Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
English for the
under-served: technology
to close the digital divide
Michael Carrier
Highdale Consulting
ICC Conference, Santorini, 2018
Outline - ELT4D
• Who are the under-served?
• Challenges - What do they
need?
• Frugal Tech solutions
• Content solutions
• Next…. ‘The key premise is that the
global spread of ICTs has
increased inequality, and that
the poorest and most
marginalised have therefore
failed sufficiently to benefit. ’
UNESCO
‘When we achieve a digital
society that serves everyone,
we have the potential to
improve the lives of millions of
vulnerable people around the
world’
Digital Alliance for Impact
Who are the
under-served?
Even though there are more phones than people,
only ca. 50% have online access & need:
• Access to power
• Access to low-cost connectivity
• Access to affordable DATA
Digital divide
UN SDGs
4
Who are the
under-served?
Digital divide –
Base of the Pyramid
• Emerging economies ($1-$10/day)
• Developing economies: growing middle class
($10-$100/day)
Who are the ‘next billion’?
Africa
Middle class doubles by 2030 to
0.5 – 1 billion
India
Middle class market bigger than
USA or China by 2039
Asia
Middle class doubles by 2030 to
3.5 billion
South America
Slower increase in middle class
‘’Over the next two decades, the
middle class is expected to expand by
another three billion, coming almost
exclusively from the emerging world. ‘’
Ernst & Young
What do they need?
They need English for:
• Education, employment, mobility
• Access to global knowledge
• Study readiness
Euromonitor reports @ BC
They lack access to:
• Power
• Connectivity
• Devices
• Data plans
• Teachers
• Learning materials
• Practice opportunities
English proficiency issues
8
‘Sadly, there is no denying that many of
today’s high school or even college
graduates have difficulty in expressing their
thoughts clearly and logically in English.’
Philippines Inquirer.net
‘it is arguable that proficiency in English is one of the
greatest opportunities that the Nigerian education
system ought to provide children with. However, this
is not the case as too many students, upon
completion of secondary school in grade 12, lack the
required skills and competencies in the English
Language’ OlayideTikolo, Harvard
Challenges in state schools
Common deficits:
• Shortage of teachers
• Shortage of trained teachers
• Low language proficiency
• Low salaries / better jobs
• Curriculum quality
• Shortage of materials
Policy issues:
• EYE, MTB-MLE
• Mismatch of assessment and teaching
method
• Mismatch between secondary exit and
tertiary needs
• EMI skills gap in HE
Who serves the underserved?
• State education - under-resourced
• Private education - elite access only
• NGO - focused on STEM
• Aid - focused on poverty
• Mobile providers - expensive data
10
Actors:
• Intel Teach
• Microsoft Badaliko
• GIZ et al
• British Council
• US Office of English Language programs
• mEducation Alliance / USAID
• UNESCO & MLW
• Techfugees
Learning
Equality
11
Reflection
How do we support Learning Equality?
Talk to your neighbour about:
• Access
• Equity
• Govt aid
• Low tech options
ELT4D
Tech
solutions
14
Infrastructure: device access
15
Infrastructure: power
16
Infrastructure:
• Solar power
• Renewable power
• Wind-up radio
• LifePlayer
"Renewable energy is absolutely central to the growth of the continent," says Kristine Pearson. "And access to information is key for people to make better choices and improve the quality of their lives."
"Children say that the voice they trust is the voice of the radio."
Kenya, Mozambique, Ethiopia –50,000 children learning from British Council ‘ELT Learning Boxes’ with LifePlayer
17
Infrastructure: connectivity
Infrastructure: portable serversFeatures:
-Battery-powered
-Creates Wi-Fi network (even
without internet connection)
-Storage for learning materials
-Content management portal
-Browser-driven access
Internet in a box
Intel® Education Content Access Point
No Internet Connection?
No Problem.
• Taking the classroom digital is
now easier than ever. Intel®
Education Content Access
Point is an easy-to-use device
specifically designed to store,
manage, and distribute digital
content where connectivity is low
or doesn’t exist.
• It combines the benefits of an
Internet access point and a
stand-alone content server in one
device.
• Content can be uploaded and
organized for access by the
whole classroom.
• Lightweight and portable, it’s
easily moved from room to room
or even taken along on your
teaching adventures outdoors.19
RACHEL
20
RACHEL Plus
Remote Area Community
Hotspot for Education and
Learning
-drives tablets & notebooks
in small offline learning lab
-hosts offline copies of websites,
audio, video, lesson plans:
anything a browser can access
-runs on Ubuntu
-accessible to major OS &
browsers
More than 60% of the world’s population remains
offline. This population is predominantly rural, low
income, elderly, illiterate, or female.
“A common refrain we hear is that children are in
school, the teacher is there, but no-one is
learning. Offline content serves as a resource for
students and teachers to not just educate
themselves, but also develop vital 21st century
skills in digital literacy, research and critical
thinking.” Jeremy Schwarz, WorldPossible.
