is surging. Nigeria faces significant gaps in skilled healthcare workers, ranging from medical practitioners to caregivers and wellness experts. Upgrading skills in these areas will help Nigerians tap into this critical and growing sector.
5. Sustainability and green jobs: As global awareness of environmental issues increases, there is a growing emphasis on sustainability and the green economy. In Nigeria, the green jobs sector is still emerging, but it holds great promise. Courses in environmental science, renewable energy, and sustainable business practices are key to positioning Nigerians for success in this sector.
How Alison is Changing Global Education Access
Alison’s commitment to transforming global education access exemplifies our focus on offering free, high-quality education to anyone, anywhere. With thousands of courses across a range of categories – including business, technology, health, and digital literacy – our platform enables individuals to learn new skills, earn CPD-accredited Certificates, and change the trajectory of their careers without the financial burden of traditional education.
Our impact in Nigeria is particularly significant, as our platform empowers millions of Nigerians to close the skills gap and improve their chances of securing better employment. Nigeria ranks 5th among our top 10 countries, with 2 million registered users and 5 million course enrolments. By offering relevant and in-demand courses, Alison is actively contributing to empowering individuals and communities across the country, ensuring they have the knowledge and credentials to compete in an evolving job market.
Beyond courses, Alison offers career-building tools to help learners confidently navigate their professional journeys. Our Workplace Personality Assessment helps individuals understand their strengths and ideal work environments, while our Mental Health Assessment supports overall well-being in professional settings. The Career Ready Plan provides personalised guidance to help learners map out their career goals, and our Aptitude Test allows users to identify their core competencies and areas for growth. To further support job seekers, our Resumé Builder helps create polished, professional CVs that stand out to employers.
Alison’s Certificates have become a powerful tool for both job seekers and employers as well. As more companies recognise the value of online learning certifications, the gap between job seekers’ qualifications and employers’ expectations continues to close. Alison is a key player in this global shift, helping millions of learners demonstrate competence, gain confidence, and achieve their career goals. By combining free education with essential career tools, Alison is not just equipping individuals with knowledge, but also empowering them to take actionable steps towards meaningful employment and long-term success.
A Vision for the Future
The Omniverse Summit served as an important reminder of how online education can help tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, particularly in developing nations. Alison, with its free and accessible courses, is proud to play a pivotal role in this transformation – empowering people to upskill, gain confidence, and take control of their futures. By closing skills gaps and improving individuals’ relevance in the job market, we are committed to shaping a brighter, more inclusive future for learners everywhere.
If you do, you’re most likely watching boys or men or playing alongside them. Do you wish there were more opportunities for girls and women to play football? Would you watch or play with them if there were?
In “All She Wanted to Do Was Play. Football, That Is.” Alix Strauss interviews Odessa Jenkins, a Women’s Football Hall of Fame running back, who, in 2019, founded a for-profit, full-contact women’s professional football league called the Women’s National Football Conference, or W.N.F.C. The conversation begins:
Why did you create the W.N.F.C.?
Nobody knew women were capable of playing professional football. I wanted to change that. To play professional football at the highest level, women had to give up their financial possibilities of making money or becoming a brand.
The for-profit business entity for women’s football is just starting. I wanted to give women financial opportunity and revenue by building a business with the intention of developing professional women’s football like the N.F.L. with TV contracts, sponsorships, partnerships, community engagement and apparel.
What are the greatest challenges for women in this field?
Professional opportunity. We have been excluded and not taken seriously. There’s no opportunity for girls to play tackle football in grade school right now, there’s only tackle football for boys. So there’s no awareness that adult women can play. That’s going to change because in 2028, women’s flag football will be an Olympic sport.
Are people surprised to learn women are playing professional football?
When people hear football, or think of physical strength, or potentially being violent, they don’t associate that with women. I want to change that narrative.
We have perpetuated a patriarchal idea that good women do soft, feminine things and that beauty is assigned to a certain type of woman. Now women are deciding that beauty can come from their mind and what they can do with their body.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
Did you know that there were women who played professional football? What do you think about Ms. Jenkins’s efforts to create a professional, paid league in which women can make football a career?
Do you think women’s professional football could one day gain as much attention and praise as other women’s sports have recently? Could it become as big as the N.F.L.? Why or why not?
Do you believe there should be more opportunities for women and girls to play football? Does your school allow girls to participate in the sport or have its own girls team? Do you think it should?
Some might say that tackle football is too dangerous for anyone to play. What are your thoughts on that?
Ms. Jenkins says much in the interview about opportunity and equality for girls and women in sports. What is one thing she said that stood out to you, challenged you or resonated with your own experiences, and why?
