This week at World Bank EduTech
week of September 6, 2021
We started the summer exploring five critical questions that our EdTech team will continue to explore over the next year. This Friday, we want to share some interesting related events and resources to help you ease back to work after summer leave.
Addressing the connectivity challenges in LAC Reimagine Education: Technology’s Role in Addressing Education Challenges
The EdTech team, in consultation with Digital Development and LAC region, from the World Bank is collaborating with the Working Group on Innovation and Technology in Education coordinated by the Inter-American Dialogue to engage with a range of stakeholders (companies, ministries of education, regulators, and multilateral organizations) to promote informed debates on practical solutions to address the connectivity challenge. On September 1, several colleagues from the World Bank participated in the initial meeting focused on this challenge, and Emanuela Di Gropello, Practice Manager, gave some closing remarks.
The initiative aims to
- identify the key initiatives adopted by governments and providers to support inclusive connectivity;
- identify bottlenecks that hinder the large-scale implementation to expand connectivity for education;
- combine strategies for securing connectivity; and
- explore strategies to overcome barriers, with focus on sustainable public-private models for connectivity.
Read a report on The Costs of and Response to COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on the Education Sector in LAC.
Blockchain for Education Workshop #4 on the Skills Economy
On September 8, the World Bank’s Blockchain for Education Community of Practice (COP) hosted a workshop focused on the Skills Economy.
Facilitated by the World Bank’s EdTech Team, this COP brings together individuals and organizations working on the use of blockchain technologies to create value in education systems.
- Kick-off event: 10th Anniversary of Evoke — The future of education is now!
- Blockchain and FinTech for Education. What is blockchain and why is it relevant for education
- Education ecosystems/crypto networks. New organizational structures for education focused on open-source standards, as well as legal and regulatory frameworks for countries
The Annual mEducation Alliance Symposia Events are Happening Soon. List of Presenters Announced!
This year’s Symposium theme is “EdTech For Accelerating Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Low-Resource Contexts” and is taking place virtually next September 27–30th. They recently announced the initial presenter line-up for the 2021 mEducation Alliance Symposium.
Representing 22 countries, the 70+ presenting organizations will be showcasing their work in a variety of participatory formats including gallery walks, lightning talks, panels, plenary sessions, and virtual exhibits. To view the full list of invited organizations and speakers, please visit the event page using the link below (they will be adding additional presenters and event features over the next few weeks). The World Bank is an Alliance member of this global community.
- List of Symposium presenters
- Register here.
Latest Tracker Infographic on Use of Radio for Remote Learning
The latest infographic from the global tracker is available! Data shows most countries are marrying low-tech and high-tech options to reach students with remote learning options. For more information on the Education Recovery Tracker and new infographics, take a look here and here.
New Podcast Episode: Adapting Assessments to the Remote Education Setting
We published a new episode of the EduTech podcast series: Adapting Assessments to the Remote Education Setting. Senior Education Technology Specialist Cristobal Cobo is speaking with World Bank colleagues Senior Education Specialist Karthika Radhakrishnan-Nair, Education Specialist Diego Armando Luna Bazaldua, and Consultant Aishwarya Khurana about assessments, how assessments have been adapted to the remote education settings, and lessons can we learn from these experiences for education after the pandemic. Listen on Spotify and Apple.
Some of the resources mentioned in the podcast include the following:
- Evidence from Nepal during COVID-19
- Practical lessons for phone-based assessments of learning
- Assessing outside of the “classroom box” while schools are closed: The potential of phone-based formative assessments to support learning continuity
Remote Learning Through WhatsApp
One of the unsung heroes of remote learning during the COVID pandemic may well be WhatsApp (and similar Apps like WeChat and Telegram) — that Facebook owns, mobile App that over 2 billion people regularly use to communicate, share pictures and videos. In documenting remote learning practices around the world during the pandemic, we found WhatsApp to be a popular technology being used for connecting students, delivering content, assessing students and training teachers. While it is no silver bullet, as all interventions and tools, it needs to be used as part of a systemic approach to improve learning. Care must also be taken to ensure privacy and security as well as following safeguarding protocols. Additionally, there is some evidence supporting messaging (SMS, WhatsApp, etc) as a cost-effective mechanism to enhance learning outcomes. Why was WhatsApp popular for learning during the pandemic? Simple: best technology to use is the one you already have! Below we share how to use WhatsApp for Education and some technical resources:
How to design and deliver a training course on WhatsApp: A detailed step by step guide for designing and delivering a WhatsApp course has been developed by GrassRoots and MIT Governance Lab in South Africa. This guide could be very useful to developing and delivering teacher training courses.
How to create and deliver assessments with WhatsApp: Here is a short video on how to create and support assessments using WhatsApp:
Guidelines for using WhatsApp for remote teaching and to support teachers: Here is a short guide for teachers to use WhatsApp for teaching and Learning from the North-West University (NWU) in South Africa:
And a facilitator guide to design and implement a remote mentoring or coaching model through WhatsApp text-messages in Pakistan.
How to Create a WhatsApp Bot without Coding: Learn how to create a quick WhatsApp Chat Bot in a few minutes without any coding expertise!
An example: Delivering content to students at Home: The Edo State in Nigeria remote learning program EdoBEST@Home utilizes WhatsApp to send content to students, prompt and engage students and enable students to ask questions and receive answers from students.
Download the full publication here. Learn more about the initiative here.
Recommended Reading and Listening
Education and Covid-19: Recovering from the shock created by the pandemic and building back better. This report, part of the Educational Practices Series of UNESCO & International Academy of Education Educational Practices series has been just published. This booklet draws on research-based knowledge generated during the COVID-19 crisis and on previous research on germane topics, to suggest a framework that supports the development of contextually relevant educational strategies to teach during and after the pandemic. It’s available in different languages.
A Podcast: The Education Lost to the Pandemic. An exploration of what students didn’t learn because of the pandemic by NYT Daily.
