This week at World Bank EduTech
6 min readFeb 11, 2022
week of February 7, 2021
This week, we’re sharing potential EdTech responses to 5 Human Capital IDA20 commitments. Technology is a cross-cutting theme in IDA20.
Promote Child Development (HC Policy Commitment 2)
- Consider text-based nudges for parents and caregivers — Providing information on the income-earning benefits of education; sources of funding available; and on the quality of local schools has affected behavior in Chile and Peru, but may need to be complemented with a focus on human connection and trust as a lesson learned in Ghana. Similarly, evidence from Nepal indicates an increase in foundational numeracy during COVID-19 and Botswana showed cost-effective dissemination of math problems of the week.
- Consider Interactive Audio Instruction, SMS and WhatsApp — Zambia Enhancing Early Learning Project includes mobile technology and interactive audio instruction (IAI) for training ECE teachers and caregivers, and the mentoring of interns; as well as use of short message service (SMS) and WhatsApp applications as channels of sharing and exchanging of information with and among teachers and caregivers.
- Consider technology choice and play-based apps — EdTech Hub Research on supporting learning in the early years highlights EdTech has significant potential to support early learning remotely but is important to select right technology for specific intervention and focus on ‘play-based learning’ pedagogy.
Return to school and accelerated recovery of learning loss with special focus on constraints faced by girls. (HC Policy Commitment 3)
- Consider adaptive learning and early warning systems. Review this blog on adaptive learning and 5 enabling conditions to consider and also check out this World Bank EduTech Podcast episode on the lessons from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. This paper shares results from a 4000 school RCT in Guatemala and the importance of nudges for behavioral change.
- Consider virtual tutoring. Tutoring is remarkably effective at helping students learn (with over 80% of the 96 included studies in Brookings article reporting statistically significant effects). Virtual Tutoring using college students shows promising results and reduces cost.
- Consider elements of an open school. Listen to this World Bank EduTech Podcast episode on lessons for open schools and see example of a new project in Senegal to power an open school to reach out of school youth. Also, for returning to school check out the guidance note on using learning assessment including for remote use.
Reduce learning poverty by measuring learning and implementing literacy policy package (HC Policy Commitment 5)
- Consider remote assessment. Check out this World Bank EduTech Podcast episode on how assessments have been adapted to remote education settings, and lessons can we learn from these experiences for education after the pandemic. Also check out this blog on the potential of phone-based formative assessments to support learning continuity as well as this evidence from Kenya.
- Consider track and trace for books and open digital libraries — This World Bank EduTech Podcast episode with the Read@Home teams shares some lessons on use of track and trace and open source digital libraries, such as the Global Digital Library or the Library for All.
- Consider upgrading EMIS 2.0 to address attendance and measurement of learning. This blog on the GOAL project in Gujarat shares an example of administering weekly on-line assessments. Also check out the control and command center — which monitors over 4 billion data points and features an integrated dashboard to monitor digital initiatives in real time including online attendance of teachers and students, assessment/test results, etc.
Promote inclusive societies to meet the needs to persons with disabilities (HC Policy Commitment 6)
- Tune in to the EdTech Landscape Review for learners with disabilities — On February 7, the Inclusive Education Initiative and the Global Disability Innovation Hub launched the “ICT landscape review for learners with disabilities”. You can download the presentation and watch the video recording here.
- Connect with EAP study underway. 43 million of the 240 million youth with disabilities live in the East Asia Pacific Region. One of the projects to emerge from the December EdTech Policy Academy was a study to “identify proven approaches deployed at scale in the EAP region to increase access to both education and learning for students with difficulties in hearing and seeing, using technology.”
- Review flexible digital learning resources. The recently approved Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project supports vulnerable groups with accessible tools and gender sensitive training. Also check out accessible reading materials from Benetech and USAID information on universal design for learning.
Strengthen Public Finance for Human Capital Investments (HC Policy Commitment 8)
- Learn about Universal Service Funds. See blog on universal service funds which are rarely accessed by Ministries of Education to connect schools. And this blog on how MOEs were engaging the ecosystem to deliver remote learning during early days of COVID.
- Explore the Blockchain. See recordings from EdTech Blockchain Community of Practice on facilitating exchange of value in an education ecosystem and the results of the DT4D Evoke pilot project on blockchain for results-based financing in Colombia. Innovations for use of crypto to empower individuals is growing as evidenced in the fastest growing wireless network ever –The helium network with over 500,000 hotspots.
- Learn about challenges of PPP models. Be aware of opportunities and challenges of applying PPP model to EdTech. See results from World Bank PPP review of virtual classroom in Brazil.
Recommended Listening and Reading
- New World Bank EduTech Podcast Episode: Implementing EdTech Initiatives during the Emergency and Recovery Phases of COVID: Lessons from South Asia and Latin America with Omar Arias (World Bank Manager of Global Engagement and Knowledge in the Education Global Practice), Emanuela Di Gropello (World Bank Practice Manager for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean), and Cristian Aedo (World Bank Practice Manager for Education in the South Asia Region).
- New World Bank EduTech Podcast Episode: Creating the Next Generation of Educational Learning Material: Lessons from the Evoke Storytelling Initiative with Ruth Wylie (Assistant Director from the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination), Janhvi Kanoria (Director of Innovation Development from Education Above All), and Colin Maclay (Executive Director of the USC Annenberg School Innovation Lab).
- New Report and Webinar: As a response to COVID-19, Saudi Arabia embarked on a journey to digital and distance education. This new report identifies the strengths of the response in K-12 education and the opportunities for continued educational improvement. You can download the report here in English and Arabic. On February 8, the World Bank hosted a virtual launch for the report. You can watch the launch video here.
