Classroom Teaching Technologies

Tangerine:Class is easy-to-use software that assists teachers to systematically collect, analyze, and use students’ results from continuous curriculum-based assessments to inform instructional decisions on grouping, pacing, and materials use. It is optimized for Android devices and offline use.

This presentation was prepared for UNESCO Mobile Learning Week, 2018. It describes an RTI International internal research program to learn whether mobile gaming can be used to assess soft skills important for employability. The presentation was created by Lee Nordstrum and delivered by Sarah Pouezevara.

This is a list of select peer-reviewed publications by International Education staff between 2015 and 2018. For some of the publications, links to information about the documents and related resources can be found on this websiate. Where possible, the DOI has been included in the attached brief.

During 2016/2017, RTI implemented an assistive technology initiative to improve reading instruction in inclusive grade two public school classrooms in 63 schools in five regions of Ethiopia. Project inputs included a smartphone with screening tools for vision and hearing impairment and explicitly accommodated reading lesson plans for reading and writing instruction in mother tongue. The intervention also included a total of 4 days of teacher training and two classroom monitoring visits per teacher. After three months of implementation, teacher attitudes and self-efficacy to inclusive education improved significantly, as did teacher adoption of foundational inclusive practices in the classroom. At the student level, students identified for a potential vision or hearing impairment in intervention classrooms demonstrated similar learning progress compared to their peers without such impairment, although the study found measurable differences in reading achievement between these groups already at baseline. In conclusion, the innovation of using pedagogical support tools on smartphones as assistive technology at the teacher level appeared to have been appropriate for the context of the participating schools in Ethiopia, as well as effective in improving inclusive reading instruction.

Published in the conference proceedings for E-Learn 2015 - October 19-22, 2015 (Kona, Hawaii). A version of this paper was also presented at the mobile learning conference in Helsinki, 2013. Educational innovations in developing countries are expanding due to pressure to achieve quality outcomes at scale and changing markets, where mobile devices are increasingly affordable. m-Learning as a concept has existed prior to the acceleration of these forces, but has gained increasing attention because of them. Growth in mobile phone ownership in developing countries has made mobile-phone enabled education (a form of e-learning) commonplace in formal and informal education. This paper draws on a broad review of existing m-learning programs to illustrate how instructional strategies are being employed, and explore whether these strategies are appropriate for learners in these contexts. It urges thinking differently about the ‘m’ in m-learning, and moving the conversation away from broad notions of mobile learning for any and all purposes to more detailed guidance on how to implement mobile learning from an informed pedagogical perspective that includes attention to local cultures

Presentation delivered at CIES2017 (Atlanta). Providing teachers guidance, mentorship and encouragement in between formal, face-to-face trainings or coaching sessions is challenging. While school directors and other peers may offer teachers support in some contexts, others may experience difficulties, isolation or discouragement in incorporating new practices into their classroom instruction. This paper presents new research from a controlled study in Malawi that sought to extend in-person professional development trainings with a targeted communication campaign over a familiar, low-cost and ubiquitous medium: SMS text messages.

Beginning in Spring 2013, MOE, in collaboration with READ TA, began the process of developing new reading curriculum and materials for MT reading in grades 1-8 by first reviewing and validating findings for what was currently in existence. A similar process for the remaining three activity areas began in May 2013 with rapid baseline assessments for pre- and in-service teacher training and ICT in Colleges of Teacher Education and primary schools. This report is one in the series that outlines not only the findings and validation process for the baseline assessment for the respective activity area, but also presents conclusions and early recommendations to MOE for review and approval so that READ TA work under the associated activity area can begin.

The present study on Mobile Learning and Numeracy examines how mobile learning (m-learning) could influence and improve numeracy education at early grade levels (ages 4-10) especially in low-income countries. Key questions to guide the research include: 1) What are the benefits and challenges of integrating mobile learning into early grade numeracy education? 2) What is the role of a teacher with regard to mobile learning and numeracy education? 3) How can the community and the parents actively contribute to/participate in the child’s numeracy education with the use of mobile devices? and 4) How can mobile technology be used effectively in measuring/assessing numeracy gains? The conclusions and recommendations of this study have been informed by an international working group that met over two days during the first International Numeracy Conference in Berlin in December 2012. We would like to acknowledge the following participants of this working group for their thoughtful contributions: Michaela Brinkhaus (BMZ); Dorothea Coppard (GIZ); Melanie Stilz (Konnektiv Büro für Bildung und Entwicklung); Jens von Roda-Pulkowski (KfW); Abigail Bucuvalas (Sesame Workshop); Mr. Kann Puthy (Primary Education Department, MoEYS Cambodia); Edward Barnett (DFID).

Article published in the International Journal of Educational Development, Volume 49, July 2016, Pages 204–214. Published abstract: Education policymakers are investing in information and communications technology (ICT) without a research base on how ICT improves outcomes. There is limited research on the effects of different types of ICT investments on outcomes. The Kenya Primary Math and Reading (PRIMR) study implemented a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects and cost of three interventions – e-readers for students, tablets for teachers, and the base PRIMR program with tablets for instructional supervisors. The results show that the ICT investments do not improve literacy outcomes significantly more than the base non-ICT instructional program. Our findings show that cost considerations should be paramount in selecting ICT investments in the education sector.

With the aim of providing developing member countries (DMCs) with better guidance for using information and communication technology (ICT) effectively in education, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded a 21-month Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) in Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia, and Samoa. the study team conducted a number of activities in Mongolia, guided by a site assessment and needs analysis. These included (i) a 1-week intensive training program for teachers and training managers, as well as representatives from the Education and Culture Department (ECD), in August 2006; (ii) moderate procurement of equipment and software for SEDP schools; (iii) 2-day follow-on training interventions at each IIREM and SEDP school in the study, in October 2006; and (iv) a 4-day training for trainers with 3-day follow-on regional trainings, in April 2007. Applying a three-group research design, 12 schools were sampled for participation in the study: four schools that had participated in the IIREM project, four schools that received computer equipment under SEDP, and four schools that were sampled as control schools.