Multi-Media Storytelling. Reading and Writing. Global Competencies. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Multi-Media Storytelling. Reading and Writing. Global Competencies. Reaching Children and Children with Disabilities 1 5/3/17

U.K. Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, U.S. Albania, Serbia Egypt India South Sudan South Africa Where We Work 2 5/3/17

Interactive and multi-media storybook apps 3 5/3/17

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• The Three E’s : E ducation, E ntertainment, E ngagement • Highly Tested : India, Kosovo, Ireland, England, US, UK, South Africa, South Sudan with over 1000 children, librarians, parents and teachers. • Tested for: impact, usability, functionality, creative appeal, user engagement, retention. Available in: Arabic, • Spanish, French, all Balkan languages 7 5/3/17

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Our Typical Module 9 5/3/17

Impact: Over 90% Reading Improvement

Key Partnerships 11 5/3/17

“How did that happen?” - Everyone 12 5/3/17

Team Executive Leadership Curriculum Educators Development and Research Global Sleepover Libraries, Schools, Creative and Literacy Technical Organizations Developers Board of Advisors Editor-In-Chief, Nat Geo Traveler 
 Senior Execs, Scholastic (several) 
 Former U.S. Ambassador and Senior Diplomats (several) 13 5/3/17

Innovation and International Development • Sound international development programming principles. • Community buy-in and access. • Infrastructure, electricity, downloads. • Monitoring, measuring and assessing for sustainability and highest impact. • Operability, hardware and software. 14 5/3/17

The Global Sleepover www.globalsleepover.com Geeta Raj graj@globalsleepover.com “The iPad is a game-changer because it's affordable and accessible. It really opens doors.” - Leslie Schect, the Director of Technology for New York City's Department of Education, - NPR June 11, 2014 15 5/3/17

APPENDIX 16 5/3/17

Literacy Storytelling Program (in English and Juba Arabic) at the American School of South Sudan in Juba Hybrid high/low approach critical. ✓ ✓ Learning delivered & monitored through tech but accompanied by print & traditional learning methods. ✓ Multi-media: F eature phone mobile text messaging, tablets and videos. Solar-powered devices. 17 5/3/17

Situation • South Sudan second lowest level of primary school enrollment. • 27% of the population of South Sudan is literate. • The American School of South Sudan operated before and after the 2013 crisis. • 50 children and 2-3 teachers (including admin). • Teachers scarce; qualified teachers even more so. • Few educational materials and no spaces designated for schools. Students have little exposure - comprehension is poor. • Transportation difficult. • 18 5/3/17

Importance of Blended Learning • Power sporadic and, when available, only available at night. • Community space in an urban area functioning as a school has generator capabilities for 4 hours per day on good days. • 3G is available, not reliable. • Broadband and internet is prohibitively expensive. • Hand-cranked radios and solar devices are in use. • Text messaging on mobile phones is commonplace. • Recharging phones doesn’t require power- local shops running generators charge phones on a pay per charge basis. 19 5/3/17

Text Messaging Makes Solution Truly Interactive. Critical for Teacher Participation, Learning and Monitoring 20 5/3/17

Solar Powered Devices • Lightweight solar portable pack: Solar panel fold-up, 4-8 inches wide DVD player, computer pack. Run off 9 volt battery. • One backpack costs $60. • Phones $50. • DVD player $60-$150 (one per grade level or • teacher). • DVD player: 2.5 hours of playback for every 8 hours of charging. • Phone: 2 hours of text messaging for every 8 hours of charging. Also accept electric charge. • 21 5/3/17

Remedies • Solar-powered devices are not the solution, they are a tool. • We don’t want to just be purchasing devices. • Sending our team members to work with students and teachers. This lends towards implementation and M&E. • Teacher training through text messaging and video since our teachers may not be able to come to work. 22 5/3/17

Next Steps: Adapting for Arabic Speaking Children, Refugee Settings 23 5/3/17

The Global Sleepover www.globalsleepover.com Geeta Raj graj@globalsleepover.com The American School of South Sudan http://www.theamericanschoolofsouthsudan.com/ Gilbert Francis and Sienna Dutkowski sdutkowski@americanschoolofsouthsudan.com 24 5/3/17

“How did that happen?” - Everyone 25 5/3/17

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Problem: • Majority of deaf learners in South Africa leaving school with reading and writing ability of a 9-year old. (Deaf Federation of South Africa) • 48% of deaf children in the UK are poor readers according to a 2014 report by City University London. • 75% of deaf children in US graduating high school reading at 4 th grade level or below. (CUNY Report) 30 5/3/17

Opportunity: •Writing and reading literacy is in a spoken, not sign, language. • Multi-media design allows for bilingual learning. •Twice as many children using a tablet to go online (42% versus 23% in 2013) (Oxfam) •Children with disabilities respond to tablet interface. 31 5/3/17

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“I have a feeling they had no idea….The iPad is a game-changer because it's affordable and accessible. It really opens doors.” - Leslie Schect, the Director of Technology for New York City's Department of Education, NPR June 11, 2014 33 5/3/17

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Innovation and International Development • Sound international development programming principles. • Community buy-in and access. • Infrastructure, electricity, downloads. • Monitoring, measuring and assessing for sustainability and highest impact. • Necessary risks in funding: unavoidable operability, hardware and software issues 36 5/3/17

“We can work together!” - The Global Sleepover Team 37 5/3/17

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