Activating EdTech

Posted on by Tania Elena Megogo Bokamba

Key details

LocationJordan
Start dateDecember 2018
End dateSpring 2022
ClientQueen Rania Foundation (QRF)

Background

OpenDevEd is working with Jordan’s Ministry of Education to develop the Ministry’s capacity to develop iterative and evidence-based decision-making practices on EdTech.

Our Approach

From an initial request to develop an EdTech strategy for Jordan, the Activating EdTech programme has evolved into the development of a Jordanian team trained in research, agile, and design thinking methods.

contribution

The team has co-developed a national EdTech Strategy, while simultaneously implementing elements of the strategy and conducting several small-scale experiments. 

The team and strategy are on track to align with other large-scale programmes in Jordan, including a World Bank-funded national blended learning programme and a national digital skills programme.

OpenDevEd staff conducted the following tasks:

  • Led the design and delivery of the project overall, in partnership with the Queen Rania Foundation
  • Organised and conducted nine ‘sprints’ – short five-day periods of intensive work coupled with tailored capacity-building exercises and materials
  • Coached the MoE technical team through designing and implementing small-scale EdTech experiments
  • Conducted a qualitative evaluation of Jordan’s experience with distance learning under COVID-19

outcome

Key outcomes of the programme included:

  • Co-developed a national, Agile EdTech Strategy and implementation plan for Jordan’s Ministry of Education

Documents

  • Outputs

Activating EdTech

Posted on by Björn Haßler

Open Development & Education is supporting Activating EdTech in Jordan, together with the Queen Rania Foundation.

Activating EdTech is a project within the DFID-funded EDRIL work stream at QRF, consisting of a programme of “objective-focussed work-based professional development” to support the Ministry of Education in developing (and implementing) an appropriate EdTech policy for Jordan (“minimum-viable policy”, MVP) together with a policy implementation process. The participants in the programme are high-level ministry staff; it utilises adaptive management with regular periods of intensive co-working (“sprints”).

Additionally, as a member of the QRF Technical Advisory Committee, we support the Queen Rania Foundation with regard to education programming and educational technology.

Outputs and resources are available in our evidence library here: https://docs.opendeved.net/lib/?featured=ZTGXQBTC&sort=date_asc. The key outputs include:

  • ﺔﻌﻣﺎﺟ ج., & ﺔﯿﻠﻛﺔﯿﺑﺮﺘﻟا. (n.d.). A short guide on the use of technology in learning (English, Arabic)دلیل مختصر حول استخدام التكنولوجیا في التعلّم. 17. https://docs.opendeved.net/lib/FXI79D59

Abdullah Khalayleh Headshot

Abdullah Khalayleh

Posted on by Björn Haßler

Abdullah is a previous Associate Manager of Open Development & Education. He has experience in public and private sector consulting, with a focus on education and educational technology. He has supported, developed and implemented several EdTech related programs in the development context. These include Activating EdTech, a project aimed at introducing Agile practices to EdTech policymaking, and Miyamiya, an initiative supporting out of school refugees through educational technology. Previously, Abdullah worked at PwC Dubai and the Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan. He holds a BA in International Relations from Brown University. Abdullah left OpenDevEd at the end of March 2022.

Megha-Bongnkar, G., Gichuhi, L., & Khalayleh, A. (2021). Policy Makers and Girls’ Education in Emergencies in Kenya (Report on Policy Makers and Girls’ Education in Emergencies in Kenya No. 2). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5110135
Khalayleh, A., El-Serafy, Y., Megha-Bongnkar, G., & Haßler, B. (2021). The use of technology to support teacher learning circles in crisis contexts: A rapid review of the literature (No. 3). Open Development & Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4974582
Khalayleh, A., El-Serafy, Y., Megha-Bongnkar, G., & Haßler, B. (2021). Final report (No. 2). Open Development & Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4540043
Megha-Bongnkar, G., Gichuhi, L., & Khalayleh, A. (2021). Policy Makers and Girls’ Education in Emergencies in Kenya: Initial findings from first round of interviews (Report on Policy Makers and Girls’ Education in Emergencies in Kenya No. 1). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4907444
Khalayleh, A., El-Serafy, Y., Megha-Bongnkar, G., & Haßler, B. (2021). Characteristics of Effective Technology-Enabled Teacher Learning Circles — Rapid Review of the Literature (No. 1). Open Development & Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4537843
Khalayleh, A., El-Serafy, Y., Megha-Bongnkar, G., & Haßler, B. (2021). Technology-supported Teacher Learning Circles: Engagement and Barriers (No. 4). Open Development & Education. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4982237
Khalayleh, A., Baloch, I., Dele-Ajayi, O., & Kaye, T. (2021). A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for Blended Learning: Pakistan [Working Paper]. EdTech Hub. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4633326

Publications available here.

Programmes

Posted on by Björn Haßler

The EdTech Hub

Open Development & Education is a core-consortium member of the EdTech Hub, https://edtechhub.org.

