Leveraging technology for education in the developing world?

Mark West, UNESCO Project OfficerYouth Mobile19 March 2014

Technology is a means not an aim.

Priorities and

objectives come first.

So what specifically are we trying to

accomplish?

Expand and improve early childhood care and education (pre-primary)

Ensure free and compulsory education to all primary school children

Life long learningCut illiteracy rates in halfEliminate gender disparities in

educationImprove the quality of education

Education for All

Case study: Nigeria

Zooming in on priority

areas

10.5 million children are out of school

Net enrollment has fallen significantly

ACCESS

35 million adults cannot read or write

64% are females

LITERACY

Retention for children who start school is relatively good… BUT children from very poor families generally do not even enter school

93% vs. 30%

Average education spending per child by the richest 20% of households in Nigeria is more than ten times higher than spending by the poorest 20% of households

EQUITY

TROUBLING GAPS ACROSS LINES OF: ClassGeographyGender

Class / Geography / Gender

Percentage of 7-16 year olds who have never been to school in Nigeria

Males: After six years of schooling, 28% were illiterate and 39% were semi-literate

Females: 32% illiterate and 52% semi-literate

QUALITY

Given our priorities

technology can help.

Increasingly ubiquitous

and powerful mobile devices

Expanding applicability for teaching and learning

Potential to benefit learners

everywhere

1995600,000 mobile subscriptions

200587 million mobile subscriptions

2014+800 million mobile subscriptions

In Africa mobile connectivity is becoming increasingly common

Penetration of Mobile Broadband

Price per gigabyte (in USD)

Mobile connectivity fees represent 2% of gross national income (GNI) in developed countries

and 30% of GNI in developing countries

BUT…

Moving toward ubiquity and

we should plan for this future

-Basic phone calls-Small screens-No internet compatibility

-Multimedia communication-Feature phones-Limited internet compatibility

-Bona fide computer-Large screen smartphones and tablets-Seamless internet compatibility

Vastly improving functionality

Significance:• Learners who might not have access to

high-quality education or even schools often do have working mobile phones.

• People generally know how to use mobile phones for communication and other purposes.

• Mobile technologies will become more ubiquitous and powerful in the future.

Proven capacity to help the poor

Practical

Invites and sparks local innovation

Excites learners and teachers alike

Fosters new forms of collaboration

Offers solutions for resource poor schools

Policy Guidelines

Expand the reach and equity of education

Facilitate personalized learning

Power anytime, anywhere learning

Provide immediate feedback and assessment

Ensure the productive use of

time spent in classrooms

Build new communities of

students

Support situated learning

Enhance seamless learning

Bridge formal and informal learning

Improve communication and

administration

Maximize cost efficiency

Thank you.

Questions