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