"There is no one-size-fits-all way in which governments should promote and implement initiatives that use digital technologies to improve the learning outcomes of the most marginalised, and governments always need to take into consideration their local contexts and priorities. However, in very gener
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al terms, the following order of initial priorities and actions is often appropriate: 1. Creating a long-term cross-party vision for ensuring that digital technologies are used to enhance learning by the poorest and most marginalised; 2. Establishing an integrated and holistic cross-government team to deliver that vision; 3. Beginning by ensuring that all teacher training colleges have as high-quality digital infrastructures as affordable, and that pre-service and in-service training programmes are implemented to ensure that teachers are trained in appropriate and relevant pedagogies; 4. Prioritising the specific educational challenges for which digital technologies can have the most significant impact for the most marginalised in your country (this could, for example, be high numbers of refugees, very dispersed island communities, or numerous minority ethnic groups for whom learning content in the main language is inappropriate); 5. Identifying and implementing technology-relevant (in terms of what is both feasible and affordable) approaches to resolve these challenges, remembering that low-tech options (such as radio or TV) and Open Educational Resources can often deliver very cost-effective and resilient options, and that multi-sector partnerships with the private sector and civil society can be valuable in ensuring appropriateness and sustainability; 6. At all times ensuring that security, safety and privacy receive the highest priority in using digital technology for delivering education and training, especially for children and vulnerable adults." (Pages 12-13)
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"The aim of the report has been to identify data about reading habits of the population in a selection of countries, then to summarise them. Our hope is that this report will form an empirical base and a starting point for further research and discussions regarding this important topic for the inter
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national publishing industry. The results can be summed up as the following: There is a global and clear trend that the traditional reading of books has declined over the last 20 years; The level of decrease in reading varies from country to country; In many countries the curve has flattened, and there is now a slight increase; The decline is strongest in the younger age groups, specifically for older youth and young adults; Women generally read more than men. Older readers are the most faithful readers; More readers read fewer books than before; More readers read less frequently; The number of readers who read every day is decreasing, while the number of readers reading several times a week is increasing; The number of non-readers is declining; Several countries show an increase in leisure reading; There are plenty of reading stimulation activities directed at children, fewer for adults; Reading stimulation activities are often quantitative, such as reading competitions rewarding the highest amount of read pages; Many reading activities are directed at children and aim to stimulate reading during holidays; There are also reading measures that have a qualitative focus, for example days focusing on reading out loud, book purchasing or particular dissemination activities; • Book donations are important in many countries in order to augment the selection of books." (Executive summary)
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"The Guidelines provide practical directions for the use of distance education tools and practices to support teaching and learning and offer suggestions on the use of appropriate technology to address the social and pedagogical issues of learning in a crisis situation. The purpose is to provide a r
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oad map for decision makers in governments and institutions to invest in the systematic integration of good distance education practices in their specific contexts, keeping in view the challenges of equity and inclusion. Parents and students can benefit from the Guidelines by adopting appropriate practices that will facilitate the learning process." (Purpose of the guidelines, page 3)
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"This Guidance aims to help teachers understand key issues related to home-based distance learning during COVID-19 school closures and design and facilitate effective learning activities. While we fully recognize the complementary relationship between formal and non-formal education, and continuity
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of studies across education and training levels throughout lifelong learning pathways, this Guidance includes resources, examples and tips for teachers and educators from pre-primary to upper-secondary level." (Page 7)
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"This report, and the survey findings behind it, provides a unique insight into the perspectives of EdTech experts regarding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education in Africa. It is based on the findings of a survey of the eLearning Africa network, which attracted approximately 1650 respons
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es from respondents in 52 countries in Africa. 15 countries (29%) provide 1217 (73%) of the responses. 52% of the respondents are directly involved in the education sector and 9% are in the ICT sector. 71% work for government or not-for-profit organisations, and 21% for for-profit businesses. 40% are teachers / lecturers / professors, and 13% are ICT / EdTech specialists or entrepreneurs. The sample represents a group of experts rather than a cross-section of the population, yet the findings of the survey are undoubtedly significant [...] Survey respondents were clear in highlighting the three main obstacles for learners in the midst of school shutdown: a lack of access to technology, an unsuitable home learning environment, and a lack of access to learning materials. For teachers, the main impediment was the lack of appropriate training to design and manage distance learning programmes. This was compounded by a lack of infrastructure: electricity, connectivity, devices; and a lack of appropriate learning materials: books, television and internet-enabled devices. The findings are clear: poorer students and those most geographically dispersed are most at risk of missing out on education if there is no conventional school to attend. In addition to these difficulties, respondents noted that most teachers were as inadequately prepared and ill-equipped to deal with this new situation as their students were. And similarly, parents were also ill-equipped to support their children’s education at home. While some governments provided ‘sensitisation’ for teachers and parents, many did not. And 83% of respondents thought that their current school curriculum did not lend itself to distance delivery." (Executive summary)
