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Pakistan Topic Brief: Providing Distance Learning to Hard-to-reach Children (EdTech Hub Helpdesk Response No. 17)

Baloch, I., Kaye, T., Koomar, S., & McBurnie, C. - 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in mass school closures across the world. It is expected that the closures in low- and -middle-income countries (LMICs) will have long-term negative consequences on education and also on broader development outcomes. Countries face a number of obstacles to effectively delivering alternative forms of education. Obstacles include limited experience in facing such challenges, limited teacher digital and pedagogical capacity, and infrastructure constraints related to power and connectivity. Furthermore, inequalities in learning outcomes are expected to widen within LMICs due to the challenges of implementing alternative modes of education in remote, rural or marginalised communities. It is expected that the most marginalised children will feel the most substantial negative impacts on their learning outcomes. Educational technology (EdTech) has been identified as a possible solution to address the acute impact of school closures through its potential to provide distance education. In this light, the DFID Pakistan team requested the EdTech Hub develop a topic brief exploring the use of EdTech to support distance learning in Pakistan. Specifically, the team requested the brief explore ways to provide distance education to children in remote rural areas and urban slums. The DFID team also requested that the EdTech Hub explore the different needs of those who have previously been to school in comparison to those who have never enrolled, with reference to EdTech solutions. In order to address these questions, this brief begins with an overview of the Pakistan education landscape. The second section of the brief explores how four modes of alternative education — TV, interactive radio instruction, mobile phones and online learning — can be used to provide alternative education to marginalised groups in Pakistan. Multimodal distance-learning approaches offer the best means of providing education to heterogeneous, hard-to-reach groups. Identifying various tools that can be deployed to meet the needs of specific population segments is an important part of developing a robust distance-learning approach. With this in mind, this section highlights examples of tools that could be used in Pakistan to support a multimodal approach that reaches the most hard-to-reach learners. The third and final section synthesises the article’s findings, presenting recommendations to inform Pakistan’s COVID-19 education response.<br> <br> This topic brief is available on Google Docs.

In April 2020, the MoEVT and the World Bank approached the EdTech Hub to explore the feasibility of implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The parties agreed on three deliverables to support this work. 1. A practical and actionable report analysing key factors to be considered in deploying an e-learning platform in Zanzibar. 2. A report documenting the process of sourcing appropriate digital content, aligning this content with the curriculum and populating the e-learning system accordingly. 3. An implementation plan to guide the deployment of an e-learning system in Zanzibar. This presentation deck is the third deliverable.

In April 2020, the Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and the World Bank approached the EdTech Hub (the Hub) to explore the feasibility of implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The MoEVT, the World Bank and the Hub agreed that the Hub would work with the MoEVT to develop: A practical and actionable report analysing key factors to be considered in deploying an e-learning platform in Zanzibar. A report documenting the process of sourcing appropriate digital content, aligning this content with the curriculum and populating the e-learning system accordingly. An implementation plan to guide the deployment of the e-learning system. This document addresses part two of the request and is an elaboration of the digital content selection, curation and adaptation process suggested in the first report. However, this document is a stand-alone piece that does not require familiarity with any of the other deliverables.

Deploying an e-Learning Environment in Zanzibar: Feasibility Assessment

Groeneveld, C., Kibga, E., & Kaye, T. - 2020

The Zanzibar Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) and the World Bank (the Bank) approached the EdTech Hub (the Hub) in April 2020 to explore the feasibility of implementing a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The Hub was requested to focus primarily on the deployment of a VLE in lower secondary education, and this report consequently focuses primarily on this group. The report is structured in four sections: An introduction to provide the background and guiding principles for the engagement with a short overview of the methodology applied.  An analysis of the Zanzibar education system with a particular focus on elements relevant to deploying a VLE. This includes the status of ICT infrastructure, and a summary of the stakeholders who will play a role in using or implementing a VLE.  A third section that discusses types of VLEs and content organisation, and their applicability to the Zanzibar ecosystem.  A conclusion with recommendations for Zanzibar, including short- and long-term steps. In this collaboration with Zanzibar’s MoEVT, the Hub team sought to understand the purpose of the proposed VLE. Based on discussions and user scenarios, we identified two main education challenges a VLE may help to resolve. In the short term, students cannot go to school during the COVID-19 crisis, but need access to educational content. There is content, but no flexible and versatile platform to disseminate content to all students. In the long term, a mechanism to provide students with access to quality, curriculum-aligned content in school, or remotely, is required.

Nepal “Ask me anything” Session: Responses to audience questions (EdTech Hub Helpdesk Response No. 13)

Kaye, T., Groeneveld, C., Moss, C., & Haßler, B. - 2020 - EdTech Hub

On Thursday, 30 April 2020, the EdTech Hub participated in an “Ask me anything” session for policy-makers and funders in Nepal. The session focused on designing high-quality, effective, distance education programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included high-level officials from the Nepalese government (e.g., the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Curriculum Development Office and the Education Review Office), representatives from development partners (e.g., the World Bank, UNICEF and USAID) and other education organisations (e.g., OLE Nepal).  The session was convened for two purposes. First, to consider international good practice and current trends in distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic, presented by the World Bank EduTech team and the EdTech Hub. Second, for the EdTech Hub team to gather questions from participants, to be able to target guidance specifically to the situation in Nepal.  This document provides answers to a consolidated list of 10 questions received from stakeholders during the session. To consolidate any overlap, we have occasionally combined multiple questions into one. In other cases, where multiple important issues required a focused response, we split apart questions.

Using EdTech in Settings of Fragility, Conflict and Violence: A Curated Resource List [EdTech Hub Helpdesk Request]

Koomar, S., Moss Coflan, C., & Kaye, T. - 2020 - The EdTech Hub

This curated list of resources collates interventions that effectively deploy education technology in settings of fragility, conflict and violence (FCV). The World Bank (2020) states that by 2030 FCV settings will be home to up to two thirds of the world’s extreme poor; these settings have become increasingly complex over the past decade, with the COVID-19 pandemic threatening to exacerbate existing challenges. This list explores effective uses of EdTech in FCV settings. It particularly emphasises interventions and evidence relevant to the Yemeni context and distance learning during the  COVID-19 crisis. These resources were selected with the intention to include practical recommendations on technology-enabled interventions which could support a proposed national distance learning system in Yemen.

Pakistan Distance-Learning Topic Brief: Primary-level Deaf Children (Helpdesk Response No. 16)

Lynch, P., Kaye, T., & Terlektsi, E. - 2020 - EdTech Hub

The COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted the ability of national education actors to provide access to education services for all students.This brief provides guidance and recommendations on how to support the education of deaf children in Pakistan using alternative learning approaches. It presents the rationale for adopting certain teaching and learning strategies when supporting the learning and well-being of deaf children during global uncertainty. Children with deafness and hearing loss are particularly vulnerable now that schools are closed. They are isolated at home and unable to access information as easily as when they were attending school. This brief presents some of the practices that are reportedly working well for deaf children in different contexts.

Since the onset of COVID-19, governments have launched technology-supported education interventions to ensure children learn. This paper offers a narrative synthesis of emerging evidence on technology-based education to understand the current experiences of learners, teachers and families. Studies find that few students in low- and middle-income countries have access to technology-supported learning with the most marginalised children appearing to have the least educational opportunities. As such, the education response to COVID-19 could widen existing inequalities.

In recent months, the EdTech Hub has produced a range of documents to support and guide countries as they develop and implement plans to help students keep learning during school closures. Some of the work we have produced includes: a […]