Technology Enabled Learning In Kenya: Kwa Ground Insights on Building Resilient Distance Learning Ecosystems

• In Event: Digital and Distance Education

Proposal

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted students, teachers and caregivers. At the peak of school closures in April 2020, 1.6 billion children were out of basic education worldwide. Educators globally scrambled to mobilize distance learning solutions to continue teaching and learning away from the classroom, but for the most marginalized, the digital divide has become an education divide. As the pandemic continues to disrupt education, and as global threats such as climate change and conflict similarly have the potential to keep children out of the classroom, stakeholders from across the education ecosystem are being forced to reassess what is possible when engaging hard-to-reach communities.
In Kenya there is a saying: “Kwa ground vitu ni different,” which translates to, “Things on the ground are different.” This Kenyanism is often used in reference to the disconnect between the policies that exist at a national level and what is really happening in local communities, particularly those that are traditionally most left behind. Input from local stakeholders who can provide insights into opportunities, barriers and motivations in their communities, is often lacking in the design of policies or interventions designed to serve them.
To inform the design of new education development programs in Kenya, IREX partnered with Education Design Unlimited (EDU), a Nairobi-based education research and design firm to give voice to those “kwa ground” individuals and organizations to answer the question, “How might we work with hard-to-reach communities and local innovators to co-design technology enabled learning systems that are resilient to future shocks?” Gathering insights from focus groups and interviews with 76 caregivers, learners, teachers, system leaders, and local innovators in four communities that have limited access to digital infrastructure in Kenya – Laikipia North, Turkana (arid and semi-arid), Tana Delta (coastal), and Dagoretti and Dandora, Nairobi (urban low-income) – the research took an intentionally solutions oriented, approach drawing on the perspectives of community stakeholders to:
• Gather local perspectives on what “worked” and what was exciting, inspiring and effective about technology enabled strategies for distance learning
• Understand the role that different community stakeholders see themselves playing in fostering a resilient digital learning ecosystem
• Understand what levers and emerging innovations can address key challenges and promote the adoption of technology enabled distance learning in hard-to-reach communities
The research found that many distance learning strategies are not sustainable as currently designed. Analog strategies have been widely used, but are resource intensive and continue to leave marginalised communities disconnected from the promise of a digital future in which technology can be used to reinforce classroom teaching, provide high quality content, and offer interactive learning and assessment. Given a glimpse of this future, our respondents were inspired by the ability of digital technology to foster stronger engagement between learners and their guides, increase learner autonomy and collaboration, and create a learning experience that is both rigorous and fun. Given the chance, community members were proactive in building organic systems where caregivers, teachers and local innovators mixed and matched analog and digital distance learning strategies to meet their needs. While challenges abound, interesting experiments with technology were taking place in hard-to-reach communities and local stakeholders have great ideas about what works, what’s needed, and the role they can play. Learning from those who have contributed to this research, we propose that stakeholders can strengthen the efforts of innovators kwa ground by:
• Designing with – not for – communities.
By listening to innovators “kwa ground” and facilitating collaboration among local stakeholders, existing systems will be strengthened, local leaders will be empowered and resources will be utilised cost-effectively to return maximum impact. Policy makers can involve local stakeholders in the development of policies for hard-to-reach areas through listening sessions with parents, teachers, school and systems leaders, as well as key community influencers. Innovators can work collaboratively with communities and each other and serve as advocates for their inclusion at every stage of development.
• Strengthening community people and assets
Communities believe that digital resilience begins with strengthening the existing people and assets on the ground. Caregivers, teachers and system leaders all recognize personal roles in building a system that works but acknowledge multiple barriers to their deployment. Teachers need training on basic computer skills, integration of technology into teaching and learning, and digital safety to perform their wide ranging roles from device maintenance to digital learning champions, and caregivers need support to provide devices and monitor their children’s learning.
• Leveraging existing community structures
We saw organic systems, built from the ground-up, that mixed and matched analog and digital distance learning tools supported by community-led coordination. There is opportunity to leverage existing structured such as barazas and Nyumba Kumi, and to digitally connect places where people already meet. By leveraging existing public spaces and users’ own devices to enhance digital access and fluency, communities can build a strong, cost effective and sustainable foundation for technology enabled learning.
• Putting communities at the centre of the learning agenda
Researchers can ensure those who do not have the opportunity to visit local communities (such as funders and policy makers) have a clear picture of the reality kwa ground, and can promote research outside of academic circles to ensure the information reaches those who need it most, in a form that is usable. In the wake of Covid-19, there is opportunity for education conferences to have a more targeted focus on digital learning, and to ensure that community voices are strongly represented.
• Investing in network development
Funders can support network development and knowledge management to ensure innovators are aware of each other and how they can partner. In our research across the four counties, we learnt that there were innovations happening in similar areas utilising similar strategies, but those innovators weren’t aware of one another and weren’t learning from each other’s work. Similarly, policy makers in Government were unaware of innovators and innovations on the ground. Funders have an opportunity to encourage collaborative approaches to building resilient ecosystems.
IREX will incorporate these lessons as it develops education interventions in East Africa.

Author

• Rebecca Ward, IREX