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"This guide provides instructions on how to design and deliver an interactive training course through an app-based messaging platform. Drawing from Grassroot’s pilot teaching leadership and storytelling through WhatsApp, we share tips on pedagogy, participant engagement, and the technical aspects
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of launching a distance-learning course. Part I of the guide describes the pilot course and Part II delves into the details of teaching on WhatsApp. Along with MIT GOV/LAB, our collaborative research partner, we also include lessons on evaluation and learning." (Summary)
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"Ein Fundus mit 101 praxiserprobten Methoden für die Vorbereitung, Durchführung und Evaluierung von Online-Seminaren. Zusammen mit leicht verständlichen technischen Anregungen bietet dieses Werk Anregungen für alle Weiterbildungsprofis, die die Möglichkeiten des Online-Lernens in ihre Seminarge
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staltung mit einbeziehen möchten. Erleben Sie den Trainingsklassiker '101 e-Learning Seminarmethoden' in einer komplett überarbeiteten zeitgemäßen Neufassung. Das Werk bietet zunächst einfache Tools für EinsteigerInnen ins Online-Lernen wie etwa Bedarfserhebungen oder der Umgang mit Downloads. Es schließen sich Methoden zur Begleitung von Seminaren an. Dies sind Tipps, mit denen Sie bestimmte Phasen Ihrer Seminare für sich und Ihre Teilnehmenden zeitlich und örtlich unabhängiger gestalten. Und schließlich erhalten Sie ein riesiges Repertoire an Methodenbeschreibungen für reine Online-Seminare." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"In Rwanda, Save the Children collaborated with Education and Culture Ministries, publishing industry stakeholders, schools, book sellers and libraries in order to strengthen existing systems and increase output and availability of quality local language children’s books. This ‘whole chain’ ap
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proach addresses every step of a book’s journey from authorship to child and emphasizes the need for sustainable, profitable industries which will guarantee availability of local-language, contextually relevant reading materials to support a culture of reading in the long term." (Page 2)
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"With e-learning technologies evolving and expanding at high rates, organizations and institutions around the world are integrating massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other open educational resources (OERs). MOOCs and Open Education in the Global South explores the initiatives that are leveragi
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ng these flexible systems to educate, train, and empower populations previously denied access to such opportunities. Featuring contributors leading efforts in rapidly changing nations and regions, this wide-ranging collection grapples with accreditation, credentialing, quality standards, innovative assessment, learner motivation and attrition, and numerous other issues. The provocative narratives curated in this volume demonstrate how MOOCs and OER can be effectively designed and implemented in vastly different ways in particular settings, as detailed by experts from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific/Oceania, and the Caribbean. This comprehensive text is an essential resource for policy makers, instructional designers, practitioners, administrators, and other MOOC and OER community stakeholders." (Publisher description)
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"This study was carried out with the specific objectives of mapping the present level of mathematical skills of community members, and their radio listening behaviour preferences, with a view to making recommendations for the nature of radio programmes to be produced and broadcast among community me
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mbers to enhance their numerical ability. To this end, the study employed quantitative research design, which involved the survey of a sample of 12,000 respondents taken from among the community members constituting the audience of the community radio stations in the country. The study employed multi-stage sampling to first identify 12 community radio stations, in the first instance, followed by the identification of one thousand households in each of these community radio stations and one respondent from each of the selected households, giving due consideration to the parity of gender. The data collected from each of these 12,000 respondents was processed with the help of descriptive statistical tools to arrive at inferences necessary to achieve the purposes of the study. The study revealed that while community members were comfortable in solving simple mathematical sums and calculating their wages, they experienced difficulties in the use of mathematical skills in the computation of interest, discount, percentage and conversion of scales of measurement. The study further revealed that community members listened to radio extensively and were eager to not just listen to radio programmes based on the imparting of mathematical skills but also willing to adopt a participatory approach in their production, based on their competencies." (Abstract)
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"This book demonstrates how the authors used radio and mobile technologies to improve educational outcomes for over 20,000 displaced and out-of-school children in northeast Nigeria at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency. Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) programs typically interact with a func
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tional classroom teacher. However, the transactional radio the instruction strategy presented provides high-quality, safe, and sensitive education in war-torn societies, where there are no schools or teachers. Summarizing the research and lessons learned from a USAID-funded Technology Enhanced Learning for All (TELA) project in Boko Haram-ravaged northeast Nigeria, the book describes in detail an education-in-emergency strategy based on a "whole of community" approach, with radio and mobile tablets at its core." (Publisher description)
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