A scalable and sustainable initiative is empowering teachers to deliver better learning outcomes in some of the most deprived areas of Africa.

Many children in sub-Saharan Africa – over 400,000 in Ghana alone according to 2014 UNESCO estimates – either don’t go to school or eventually drop out of education altogether. The scale of the challenge is considerable to say the least, yet one successful program has recently shown how directed investment in technology can make a significant impact within a relatively short time.

The results from an independent evaluation of Train for Tomorrow demonstrated how higher quality teaching can help reverse such negative trends and inspire more children in the world’s most deprived areas to attend school and complete their education.

Over 400,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa don't access education
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Many teachers in countries like Ghana don't have any formal training
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What makes programmes like this so crucial is the fact that such a large proportion of teachers in countries like Ghana haven’t received formal training. According to the Ghanaian Ministry of Education, 45 percent of primary school teachers and 30 percent of those teaching junior high are untrained. This amounts to a staggering 90,000 working teachers in need of acquiring such skills.

Under the Train for Tomorrow programme – which is run by the Varkey Foundation and funded through a $2 million USD grant from philanthropic organization Dubai Cares – 40 ‘hub’ schools were provided with solar powered video-link equipment. This enabled highly qualified teacher trainers based in the country’s capital Accra to hold regular interactive training sessions at those hub schools, where head teachers and school leaders from surrounding areas come to receive their training.

Train for Tomorrow enables qualified teachers to share their knowledge remotely
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The focus of those sessions was on best practice teaching methods and techniques which have been proven to deliver better quality educational outcomes, such as group work, critical thinking, use of higher order thinking skills, reflection and analysis.

40 schools were provided with solar powered video-link equipment
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The program relies on a ripple effect whereby the head teachers and school leaders who participate in the hub school sessions then repeat the training in their own school for other teachers. This strategy managed to amplify the reach of the programme to nearly 5,000 teachers and their 90,000 students. Initially operating from three studios, the foundation has now expanded that number to five larger facilities, all equipped with the latest technology.

An evaluation conducted by Dalberg Global Development Associates showed that teachers going through Train for Tomorrow demonstrated statistically significant improvement in instructional performance. Teachers in the 40 hub schools showed significant improvement in their teaching techniques, demonstrably encouraging cooperative learning – which enhances retention of learning through group work – increased from 13% in the baseline analysis to 60%

“The results of this independent evaluation clearly demonstrate that pioneering EdTech can improve learning in parts of the world that are often off the power grid, have limited access to the internet and have few resources to share,” says Vikas Pota, CEO of the Varkey Foundation.

Pota also added that he hopes the results will encourage more investors to support similar projects, as well as inspiring technology entrepreneurs to come forward with fresh ideas that are hardy enough to improve education where it is needed the most.

Teachers going through the programme significantly improved their performace
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This technology, which earlier this year was used to deliver the world’s first satellite-enabled interactive distance learning project to a Refugee Camp, was also successfully deployed by the Varkey Foundation for the Making Ghanaian Girls Great! (MGCubed) project.

MGCubed is a three-year pilot project funded by the Department for International Development (DFID)’s Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) which used interactive distance learning technology to deliver Maths and English lessons daily to more than 10,000 pupils in 72 of Ghana’s most deprived communities. In addition to delivering after-school club activities covering crucial topics such as reproductive health, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, career guidance and the environment, the MGCubed model was shown to have a significant positive impact on literacy and numeracy skills.

According to the Varkey Foundation, this is a highly replicable model
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Professional Learning Networks have long-lasting impact on teachers’ development
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According to Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) pupils participating in that programme were able to read between 3.21-3.74 more words per minute than those in regular classes, and in numeracy tests MGCubed teaching has been found to increase average scores by the equivalent of one school year.

Professional Learning Networks encouraged by such projects have been shown to have long-lasting positive impacts on teachers’ professional development, and form the basis of scalability and sustainability of the initiatives. Since participants will be able to rely on one another for advice, evaluation and support for the continuous improvement of their own practice, their experience and expertise can be constantly communicated and amplified.

According to the Varkey Foundation, this is a highly replicable model, since the educational and technical expertise deployed create a significant body of assets that can be reused either within the original hub schools, or through installation of the technology package in further schools. The nature of the model means that after the fixed infrastructure costs are paid for, operating costs are minimal, therefore making the long-term effects far reaching and enduring.

“With Train for Tomorrow, our aim is to improve the quality of teaching, and create a positive teaching and learning experience for children in Ghana, through an innovative program model utilizing technology,” adds His Excellency Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares. “The learnings from the final evaluation of the program which has concluded, will contribute to the growing evidence surrounding teacher training modalities, helping strengthen the design and delivery of teacher training programs in developing countries.”

This article was originally published on The Huffington Post

How Pioneering EdTech is Empowering Teachers in Africa https://t.co/Hcitr4BQWv via @HuffPostBlog

— Alice Bonasio (@alicebonasio) November 20, 2017

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Amplifying the Impact of Teaching Through Technology appeared first on Tech Trends.

Most teachers in England think that the careers support offered by their schools is inadequate, and would like to see business playing a bigger role in that area.

A survey by The Varkey Foundation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Times Educational Supplement TES showed that nine in 10 teachers in the UK (87% of the 1100 surveyed) believed that business could help schools by providing mentorships and work placements, for example.

