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Leveraging technology for education in the developing world? Mark West, UNESCO Project Officer Youth Mobile 19 March 2014

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Technology is a means not an aim.

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Priorities and objectives come first.

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So what specifically are we trying to accomplish?

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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

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Case study: Nigeria

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Zooming in on priority areas

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10.5 million children are out of school Net enrollment has fallen significantly ACCESS

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35 million adults cannot read or write 64% are females LITERACY

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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

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TROUBLING GAPS ACROSS LINES OF: ClassGeographyGender

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Class / Geography / Gender Percentage of 7-16 year olds who have never been to school in Nigeria

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Males: After six years of schooling, 28% were illiterate and 39% were semi-literate Females: 32% illiterate and 52% semi- literate QUALITY

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Given our priorities technology can help.

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Increasingly ubiquitous and powerful mobile devices Expanding applicability for teaching and learning Potential to benefit learners everywhere

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1995 600,000 mobile subscriptions 2005 87 million mobile subscriptions 2014 +800 million mobile subscriptions In Africa mobile connectivity is becoming increasingly common

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Penetration of Mobile Broadband

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Price per gigabyte (in USD)

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Mobile connectivity fees represent 2% of gross national income (GNI) in developed countries and 30% of GNI in developing countries BUT

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Moving toward ubiquity and we should plan for this future

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-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

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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.

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Proven capacity to help the poor

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Practical

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Invites and sparks local innovation

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Excites learners and teachers alike

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Fosters new forms of collaboration

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Offers solutions for resource poor schools

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Policy Guidelines

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Expand the reach and equity of education

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Facilitate personalized learning

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Power anytime, anywhere learning

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Provide immediate feedback and assessment

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Ensure the productive use of time spent in classrooms

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Build new communities of students

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Support situated learning

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Enhance seamless learning

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Bridge formal and informal learning

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Improve communication and administration

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Maximize cost efficiency

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Thank you.

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Questions