With core funding of £20m from UK FCDO and support from the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the EdTech Hub aims to increase the use of evidence to inform decision-making related to the most appropriate and effective uses of technology to improve learning. The programme utilises cutting-edge research methods and innovation approaches; its goal is the generation of rigorous research evidence on technology for education, focussing on the most marginalised populations. It is initially planned as an eight-year initiative beginning in June 2019, with core funding of over £20m. The EdTech Hub is made up of a consortium of several partners (including Open Development and Education, Jigsaw, Brink, the University of Cambridge, the Overseas Development Institute and Results for Development, AfriLabs, Brac and eLearing Africa). OpenDevEd played a central role in the bidding process. He is one of the directors, representing Open Development & Education within the consortium. For further details, see https://edtechhub.org.

Outputs are available in our evidence library here: https://docs.opendeved.net/lib/?featured=L9BBRUZP&sort=date_asc.

Activating EdTech

Open Development & Education is supporting Activating EdTech in Jordan, together with the Queen Rania Foundation.

Activating EdTech is a project within the UK FCDO-funded EDRIL work stream at QRF, consisting of a programme of “objective-focussed work-based professional development” to support the Ministry of Education in developing (and implementing) an appropriate EdTech policy for Jordan (“minimum-viable policy”, MVP) together with a policy implementation process. The participants in the programme are high-level ministry staff; it utilises adaptive management with regular periods of intensive co-working (“sprints”).

Additionally, as a member of the QRF Technical Advisory Committee, we support the Queen Rania Foundation with regard to education programming and educational technology.

Outputs and resources are available in our evidence library here: https://docs.opendeved.net/lib/?featured=ZTGXQBTC&sort=date_asc.

Academic recovery in the caribbean

Open Development & Education is working with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to develop an academic recovery programme for students in OECS Member States affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working with staff from the OECS’s Education Development Management Unit, Open Development & Education is designing and piloting an academic recovery programme focused on developing students’ core competencies (literacy, numeracy, and life skills) at primary level. The programme will be piloted in Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and will target the most vulnerable children in the education systems. Collaboration with and involvement of ministries of education, as well as other key education stakeholders, is central to developing a locally-sensitive response to the effects of COVID-19 in the Caribbean which complements existing academic recovery and support programmes in the region, such as the Early Learners Programme. 

The programme outputs are available in our evidence library here: https://docs.opendeved.net/lib/?featured=I8CADG7Q&sort=date_asc

technology-enabled Teacher learning circles

Save the Children Norway (Redd Barna) have contracted Open Development & Education to produce an evidence-based guide on technology-enabled teacher learning circles/peer-to-peer networks in humanitarian situations. The guide aims to build an understanding of the evidence base behind technology-enabled teacher learning circles/peer-to-peer networks, and to identify both effective practices and barriers to implementation. Developed iteratively with the input of practitioners and teachers to form a solid pedagogical foundation, the guide will be used by Save the Children programme teams and facilitators supporting ministries of education, teacher training institutions, and Education Cluster working groups.

EM2030

Completed programmes

A list of completed programmes is available here.

OER4Schools

For an overview of OER4Schools, see here.

Educational Response to COVID-19 from Jordan and other Arab Countries

Posted on by administrator in Activating EdTech, blog, COVID-19
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author: Nour Awamleh, Research and Program Development Coordinator, Queen Rania Foundation

Update: A later version of this article was published on 13 April 2020 and appears on the Queen Rania Foundation website.

The Activating Edtech project in Jordan aims to develop an agile, iterative and evidence-based approach to the decision-making process within the Jordanian Ministry of Education. Activating Edtech aims to understand problems and assumptions in education, then tests out the possible solutions to those problems while trying to activate technology, where possible. The project started in January 2019 and continues to today. After introducing the team, we turn to the education response to COVID -19 across a number of Arab countries.

Continue reading “Educational Response to COVID-19 from Jordan and other Arab Countries” →

Arabic version of Design Thinking for Educators

Posted on by Abdullah Khalayleh in #news, Activating EdTech, blog
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Launched in January 2019, Activating EdTech Jordan is a project that aims to introduce agile development practices to educational technology policymaking. This project is led by the Jordanian Ministry of Education in partnership with the Queen Rania Foundation and Open Development & Education with funding from the UK Department for International Development (DFID). This post introduces the Activating EdTech project and our translation of Design Thinking for Educators.

Continue reading “Arabic version of Design Thinking for Educators” →

Activating EdTech Jordan: Sprint 6

Posted on by Björn Haßler in Activating EdTech, blog
Reading Time: < 1 minutes

This week sees Sprint 6 for Activating EdTech Jordan. It also marks roughly one year since the start of the programme in January 2019. The programme is run by the Queen Rania Foundation under the EDRIL programme, funded by the UK Department of International Development (DFID).

Some of our outputs are available here: https://zenodo.org/communities/aet

Partners

Posted on by Tania Elena Megogo Bokamba

Access to quality and open education for all is a common goal that requires a multilayer response. Therefore, OpenDevEd partners with diverse organisations, governments, and education stakeholders to enhance accessibility in education and the development of prosperous conditions that could benefit learning outcomes.