Most teachers would like to see business playing a bigger role in supporting careers advice in schools
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Interestingly, there seems to be a perception among teachers that the best opportunities for their pupils actually lie in the tech sector. When asked which of the top 20 most valuable brands in 2016 they would most like to engage with in their school, their top choices were Apple, Google and Microsoft, with traditional household names like Toyota and BMW coming much lower on the list despite talk of a “modern apprenticeships revival”.

Teacher's top choices for companies they'd like to partner with were Apple, Google and Microsoft
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Vikas Pota, Chief Executive of the Varkey Foundation, said the survey showed that tech companies were teacher’s dream partners:

It is clear that teachers overwhelmingly prefer the involvement of those types of companies to more traditional manufacturing industries, he pointed out.

In some schools, lack of resources saw careers advice being delegated to receptionists
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The quality of careers advice in schools is a contentious issue following the publication of a report by the Commons sub-committee on Education, Skills and the Economy, which says the skills shortage in England is being exacerbated by inadequate support in this area. This follows an equally damning report by the Education Committee last year that raised concerns about issues such as the fact that in some schools career guidance was being delegated to receptionists.

Good information on jobs and opportunities in our schools is the engine of social mobility
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Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, agreed that careers advice in secondary schools in England just isn’t good enough at the moment.

We are denying a generation the opportunity to make the right life choices, as good information on jobs and opportunities in our schools is the engine of social mobility.

Poor careers advice has in fact been shown to have a negative impact on social mobility, since pupils who are the first in their family to go to University may not actually know what it takes to be a surgeon, a barrister or a scientist.  Without solid advice, they might not understand that dropping a language at sixteen, or discontinuing STEM subjects, could severely limit their options further down the track. This is where teachers believe that businesses can have a positive impact, by, for example, providing inspirational speakers that can come to schools and share their experience and advice with students on how they can reach those career aspirations.

With serious skills shortages in the UK, especially in science, engineering and technology, it’s absolutely vital that young people understand the many highly rewarding paths they can choose where they can best make a contribution to our nation, says Stephen Tetlow

A greater involvement by tech companies in schools can help improve the tech skills of young people
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“Not only can technology play a huge role in improving the quality of education, but it is needed in the modern global economy, which demands that young people are technologically savvy. A greater involvement by tech companies in schools can help improve the tech skills of young people. This, in turn, could help reduce the gap between the number of technology jobs and the people qualified to fill them,” added Vikas Pota.

Before rushing in, businesses need to engage teachers in dialogue to find out how they can best contribute
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“Schools are struggling with getting careers advice right,” agreed Ann Mroz, Editor of the Times Educational Supplement. She says that shrinking budgets often mean that schools find themselves under increasing pressure, and careers advice provision is one of the areas that can suffer as a consequence of this. She concludes that it is a positive factor that teachers seem happy to work with businesses in addressing this issue, but stresses that it’s important for those businesses to engage in a dialogue with schools about their specific needs before simply rushing in to help.

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Teachers Partnering with Tech Companies to Plug Skills Gap appeared first on Tech Trends.

Teachers are increasingly embracing technology in the classroom, and one platform is helping them do this.

“When you hear that the average textbook in an under-funded school in the US dates back to 1989 and still refers to the USSR, it really drives home the importance of teacher-created resources in the classroom,” Says Tom Glover, Communications Director at TES Global.

Founded in 1910, TES can hardly lay claim to being the new kids on the education block, but they are nevertheless taking the lead in some important innovations in that space. They are home to the world’s largest online community of teachers, with 8 million registered users, who collectively downloaded over 200 million classroom resources in 2015.

The average textbook in an under-funded school in the US dates back to 1989 and still refers to the USSR
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This represents a significant shift, showing how teachers are embracing technology, specially when it comes to sourcing their lesson materials. TES conducted a survey amongst 3,000 teachers in 2015 found that 69% felt that those sort of community-curated resources were more relevant and useful than textbooks.

Teachers are embracing technology, specially when it comes to sourcing their lesson materials
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Global engagement and demand for shared classroom resources is soaring, with the platform currently attracting around a million downloads per day. TES are now launching new services such as a blended teacher training service in the UK which also supports recruitment.

Global engagement and demand for shared classroom resources is soaring
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The plan is to continue growing globally, specially in markets such as the US and Australia, where they already have about 75% of teachers signed up to the platform. As big as they are, however, Glover stresses that there is a lot of room left to grow, as there are around 70 million teachers worldwide that could benefit from access to such platforms.

there are around 70 million teachers worldwide that could benefit from access to platforms such as TES
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Embracing digital technology is therefore crucial in remaining relevant to teachers, and he marvels at how much the landscape has changed since his own time as a student:

 

“The technology I remember most clearly from my school days in the UK was the BBC Micro computer. It was built by Acorn for the BBC and was adopted by most schools in the UK during the 1980s which completely changed Acorn’s fortunes. Educational games like Granny’s Garden stick in the memory, and also Elite which had quite a cult following.”

Education applications for virtual reality will have an extremely positive impact on classroom engagement
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“I think the education applications for virtual reality are hugely exciting and will have an extremely positive impact on engagement of students in the classroom all over the world, creating real and exciting learning experiences. The costs of something like Google Expeditions (A Virtual Reality education initiative running off Google Cardboard) shows that this doesn’t have to be reserved for the rich. Fundamentally though, I think that education in the future and the technology we use, should be teacher-led. They are the real experts in education and we should be led by them.”

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Building a Global Teaching Community appeared first on Tech Trends.