Poster Session: Results for education and child health –A suite of mobile applications to collect and visualize integrated health and education information

• In Event: Use of ICT and mobile applications in education

Session Submission Type: Poster Session

Description of Session

Objectives of the poster presentation: Millions of malnourished children in the developing world go to great lengths to attend school only to find that their schools are unprepared to provide them with the adequate learning environments. To not address this flies against the notion of Ubuntu –“that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us”.

This poster presentation includes a) a brief synthesis of the current evidence for integrated health and education interventions; b) a description and live demonstration of a new open source mobile application survey tool – REACH – that collects and presents via a composite set of indicators on a “scorecard” available immediately on-site, online, and offline; and c) a review preliminary results of pilot testing of REACH in Haiti.

REACH – Results for Education and Child Health – is a suite of mobile applications delivered via a proven open source tablet software that collects data on the actual time students spend learning in the classroom (OTL); assesses the factors that influence whether children learn to read (LitScan); and determines if students nutritional needs are being met at home and/or at school (Rapid Nutrition Scan). REACH is unique and relevant because there are no current technology applications that build linkages and add value by examining both education and nutrition factors as they relate to children’s ability to learn.

Data sources or evidence: REACH tool will be tested in 5 samples schools in Haiti and will undergo review through two focus groups, also in Haiti. REACH apps will collect sample data from teachers and school principals. The data presented in the poster session will reflect pilot testing and be used to demonstrate how the application can be used.

Results and/or conclusions: It is anticipated that data from each of REACH tools will be easy to interpret and use, but researchers and other stakeholders will need more experience in making use of applying the broader, multi-disciplinary findings in effective ways.

Significance of the study to the field of comparative or international education: School administrators at the school and district levels will have a free, open-source tool that will quickly provide a holistic picture of a students’ environment, support, and opportunity to learn based on timely, accurate, and relevant information that will aid them in determining educational and nutritional interventions that will lead to improved learning.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Organizers

• Sergio Somerville, FHI360

• Audrey-marie Schuh Moore, FHI 360

• Carol da Silva, FHI 360

• Brian Dooley, FHI 360

• Sonia Arias, FHI 360