Two NASA astronauts splashed down off Florida’s Gulf Coast on Tuesday, returning to Earth after a stay on the International Space Station that lasted some nine months longer than they had originally planned.
The return of Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore after 286 days in space completed a voyage that began in June and was supposed to have lasted as few as eight days. Instead, the mission stretched into weeks, then months, as engineers puzzled over problems with the astronauts’ spacecraft.
If you could talk to Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the two astronauts, what would you ask them? Why?
Tell us in the comments, and then read the related live updates to learn more.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
The word presage has appeared in 29 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Feb. 27 in “Oscars 2025 Predictions: Who Will Win Best Picture, Actor and Actress?” by Kyle Buchanan. The article identifies “twists and turns” in determining which movie would likely win the award for Best Picture:
Then “Anora,” a front-runner that was utterly shut out at January’s Golden Globes, scored top prizes from the producers, directors and writers guilds.
Those wins usually presage a best picture victory, especially because the producers guild uses a preferential ballot similar to the Academy’s. But in the late going, another contender began to surge as “Conclave” took the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (where “Anora” was once again shut out) as well as best film honors at the BAFTAs, the British equivalent to the Oscars.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word presage in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
If you want a better idea of how presage can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.
Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.
Above is an image related to one of the news stories we followed recently. Do you know what it shows? At the bottom of this quiz, you’ll find the answer.
Have you been paying attention to current events recently? See how many of these 10 questions you can get right.
At the very start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world was panic-stricken and unsure of the future. Alison’s learning platform created the course, ‘Coronavirus: What You Need to Know‘, to help mitigate the hysteria and help individuals understand this disease. The course was a unique initiative based on the World Health Organisations guidelines, providing a PDF certificate for completing the course, which was available free of charge.
Alison reached out to our vast database, asking for volunteers to translate the original English course into their languages. The response was overwhelming and the course was translated into 70+ languages. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) awarded Alison the Civil Solidarity Prize for helping to educate as many people as possible about the virus, its spread and its effects.
Although the coronavirus is far from over, these translated courses are no longer relevant, as individuals, medical facilities, and governments worldwide now have the necessary localised information and processes in place.
Coronavirus: What You Need to Know
If you would still like to study the course and are interested in its content, you will be able to complete the English course which is updated regularly as new information and strains of the coronavirus become significant.
Alison would like to thank all the volunteers for their time and effort in helping us reach as many people as possible worldwide. Their patience and willingness to continue translating new information as it became available can not be underestimated.
Please click on our ‘Hall of Fame’ link to learn more about our volunteers.
In early 2020, Alison launched the course Coronavirus – What You Need to Know, to help the world combat the Covid-19 pandemic by informing people about the virus and teaching them how to best protect themselves. To make sure that no one was excluded from accessing possibly life-saving information, Alison committed to translating the course into as many languages as possible.
To achieve this ambitious goal, we reached out to our community of Learners, seeking volunteers willing to use their language skills to help translate the course and spread important information on Coronavirus.
At Alison, we were overwhelmed by the goodwill, enthusiasm and solidarity with which our Learners responded to the pandemic. We’d like to thank all of our translators who played their part in spreading free learning that has helped save lives.
Would you like to go to a place where you could tour factories and museums of — and even drive — supercars like Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Maseratis? In northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, sometimes known as “Motor Valley,” you can.
What car or vehicle would you love to learn more about, see how it’s made or take for a spin? Why?
In general, would you consider yourself a car person? Do you like to drive or work on cars? Do you watch racing? Do you dream of one day owning a specific vehicle? Tell us why or why not.
Share in the comments, and then read the related article about a writer’s trip to Motor Valley.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
The word desiccated has appeared 26 times on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on July 15 in The New York Times article “I Put Up a Fence in Maine. Why Did It Cause Such a Fuss?” by Heidi Julavits. She writes about living in a house that includes “the magazine room,” a small space with walls adorned with clippings from fashion, adventure-story and homemaking magazines from the early 1900s, apparently placed there many years ago:
The uninsulated space heats up these days to what must be over 100 degrees during the summer, and for that reason I tend not to go there, and so was surprised to find, while we were supposedly preserving it, that the magazine room is in ruins. The glue is decomposing; the desiccated clippings, when touched, turn to dust. Someday, the walls will be bare.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word desiccated in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
If you want a better idea of how desiccated can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.
Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.
Opportunities for Nigerians: Skills, Jobs, and Economic Empowerment
How Alison is Changing Global Education Access
Thank You To Our Language Translation Volunteers
