Remote Learning response to COVID-19 Knowledge Pack With a focus on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) Last Updated version: October 30, 2020 Overview: What does the World Bank and its Global EdTech team do? How does this Knowledge Pack fit in? Background o World Bank’s goals o World Bank Education Technology team’s vision o World Bank’s 5 EdTech Principles o World Bank’s EdTech Approach o Overview of this Knowledge Pack on Remote Learning response to COVID-19 Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. What are the World Bank’s goals? The World Bank Group has two goals: To end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable way. Back to section overview 3 What is the World Bank’s Education Technology team’s vision? The World Bank’s Education Technology (EdTech) team’s vision is to: Reimagine Human Connections to Transform Teaching and Learning for All Back to section overview 4 What are the World Bank’s 5 EdTech principles? 1 ASK WHY: EdTech policies and projects need to be developed with a clear purpose, strategy and vision of the desired educational change. 2 DESIGN AND ACT AT SCALE FOR ALL: The design of EdTech initiatives should be flexible and user-centered, with an emphasis on equity and inclusion, in order to realize scale and sustainability for all. 3 EMPOWER TEACHERS: Technology should enhance teacher engagement with students through improved access to content, data and networks, helping teachers better support student learning. 4 ENGAGE THE ECOSYSTEM: Education systems should take a whole-of-government and multi-stakeholder approach to engage a broad set of actors to support student learning. 5 BE DATA DRIVEN: Evidence-based decision making within cultures of learning and experimentation, enabled by EdTech, leads to more impactful, responsible and equitable uses of data. 5 Back to section overview What is the World Bank’s 5 EdTech approach? To operationalize the 5 EdTech principles, the World Bank focuses on: discovery, deployment and diffusion of new technologies. Back to section overview 6 Overview: Remote Learning response to COVID-19 Knowledge Pack 1. WHO? o Main target audience & purpose o What is a Knowledge Pack? 2. WHY? o Background context during COVID-19 o World Bank’s 5 EdTech Principles applied to Remote Learning during COVID-19 3. WHAT? o What can policy makers do? 5 Key Messages o EdTech Decision Tree for Ministries of Education (K-12 focus) o Mass Broadcast Technologies: (1) Education Radio (2) Education Television o Costs for Education Radio and Education Television 4. HOW? o Printed Materials o Online Learning (Higher Education and K-12 in Middle-Income contexts) - 5 key components o Supporting and Leveraging Teachers o Supporting Parents 5. Additional Resources • What to read next? o How can I stay in touch with the World Bank’s EdTech team? Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. Overview: Who is this Remote Learning response to COVID-19 Knowledge Pack aimed at serving? 1. WHO? o Main target audience & purpose o What is a Knowledge Pack? Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. Back to main overview What is a Knowledge Pack? Who does it aim to serve? What is a Purpose Main Target Audience Knowledge Pack? Knowledge Packs are resources developed by the World Bank’s EdTech team to serve as A series of short, pragmatic guides short, practical guides on individual topics on individual topics within EdTech This Knowledge Pack aims to serve as within education technology. Given the need that supports the target audience to a resource for Ministries of Education of countries to support out-of-school students make informed yet quick decisions to use remote learning to respond to with more than 80% of countries facing school about EdTech interventions in their COVID-19 based school closures, this Knowledge Pack focuses on work, especially with education closures. Hence, the audience for this remote learning in response to COVID-19 ministries. Knowledge Pack is primarily World with a focus on K-12 (primary and secondary Bank Education staff as well as other education) in low resource environments. non-World Bank decision-makers who The advice is as useful for better resourced are supporting Ministries of Education environments across countries. There is also a with this. section on online learning for higher education. Back to section overview 9 Overview: Why use Remote Learning as a response to COVID-19 ? 