Help & Learning for Hosted Participants is an online database of articles, information and guidance designed to support and enrich the hosting experience and is shared with students and their sending parents prior to departure to help set expectations and prepare for their program in the U.S.
Help & Learning for Hosted Participants has a similar look and feel to Help & Learning for Volunteers, so will be user friendly for any volunteers wanting to assist participants in finding resources. Information that would previously have been found in the Welcome to the USA and Safety Tips handbooks is organized according to the various stages of the hosting experience. There is a separate section for Safety information to make it very easy to access and there is a separate section for Intercultural Learning Resources that supports the intercultural learning students have already undertaken in their participation in the Student Learning Journey and AFS Orientations.
What are the objectives of the Help & Learning for Hosted Participants?
- Improve hosted student success with access to information & support.
- Provide information in an online platform that is more accessible for our students' demographic
- Increase hosted student knowledge by increasing the utilization of existing resources.
- Keep materials updated so host students are accessing the most current information
- Improve diversity and inclusivity within materials.
How will students access Help & Learning for Hosted Participants?
Participants will access this resource using the link provided and are then encouraged to add it as a shortcut on their smartphone so that it is accessible in the same way an app* is, see these instructions to help them do that.
Students can find articles by clicking on a section or using the search bar:
If you have any questions about accessing information in Help & Learning for Hosted Participants, please contact AskAFS@afsusa.org
* adding Help & Learning as a shortcut on a mobile device may look like it is an app on your phone, it is not an app and is not available in the app store.
Major Changes from the 2023 Handbooks
- There is no longer a Table of Contents – information can be found by using the search field and entering all or part of the title or content of the article.
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Schools – Information about Private and Boarding School Programs.
- Adjusting to U.S. schools.
- Travel to the U.S – information has been expanded.
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Safety Tips – Online safety information added.
- Online financial scams
- Online exploitation and Sextortion
- New Preparing to Return Home section
- New Intercultural Learning resources section
Scan here to visit Help & Learning for Hosted Participants!