Leveraging technology for education in the developing world?
Mark West, UNESCO Project Officer Youth Mobile 19 March 2014
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Technology is a means not an aim.
Slide 5
Priorities and objectives come first.
Slide 6
So what specifically are we trying to accomplish?
Slide 7
Expand and improve early childhood care and education
(pre-primary) Ensure free and compulsory education to all primary
school children Life long learning Cut illiteracy rates in half
Eliminate gender disparities in education Improve the quality of
education Education for All
Slide 8
Case study: Nigeria
Slide 9
Zooming in on priority areas
Slide 10
10.5 million children are out of school Net enrollment has
fallen significantly ACCESS
Slide 11
35 million adults cannot read or write 64% are females
LITERACY
Slide 12
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
Slide 13
TROUBLING GAPS ACROSS LINES OF: ClassGeographyGender
Slide 14
Class / Geography / Gender Percentage of 7-16 year olds who
have never been to school in Nigeria
Slide 15
Males: After six years of schooling, 28% were illiterate and
39% were semi-literate Females: 32% illiterate and 52% semi-
literate QUALITY
Slide 16
Given our priorities technology can help.
Slide 17
Increasingly ubiquitous and powerful mobile devices Expanding
applicability for teaching and learning Potential to benefit
learners everywhere
Slide 18
1995 600,000 mobile subscriptions 2005 87 million mobile
subscriptions 2014 +800 million mobile subscriptions In Africa
mobile connectivity is becoming increasingly common
Slide 19
Penetration of Mobile Broadband
Slide 20
Price per gigabyte (in USD)
Slide 21
Mobile connectivity fees represent 2% of gross national income
(GNI) in developed countries and 30% of GNI in developing countries
BUT
Slide 22
Moving toward ubiquity and we should plan for this future
Slide 23
Slide 24
-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
Slide 25
Significance: Learners who might not have access to high-
quality education or even schools often do have working mobile
phones. 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. People generally know how to use mobile phones
for communication and other purposes. Mobile technologies will
become more ubiquitous and powerful in the future. Mobile
technologies will become more ubiquitous and powerful in the
future.
Slide 26
Proven capacity to help the poor
Slide 27
Practical
Slide 28
Invites and sparks local innovation
Slide 29
Excites learners and teachers alike
Slide 30
Fosters new forms of collaboration
Slide 31
Offers solutions for resource poor schools
Slide 32
Policy Guidelines
Slide 33
Expand the reach and equity of education
Slide 34
Facilitate personalized learning
Slide 35
Power anytime, anywhere learning
Slide 36
Provide immediate feedback and assessment
Slide 37
Ensure the productive use of time spent in classrooms