If you build it, will they come? Enablers and constraints of the adoption of a gamified holistic learning application

• In Event: Innovative and contextually relevant measurement instruments to enhance Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) monitoring and evaluation processes

Proposal

The Education in Emergencies (EiE) sector has few standardised and cost-effective tools to measure holistic learning outcomes for children, particularly in early primary (grades 1-3). To address this, Gobee, a gamified learning measurement tool developed in collaboration with War Child Holland, NYU Global TIES for Children, and the Humanitarian Education Accelerator, allows children to engage in play while assessing their academic and social-emotional skills. Guided by Gobee, a friendly bee, children visit various flowers (skills) to collect honeypots. In doing so, they practice academic skills and answer questions related to their social-emotional state; this information is collected for and presented to students’ classroom teachers to target and/or modify instruction. Gobee was pilot tested in Jordan in 2021, providing initial validity for the academic and SEL scales. But as the development of the tool progressed, questions arose regarding the long-term trajectory of the tool: Will end-users be able to access the product? How will it be supported, and by whom? Can it sustain a low or no-cost structure?
Indeed, this is the question. EdTech holds great potential for addressing challenges related to access, quality, and continuity of education during crises, particularly where traditional schooling is not possible. However, barriers that hinder technological solutions’ widespread adoption, such as limited connectivity, insufficient availability of devices, buy-in from end-users, and resource constraints, remain real threats to sustainability. As interest in EdTech solutions continues to proliferate in the field, we aimed to better understand the feasibility and impact of low-cost tech in emergency settings at scale.

Specifically, we asked:
(1) What is the appetite for digital tools within the EiE sector?
(2) What resources and stakeholders are essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of the tool as a global public good?
(3) What factors may enable or hinder the adoption of a high-tech formative assessment tool by teachers in emergency settings?

To address these inquiries, we will present findings from three key sources:
(1) A survey (n=15) of stakeholders in positions that determine the development, use, and sustainability of EdTech (e.g., EdTech service providers, NGOs/program implementers, donors, and researchers);
(2) A market analysis examining comparable tools, opportunities for partnerships and sustainable funding strategies;
(3) Surveys (n=93) and interviews (n=18) conducted with early primary teachers in refugee settings within Jordan. The survey was contextualized and adapted from Teachers’ Conceptions and Practices of Formative Assessment Questionnaire (Yan et al., 2022).

By utilizing Gobee as a case study to explore the potential for sustainable, widespread adoption of digital public goods, our research seeks to provide insights and guidance for individuals and organizations involved in the development of educational applications for emergency settings.

Authors

• Lindsay Brown, NYU Global TIES

• Kahina Boulegroun, War Child Holland

• Roxane Caires, New York University

• Abiraahmi Shankar, NYU Global TIES for Children