2. WHY? o Background context during COVID-19 o World Bank’s 5 EdTech Principles applied to Remote Learning during COVID-19 Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. Back to main overview Background context during COVID-19 • The COVID-19 crisis has left more than 1.5 billion children out of school with more than 85% countries mandating school Click HERE for closures, as per World Bank data as of April 3, 2020. country examples of • With the length of school closures uncertain, countries are attempting to support learning of students out-of-school and in using EdTech to almost all cases, are turning to the use of educational technology (EdTech) to deliver and support remote learning. support teachers and • Middle- and high-income environments are mostly deploying online learning systems (Learning Management Systems, learners during Video Conferencing) with some also using broadcast media like television as a supplementary channel of delivery. COVID-19. However the demand for remote learning has also exposed stark digital divides within countries. • Low-income and Fragile, Conflict and Violence (FCV) affected environments often lack wide-spread connectivity and are deploying alternative EdTech solutions such as radio. %age people using internet* 2017 WB Data (situation hasn’t changed much since) 90 80 70 60 50 50% 40 30 20 10 0 Only 3 of 54 Low Income and FCV countries have Internet penetration rates above 50%. Online learning is not the first option. Alternative edtech options should be considered Internet data- WB Statistics- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS . * Countries are LDCs as per UN https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html and #FCV as per WB- Back to section overview 11 First: Consider World Bank’s 5 EdTech Principles applied to remote learning during COVID-19 ASK WHY: In this case, the use of EdTech is to support remote learning at home for students during Principle 1 COVID-19 based school closures. DESIGN AND ACT AT SCALE FOR ALL: EdTech interventions must be designed for scale for all children. This means (a) using technology that already exists and widely used in the country (b) considering Principle 2 non-technology and low technology solutions and (c) combining technologies for multi-modal delivery such as radio with text messaging. EMPOWER TEACHERS: Technology should enhance teachers’ access to content, data and expertise to Principle 3 improve teaching and learning. In most cases of COVID-19 based remote learning, the parent is also now a “teacher.” ENGAGE THE ECOSYSTEM: Education systems should take a whole-of-government and multi- Principle 4 stakeholder approach, both inside and outside the system. They must bring together stakeholders like telecom companies, publishers, local EdTech startups, radio and TV stations. DATA DRIVEN: Set up feedback mechanisms to collect, analyze and respond to feedback. Data on Principle 5 student learning will need to be collected when schools open to identify learning loses during the crisis. Back to section overview 12 Overview: What is required for a Remote Learning response to COVID-19? 3. WHAT? o What can policy makers do? 5 Key Messages o EdTech Decision Tree for Ministries of Education (K-12 focus) o Mass Broadcast Technologies: o (1) Education Radio o (2) Education Television o Costs for Education Radio and Education Television Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. Back to main overview What can policy makers do? 5 Key Messages 1. Develop both a short-term and medium-long term plan. The short-term plans must focus on emergency responses to keep students learning. The medium-long term plans must prepare for school-reopening, building resilience and transformation to teaching and learning using EdTech. ✓ Remember that we can’t replicate everything that happens in school while at home, but we should take the opportunity to rethink lifelong learning and how to reach out-of-school children and youth as part of a medium-long term plan. 2. Use the most widely used existing technology in the country – For FCV or LICs, most likely, Radio, TV, Mobile Phones. ✓ In the short term, it is not prudent to start buying lots of devices or trying e-learning with no prior experience. This can instead be part of a medium-term plan for resilience and reform. 3. Consider using a combination of multiple technologies to reach as many children as possible. ✓ Multi-pronged approach could include: Radio, TV, Mobile Phones/SMS/WhatsApp, Facebook, e-Books, online learning delivery, and print materials. 4. For online learning, focus on curating existing (open) content rather than developing content. ✓ Developing good content takes time and expertise. Instead, in the short-term, focus on on existing local and international (open education resources) content and align these to your curriculum. 5. Parents and caregivers are critical pieces of the puzzle - they are now also the teachers. ✓ Providing regular guidance and support to parents via Radio, TV, SMS, Facebook. This helps provide them with direction and helps boost morale. Back to section overview 14 EdTech Decision Tree for Ministries of Education (K-12 focus) Start No Have you closed Planning schools yet? Yes Focus on Ramp up No broadcast Proceed Do you have Yes broadcasts, share Is your internet an existing technology schedule widely penetration >50%? education (eg. radio, using broadcast Radio or TV? TV, mobile) media Yes No Focus on Do you have an Do you have CURATING No Yes existing online No Start TV content for all existing learning system? E.g. & Radio grades and open Moodle, Microsoft Lessons subjects? resources Teams, Google Class Yes Focus on supporting teachers, Actions: students & parents: 1. Optimize for mobile-first • Communicate regularly through multiple Proceed channels: Website, Radio, TV, SMS, 2. Increase server capacity 3. Zero rate required websites* WhatsApp, FB Inspired by UNICEF COVID 4. Add broadcast media • Have a helpdesk/helpline 19 Decision Tree. Back to section overview 15 Mass Broadcast Technologies – (1) Education Radio • Over 30 countries have deployed some form of Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) including: • “Because radio is a one-way • LAC - Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela. broadcast medium, IRI programs • Asia - Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Thailand. are not truly interactive in the • Africa - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea,, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, South sense of two-way communication. Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Short pauses provided throughout • IRI has been shown to improve learning outcomes by “between 10% and 20%” when compared with control the lessons allow teachers and learners to stop and react to classrooms not using IRI. – WB IRI toolkit questions and exercises through verbal and physical responses to • IRI has been used to teach mostly all basic primary subjects to audiences of all ages, as well as hard-to- radio characters, group work, reach and out-of-school populations. Most IRI programs have targeted lower primary and pre-school experiments, and other physical students. and intellectual activities while the program is on the air.” • IRI has often targeted improving quality in school but some projects target remote learners. – WB IRI Toolkit • Designs for in-school use with low teacher skills can be ideal for at home use with parents acting as teacher. World Bank funded projects using • Can be rapidly deployed for countries with existing education radio programs. May not be a rapid option for Radio programs: countries without existing programs. But radio is effective in all cases for communication with parents and • Burundi Education Sector teachers e.g. providing daily tips and schedules that support learning. Reconstruction Project (FY 2007-12) Pros: Can reach wide audience, no prior skills needed by students/parents, can be done in local languages. • Burkina Faso Education Access and Quality Improvement Project Cons: Need to develop good scripts to have impact; requires scheduling; can take time to develop scripts for – Active project countries without radio programs. Recommendation for enhanced use of Radio - Set up SMS Short-Codes*/ Toll-free lines for student/parent queries, use SMS to distribute schedules + use Radio to communicate. Back to section overview 16 Mass Broadcast Technologies – (2) Education Television • TV is being currently used by 60+ countries* for remote learning during the COVID-19 crisis. TV broadcasts can be terrestrial or by satellite as well as streamed online. • Possibly the fastest tool to deploy especially for lecture-based classes (can record good teachers teaching without much training). • More than one channel is recommended to reach multiple grades and subjects (negotiate with commercial TV providers for more channels during the day). • Edutainment programs already exist in some countries (e.g. Ubongo, Sesame Street) and Source: Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development can be used as part of the broadcast to support student learning and engagement. • Essential to have and communicate schedules for learning well in advance. • Consider synchronous (real-time*) and asynchronous (on-demand*) sessions. Pros: Fastest deployment for lecture style, TV Video can be recorded/ re-transmitted providing opportunity for students to go back and review or catch if up if missed lesson Cons: Source: Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports of Morocco • Engaging TV lessons/edutainment requires scripts and good production which takes time. • Only useful for areas with TV penetration (missing in some parts of low-income countries). Click HERE for more resources on education TV including (1) • Competition with news/entertainment for children’s attention. country examples of using TV to respond to COVID-19 (2) practical guidance note on starting TV lessons (3) curation of Recommendation for enhanced use of TV: Stream TV online (e.g. via YouTube) if bandwidth permits, education TV resources across the world. distribute schedules by SMS/social media, set up SMS/Toll-free lines for student/parent queries. Back to section overview 17 Costs for Education Radio and Television Radio Costs Television Costs • Costs are in the range of $3-$8 per student per year. • Costs are front loaded with heavy start up costs that include studio and transmission • The World Bank IRI toolkit quoting other equipment, developing curriculum and scripts, production costs as well as training. studies notes that “cost of using television is • Recurrent costs include airtime, distribution of printed materials, improvement of usually higher than that for radio—typically, materials. more than 