Blogs, commentaries, and reports on education technology (EdTech) topics so often highlight the “rapidly changing” nature of technology. More often than not, this is framed as a challenge or obstacle. There are technologies and EdTech efforts, however, that stand the test of time and continue to be relevant for many years.
The 2015-2017 Project Reconnect is one such effort.
Assessment often gets a bad rap. Education stakeholders worry that teachers are teaching to the test rather than teaching to ensure that students have the skills they need to be successful in the world. They also worry that assessments sometimes get used for the wrong purposes—to punish low-performing schools or teachers, for instance—or don’t get used at all, wasting scarce resources. However, when used right—to inform instruction—assessments are absolutely critical. In low-income countries, the lack of systematic large-scale assessments has often meant that governments and other stakeholders do not have a clear picture of learning gaps, which handicaps efforts to address those gaps.
Imagine you’re the fleet manager for a logistics company. You know the exact destination for each of your trucks, and when they need to make their deliveries. You also know what region of the country the trucks are departing from, but you’re not sure what city they’re in, or in which direction they are pointed. What’s more: There are 50 of these trucks, all parked in different, unknown intersections.
August 26th is International Women's Equality Day around the world. However, achieving equality for women isn't just an issue for "grown ups". Sensitizing children about gender equity and inclusion in the context of everyday media messages and educational resources helps the learners appreciate diversity and alternative gender roles at an early age.
This commentary was written by Barbara Trudell, Director of SIL Africa Learning & Development, and Peggy Dubeck, Senior Literacy Researcher at RTI International
