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“Más tecnología, más cambio”? Inves&ga&ng an educa&onal technology project in rural Peru Emeline Therias, Jon Bird, Paul Marshall
| Date post: | 11-Aug-2015 |
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“Más tecnología, más cambio”?Inves&ga&ng an educa&onal technology project in rural Peru
Emeline Therias, Jon Bird, Paul Marshall
Overview
Technology implementation projects with educational objectives in emerging countries
Challenges of top-‐down large-‐scale approaches like One Laptop Per Child [OLPC]
Successes of small grassroots program Blue Sparrow
Introduction
– rural Andean farmer
“Más tecnología, más cambio.”
“Digital divide”
ICTs and the “digital divide” [Warschauer et al. 2004]
ICT4D and HCI4D in emerging markets
Half of these projects are failures [Heeks 2002; 2011]
“Digital divide”
ICTs and the “digital divide” [Warschauer et al. 2004]
ICT4D and HCI4D in emerging markets
Half of these projects are failures [Heeks 2002; 2011]
One-‐to-‐one computing or shared computers
Constructionist “natural learning” [Papert, 2006]
“Hole-‐in-‐the-‐wall” experiments [Mitra, 2005; Mitra & Dangwal, 2010]
Educational projects
One Laptop per Child
Image via One Laptop Per Child
2.5 million teachers and students, 42 countries in the world to date
XO-Laptops
Over 850 000 laptops purchased in Peru, in 8300 schools (approximately $200 million)
Positive “attitudes” [Hourcade et al, 2008]
No significant educational benefits [Cristia et al, 2012]
“One size fits all” failure [Warschauer & Ames, 2010; Warschauer et al, 2011]
Limitations of OLPC
How can these educational technology projects be successful
Research project
Blue Sparrow
Partner with 4 different communities, setting up computer labs in schools and sending volunteers
Rapid ethnography
Use of a combination of ethnographic methods to gather rich data in a short time [Millen, 2000]
Urban Marginal Urban Rural
Findings
Urban Marginal Urban Rural
Blue Sparrow
Daily use Daily useIntermibent
use*
OLPC No use No use No use
*Dependent on volunteer presence
Urban Marginal Urban Rural
Blue Sparrow
Daily use Daily useIntermibent
use*
OLPC No use No use No use
*Dependent on volunteer presence
OLPC non-use
“We don’t use them, we don’t know them well… […] and they make us a bit nervous! They might fall or break…” -‐ Urban Director
Lessons learned
Understand local contexts
Understanding the local context avoids making assumptions about what technology is needed
Use a bottom-up approach
Rather than “one-‐size-‐fits-‐all”, projects should be tailored to the specific community needs
Involve stakeholders
Involve key stakeholders to ensure the technology will be accepted
Empower communities
The ultimate goal should be to hand-‐over technology to a community that will self-‐manage
Next steps
Provide Teacher Training
Providing teachers with training will motivate them to incorporate technology into the classroom
Integrate into curriculum
“It’s not about using the technology. It’s about using it in an effective way.” -‐ Blue Sparrow
Provide volunteer resources
Volunteers need resources and teaching materials to ensure they are effectively helping
Conclusion
– rural Andean farmer
“Más tecnología, más cambio.”
– rural Andean farmer
“Más tecnología, más cambio.”
tl;dr
Blue Sparrow achievements:
Understanding local contexts
Using bobom-‐up approach
Involving stakeholders
Empowering communi&es
Next steps:
Provide training
Learning objec&ves
Teaching materials & support
tl;dr
Emeline TheriasUCL Interac&on Centre
UX Consultant -‐ Spotless
[email protected] www.spotless.co.uk
