How Wordly Helped Make Learning Accessible for Students on a Nonprofit Budget

Challenge: Engaging Students in Civic Learning Without Exceeding Budget Limits

A small nonprofit based in Canada focused on student civic education wanted to create a program that gave students hands-on experience in debates, workshops, and simulations. The organization wanted the program to be accessible to students from a variety of language backgrounds, while staying within a modest budget.

Four main challenges emerged:

• Language Accessibility: Students needed to follow discussions in multiple languages, including those from multilingual households.‍
• Budget Constraints: Traditional interpretation services and equipment were too costly, and bulky headsets were impractical for teen participants.‍
• Flexible Translation Needs: The program required language support that could adapt to schedule changes and simultaneous sessions, without being tied to rigid interpreter availability.‍
• Seamless Learning: Traditional translation options, like headsets, could be awkward or distracting, making it harder for students to engage comfortably.

Solution: Using AI for Accessible and Affordable Translation

To address these challenges, the nonprofit used Wordly’s real-time AI translation and captions into their event.

• Inclusive Access: Students could follow discussions in multiple languages using their own devices, creating a program that was welcoming to everyone.‍
• Budget-Friendly: The platform offered education translation at a fraction of the cost of live interpreters, with flexible pay-as-you-go options that allowed the nonprofit to stay within budget.‍
• Flexible and Easy to Use: Students could access translation anytime by scanning a QR code on their devices. No bulky equipment was required.‍
• Undetectable Access: Translation on personal devices let students follow discussions privately and seamlessly, keeping the focus on learning rather than on the technology.

This approach allowed the nonprofit to provide meaningful civic learning experiences to students without compromising accessibility or exceeding budget limits.

Results: Supporting Engagement and Inclusion

• High Adoption: At peak, 73% of the students actively used Wordly.‍
• Accessible Program Within Budget: Multilingual access was provided without sacrificing other program elements.‍
• Realistic Learning Experience: Students could follow discussions in real time, reflecting how civic processes operate in practice.‍
• Increased Participation: Teens from diverse language backgrounds engaged more confidently in discussions and activities.‍
• Operational Flexibility: Staff could adjust sessions freely without negotiating interpreter schedules. ‍
• Confident Participation: Students participated more confidently and naturally, as translation blended into the experience instead of standing out

About Wordly

Wordly helps make every meeting, event, and conference instantly accessible across languages.Its AI-powered platform provides accurate translation and captioning in dozens of languages, along with transcripts and summaries, streamlining communication at any scale. Attendees can join via a simple QR code or link, with no downloads or extra equipment required, ensuring seamless participation for virtual, hybrid, or in-person events.

Enterprise-ready, secure, and compliant, Wordly supports everything from small team meetings to large international conferences. It allows everyone to follow along, contribute, and engage without the expense and logistics of human interpreters.

See it in action – book a personalized demo.