Offline Content
Rachel:
• Wikipedia offline
• KhanAcademyLite
• 2000 TED talks
• 400 Great Books/Gutenberg
• African Storybook Project
• RadioLab
Other sources:
• GCFLearnfree
• LearnEquality
• Kiwix
• WorldPossible
21
eGranary Project:
• 2,000+ complete websites, including:
• Wikipedia
• Khan Academy
• Project Gutenberg
• MIT OpenCourseWare
• TED Talks
• 1,000+ partial websites
• 150+ academic and medical journals
• 50,000+ books
• 55+ educational software programs
• 80+ computer software applications
ELT4D
Case Studies
https://eltjam.com/english-underserved-alternative-
technologies-bridge-digital-divide/
Guatemala
23
‘’Mundo Posible
recognized that a lack
of reliable connectivity
in remote schools was
hindering indigenous
children’s access to
quality education’’
‘’In 2015 Mundo Posible
Guatemala installed
RACHEL-Plus in 44 schools,
trained 743 teachers, &
provided offline content to
more than 14,000 learners’’
Challenge:
lack of connectivity in rural
areas
Solution:
Offline servers delivering
locally-curated learning
content in remote schools
Case studies
Rwanda
24
Case studies
Bangladesh
“Technology Transforms Education
for Young Refugees”
26
Maureen Mwikail Kamunii, a primary school teacher in Dadaab says that the
programme is improving the overall well-being of the students, increasing
confidence as the tablet-based learning model encourages child-centered
learning: "When they find out information for themselves...it really makes
them engage with the subject."
The Vodafone Foundation has
been providing free WiFi and
phone charging to refugees
arriving in Greece - working
with the UNHCR and
Télécoms Sans Frontières to
provide WiFi in resettlement
camps as well as along the
coast where boats first
arrive.
Infrastructure: Instant network classroom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgtqSwtyPOQ
Internet-in-a-box + Rumie Project
28
Kolibri
29
Plan CeibalChallenge:
• lack of English teachers in rural
areas
Solution:
• Fibre optic cable to the school
• Videoconferencing to each
school
• Remote teacher runs 1-2
lessons per week live by video,
local teacher supports and
extends activities
30
ELT4D
New
classroom
Infrastructure: Classroom tech
Classroom:
• Offline server
• One-to-one device
(e.g. OLPC, Classmate, tablet)
• Mobile BYOD
• Pico projector
• Netop/ Easylab
classroom management
Infrastructure: Classroom tech
Reflector
Infrastructure: PC replacement
• Device + dock + monitor =
full PC experience
• MS Display Dock, Samsung Dex,
Lenovo Link, Nexdock…
• Superbook: laptop shell
• Nokia: ‘shared use’ $20
smartphone
34
Content
solutions
• Core curriculum
• Core training course design
• Core placement test
• Core achievement tests
• Core textbook
• Core skills development
• Core readers
Already free:
• Portals eg BC Learn English
• Apps
• Videos
• Kiwix, Gutenberg etc
OER - Open Source ELT
OER portals
OER - Easier English Wiki
37 https://eewiki.newint.org/index.php
OER - Translation
38
Reflection
What technology and resources could edTechELT providers offer?
ELT4D model
40
Renewable
power
P2P
Wi-Fi
Portable Server
Internal
Wi-Fi
Devices (shared)
OER systems & training
OER materials
OER assessment
Next steps….
• Think of the Next Billion in organisational planning
• Policy development locally/globally
• Influence & lobbying
• Teacher support & training
• Tech funding & access
• Open source materials - content curation
• Open source materials - share your materials with
• Open Source systems – curriculum, schemes of work,
policy guidelines, assessment tools….
• Spread the word…bridge the divide
41
Language for resilience
42
Language & Development Sustainable Development
Goals:
• SDG 4: Ensure inclusive
and quality education for all
and promote lifelong
learning;
• SDG 8: Promote inclusive
and sustainable economic
growth, employment and
decent work for all;
• SDG 16: Promote just,
peaceful and inclusive
societies.
Language related sub-themes:
• Multilingualism for Quality,
Equitable and Inclusive
Education
• Language, Skills and
Sustainable Economic
Growth
• Communication, Peace and
Justice
43
Sustainable development is increasingly viewed from not only an
economic perspective, but also from social and environmental
ones. Long-lasting progress requires all three dimensions to
work together.
Language and communication are crucial enabling factors
helping societies grow, collaborate and become more inclusive.
ELT4D Take Aways
1
2
3
5 Learners need us to Influence our professional networks to get
involved - lobby, act, train, donate material
Learners need equitable access to education and therefore
higher levels of English
Learners need new radical innovation in digital infrastructure &
connectivity
Learners need access to good, free, Open Source ELT content
Teachers need access to good, free, Open Source training and
CPD4
Thanks!
Resources:
Journal of Training, Learning and Culturewww.icc-languages.eu/tlcjournal
Digital Language Learning & Teaching
www.amazon.co.uk
Comments:
Copy of the presentation:
www.michaelcarrier.com