10 times as high per student • Radio benefits from economies of scale – costs per student reduce as more are reached. reached”. • Educational Television cost components (if Source: World Bank Toolkit “Improving Education starting a new educational television Quality through Interactive channel) include: Radio Instruction (IRI)- A • transmission equipment Toolkit for Policy Makers and Planners” • camera equipment • studio equipment • hiring and training of studio and production staff • recurring costs include renting airtime as well as salaries for studio crew and master teachers. • Costs will be lower for countries with existing educational TV although upgrades of studio or transmission equipment may be required in some cases. Source: Extract from World Bank IRI Toolkit Back to section overview 18 Overview: How can a Remote Learning response to COVID-19 be implemented? 4. HOW? o Printed Materials o Online Learning (Higher Education and K-12 in Middle-Income contexts) - 5 key components o Supporting and Leveraging Teachers o Supporting Parents Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. Back to main overview Printed Materials • Textbooks and printed study guides can be useful resources for students and parents. However, developing and physically distributing print materials during school closure can be challenging and may not the best use of resources. • Distribution is challenging even during non-crisis periods. • Instead: • If schools have not closed yet, plan for students to take existing textbooks home. • Where Ministries have Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) on print materials, make electronic copies widely available online (eg. can be shared via WhatsApp). • Negotiate with publishers to provide electronic copies of book. • Develop simple study guides (in multiple languages) and share electronically (eg. social media, WhatsApp). Many textbooks in India have QR codes. When students scan them, it connects them to further study material and practise • Use newspaper as a medium – Have a daily education supplement/section with assessments. Source: Diksha simple study guides. Pros: Can reach everyone, no additional skills needed (except literacy skills). Cons: Requires literacy skills, illiterate parents will feel challenged to support their children, takes time to develop and distribute printed material, distribution is a major challenge for many countries. Back to section overview 20 Online Learning (Higher Education and K-12 in middle-income contexts) – 5 key components Platforms are “containers” of content and used to facilitate communication, collaboration and assessment. Platforms • Learning Management Systems - “traditional” course management systems (e.g. Moodle, Kolibri) + ‘enhanced’ collaboration & document management-based system (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom) • Video Conference System for synchronous* interactions (eg. Zoom, BigBlueButton, Jitsi) Digital content includes text, images, videos, audio packaged in various formats such as PDF, e-Pubs, podcasts, GIFs, videos, animations and can be static or interactive. Content • Use own existing national content, if it exists • If none exists, supplement with or curate international content/free Open Education Resources • Align to the curriculum structure Hosting refers to technologies to store the platform and content on a computer system and make them available over the internet. Examples: Mobile Hosting • Local university/private cloud First • NREN hosting/private cloud • Public Cloud (eg. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud) Students in many low/middle-resource contexts connect to online learning with limited internet (eg. mobile internet. Equity (lack of connectivity and/or devices) and affordability are critical issues. For affordability: Connectivity • Zero rating LMS sites- working with local Telcos & Ministries of ICT/Telco regulators • Negotiating reduced data costs with Telcos • Explore Universal Service Funds (USF) with the Telco Regulator It is critical to support students and teachers during this transition to remote online learning: Training & • Organize online- training for teachers • Set up a Help Desk – leverage cloud-based help desk (eg. Amazon Connect) Support • Use of SMS/Social Media to reach ALL learners - work with Telcos to set up SMS short-codes Back to section overview 21 Supporting and leveraging Teachers 1) Ensure regular continuous communication with teachers. • Provide updates and guidance on how to support themselves and students during school closure. • Provide helpdesk for teachers to ask questions and seek guidance. Click HERE for country examples of using EdTech to 2) Leverage teachers who can deliver Radio and TV broadcast lessons or create short support teachers electronic student and parent guides. Many countries are finding innovative teachers on and learners during YouTube for instance. COVID-19. Click HERE to access 3) Leverage time during school closure for teacher professional development using online a curation of tools. resources from • Provide training for teachers using simple online tools. across the world being used to support teachers 4) Identify master teachers to provide guidance for teachers regarding daily short and learners with lessons/tips that all teachers can, in turn, be tasked to communicate directly over SMS to remote learning. parents of their students or directly with students. 