Kick-off pilot scheme at three schools - DIGITAL CLASS­ROOMS

estatements: Hello Beatrice. Your work in areas in crisis such as Kosovo, Palestina, Bangladesh and Cambodia has given you front-line exposure to the impact a crisis can have on children’s education. We’re now seeing a crisis happening worldwide with the coronavirus pandemic. What impact is this crisis having on children?

Beatrice: Many children were already in crisis, even before the coronavirus pandemic, due to chronic poverty. But they still saw their lives as ‘normal’ – despite high levels of uncertainty. They knew what they had to do, they knew how to help their parents earn a living, they did their homework, and they looked after brothers and sisters. They felt self-reliant because a regular routine had set in, despite the crisis. Then the coronavirus crisis came and shook up the regular routine, which was already fragile. Suddenly, rather than the invisible coronavirus the bigger problem became hunger. Children had to learn from scratch again and work out how to deal with the new uncertainty. On top of that, school was gone.

estatements: The Essence of Learning (EoL) model you have developed will be incorporated into digital classroom concepts. How exactly will that work?

Beatrice: Children often fall behind in developmental terms and have learning difficulties during a crisis. Many children feel overwhelmed by school. It was found that concentrating on working with the Essence of Learning method not only lightens the load on teaching personnel, but importantly it also makes learning easier for children. This was also because children acquired learning strategies that they can use on their own. Children who have been on an EoL programme have their own emergency learning box. For example, in the box there are 100 PET lids, which the children can use to do wonderful calculations, or there’s a notebook with their own essays and reading sheets, which they add their own pictures to. Lots of children have started using and expanded their emergency learning boxes during the pandemic. For digital learning to bear fruit, it will be important for children to be equipped with the right learning strategies. This is where the EoL method can help, so they can go back through digital material using analogue methods.

estatements: What challenges do you face when you develop this kind of concept for digital classrooms?

Beatrice: A lot of schools have infrastructure problems, not unlike those faced by families in the surrounding area. There are interruptions in the electricity supply, they don’t have internet, and they’re short of money. A lot of teachers didn’t have training that would allow them to try out different learning methods in a practical setting, such as teaching in groups or handing over the responsibility of learning to children. You have to take on both of these challenges to strengthen the quality of learning in general. This is also why digital methods are made available in different stages, because this makes it easier for schools to integrate changes.

estatements: What sort of factors do you need to take into account when you do this?

Otto: We need to find realistic digital solutions so that children living in poverty-stricken areas can use the digital skills they have acquired in their everyday lives. There are two key aspects we would like to focus on. First, depending on the situation faced by schools, we will work with partners in identifying end devices that can be expanded during the process. The sort of factors we considered include infrastructure, electricity supplies, internet access, energy required for maintenance purposes, computer programs, platforms, as well as the end devices needed for a digital classroom. Second, we considered reinforcing training given to teachers and parents. For this to be achieved, teachers and parents will be trained on different methods and teaching skills that will make digital learning an integrated part of the school curriculum and not perceived just as an add-on. This is important because digital learning can be used to expand and deepen knowledge. It will also allow us to start with adult education while we get to know the school a bit better and work with staff on coming up with a sustainable digital solution.

estatements: What sort of things do you need to think about when you’re introducing an adaptive digital classroom (ADC)?

Otto: It’s important to develop a step-by-step plan together with the partner organisations, one that’s implementable and has the backing of the headteachers, teaching staff and parents. This is why we want the implementation to span across three phases – a preliminary phase, which is mainly about explaining how things work and educating people; an implementation phase, which involves making a number of changes to school procedures; and finally, a monitoring and evaluation phase, in which we will work together with the partner organisation on any difficulties that might arise. After that, there’s fine-tuning. Once all of these phases have been completed, the school can move on to the next phase, which is roll-out. Obviously, the implementation of the ADC will not be done in a hasty manner but that allows things to move forward organically and also ensures a certain degree of digital literacy to develop, not just within the administration at the school but also in terms of designing lessons.