EdTech, World Bank
March 2021
World Bank
Furthering Quality Education for the Future in the Arab States
First: Consider the World Bank’s 5 Principles for EdTech
ASK WHY?:
In this case - the use of EdTech is to support remote learning at home for students during closure of
school due to COVID 19.
DESIGN FOR SCALE:
EdTech interventions must be designed for scale for all students.
EMPOWERED TEACHERS:
Technology should enhance teachers’ capacity and capabilities for teaching and learning. In remote
learning, the parent is now also a “teacher”.
ENGAGE THE ECOSYSTEM:
MOE should consider a multi-stakeholder approach- engaging actors. Telecom companies,
local/global IT companies, publishers, local EdTech startups
DATA DRIVEN:
Set up feedback mechanisms to be able to collect, analyze and respond to feedback, provide Quality
Assurance.
Principle 1
Principle 2
Principle 3
Principle 4
Principle 5
o How should we understand quality assurance when it comes to online/remote learning (RL)?
• Supply (Quality of the service delivered) Vision,Inclusion,Teachers,Data, Ecosystem. Are we reaching all? Does included needed DLR? Are teachers/parents receiving Support?
• Demand (Quality of the learning experience). Is RL working for learners? Is the RL impactful/engaging? Can teachers interact with learners? Can it maintain the retentions rates?
• Coherence: Is multichannel RL enabling the same or different learning experience? • Integrated: Is RL integrated in the overall education policy (EPD) integrating
Remote/Blended• Comprehensive: Jure (policy) – Facto (practice)• Inclusion: Are we addressing inclusion (disability, language, Access, learning needs)• Comprehensive (360): Infrastructure- Devices- Contents- Teachers – Institutional Capacities
• Experience: How do learners qualify the learning experience?
Will depend on what we define as the objectives of RL
o What measurement tools do we have to monitor and evaluate online/remote learning?
• USAID: A Roadmap for Measuring Distance Learning https://www.edu-links.org/resources/roadmap-measuring-distance-learning
• Online Learning Consortium: The State of Online Learning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A COVID-19 Impact Study for Higher Education https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED608878
• CIEB EduTec Guide: Diagnosis tool to monitor adoption level of educational technology by teachers and schools in public schools. https://cieb.net.br
• EU (DigiCompEdu): SELFIE is a free tool designed to help schools embed digital technologies into teaching, learning and assessment. https://ec.europa.eu/education/schools-go-digital/about-selfie_en
• MENTEP: self-assessment for reflecting pedagogical practice using ICT http://mentep.eun.org/tet-sat
• Danish: DIGITAL COMPETENCE WHEEL an Online Testing Tool That Maps Digital Competences https://digital-competence.eu
World Bank: EdTech Readiness Index: 6 overarching components: School Management, Teachers, Students, Devices, Connectivity, and Digital Resources (in partnership with Imaginable Futures)
What challenges are we facing in-terms of quality assurance measurements?
• Scale and Equity (how we reach the most marginalized). For Everybody• Not only monitoring the supply but also the take up (longitudinal)• Integrate techno and human components (& inst. capacities)• Will RL remain as something “dissociated” from in person L? (We all learn 100% blended)
• Mobile first (and offline friendly when possible)• Test new approaches (quality of the experience). E.g. Fragmenting Contents – Duration
• Learning analytic (addressing privacy concerns)
• Elephant in the room: Research show us patchy picture of Digital Technologies for learning, what do we have to do differently?
Teachers’ Effort
Content Knowledge
Pedagogical Skills
Basic Inputs
Basic Infrastructure
Monitoring & Accountability
Intrinsic Motivation
Attraction
Selection & Deployment
Support
Evaluation
Teachers’ Skills
Standards
Monitoring
Operational Management
Instructional Leadership
Core School Functions
School Knowledge
Management Practices
Managerial Skills
Capacity for Learning
Nutrition Programs
Health Programs
Center-Based Care
Caregiver Skills Capacity
Clarity of Functions
Selection & Deployment
Support
Evaluation
Learning
Inputs & Infrastructure Learners
School Management Teaching
Financing Quality of Bureaucracy National Learning GoalsMandates & AccountabilityImpartial Decision-Making
Attraction
Caregiver FinancialCapacity
Student Attendance
5 Areas to Consider
Platforms
Content
Hosting
Connectivity
Training & Support
• Learning Management Systems• Video Conference System• Standardize as much as possible
• Use own existing content• Supplement with International content/ free Open Resources• Align to the university program/course/ curriculum structure
• Local university• NREN hosting• Public Cloud
• Zero rating LMS sites• Negotiating reduced data costs with Telcos• Explore Universal Service Funds (USF)
• Training for teachers• Help Desk • SMS/ Social Media
Mobile First