5) Ensure school leaders support teachers as they in turn, support parents and students. • Schools can create WhatsApp groups for parents and teachers. • Create regular SMS communication from school leaders and teachers to parents. Back to section overview 22 Supporting Parents It is critical to support parents at home through: (1) Pedagogical Support: Provide guidance to parents on (2) Socio-emotional support: Parents need to know how to manage home schooling. they are not alone and require support with structure. • Provide guidance on scheduling for home schooling including • Provide regular messages of support and encouragement. schedules of Radio, TV, Online lessons. • Important for parents to hear directly from leadership • Provide simple tips on how to structure student learning (e.g. Minister) through a weekly broadcast (eg. SMS, • Provide simple lesson plans. Facebook, etc.) • Provide daily/weekly activities that students can engage in. • Encourage peer support (eg. host parents on radio • Provide means for parents to ask questions/seek guidance programs to share experiences and advice on what to do (eg. set up a helpline). (e.g. parent phone-in program). • Provide daily simple assessments/activities. Tools • Radio, TV broadcasts . REMEMBER TO: • SMS (Work with Telcom companies to setup SMS Short Codes for Communicate parents to subscribe to get messages/ask questions.) regularly and • Social media - WhatsApp, Facebook. consistently in • Setup virtual helpline / virtual call center - with Toll Free numbers, local languages. SMS, Email, Social Media. Click HERE for a guidance • Host all resources (eg. schedules, tips, study guides) for parents in note on education TV with one place (eg. Ministry website). examples of scheduling and other support for parents. Back to section overview 23 Overview: In this section, find additional resources. 5. Additional Resources • What to read next? • How can I stay in touch with the resources and work of the World Bank’s EdTech team? Click on any hyperlink to jump directly to the section. Back to main overview What to read next? Resource Overview 1 Rapid response reference note: Remote A 12-page World Bank rapid response reference note to brief policymakers on general rules of thumb of Learning and COVID-19 potential relevance when quickly exploring and rolling out the use of remote learning, distance education and online learning at scale. 2 (Short) Guidance Note on Remote Learning A short 3-page World Bank guidance note offers principles to maximize countries’ effectiveness in & COVID-19 designing and executing remote learning during COVID-19 based school closures. 3 Education Television Programming as a A short World Bank guidance (6 pages) on using educational TV as a form of remote learning. 5 practical response to Remote Learning: Guidance things to do are suggested for countries wanting to start this. 5 things to consider are suggested to Note enhance this programming. 30+ current examples are used to make the case. 4 Country Responses to remote learning A World Bank catalogue of how countries are using EdTech (including online learning, radio, television, during COVID-19 texting) to support access to remote learning during COVID-19 5 Remote Learning and Distance Education A curation of resources by the World Bank’s EdTech team organised by ‘Content and Repositories’, during COVID-19: A Resource List ‘National Learning Platforms’, ‘Other Platform and Software’ (eg. LMS, Training, Video conference, etc.) and ‘Radio and TV’. 6 Academic Paper on Education Television in A study about the secondary school expansion through televised lessons through the labor market returns Mexico - Telesecundaria of the Mexican Telesecundaria over the period of 1968 – 2019. 7 (i) WB toolkit on Interactive Radion (i) A World Bank toolkit for Policy Makers and Planners on ‘Improving Educational Quality through Instruction (ii) Academic note on Interactive Radio Instruction’. (ii) An academic study on 23 Years of improving educational quality through Interactive Radio instruction interactive radio instruction. 8 Broadcast Media in Distance Education: A A UNESCO manual for training people who coordinate courses in distance education institutions and wrote Self-Instructional manual for Staff scripts for their TV and radio programs. It is also aimed at producers involved in such broadcast programs. Development Back to section overview 25 Connect with World Bank’s EdTech team Twitter World Bank EdTech webpage and resources Medium Posts (Weekly/Monthly mailers) Blogs Podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anchor Email: • Internal: EdTech_Core_Team@worldbank.org @EDTECH • External: iciarrusta@worldbank.org Back to main overview