Educator Innovation Is Paramount for Stout Education Systems

Capitalizing on the many education innovations prompted by the pandemic, the Teacher Task Force chose “Innovation in teacher policy and practice for educational recovery” as the theme of its 13^th Policy Dialogue Forum, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, and online, 2-3 December 2021.

Teacher autonomy is essential for meaningful innovation in teaching and learning

Teachers are best placed to assess the conditions of their own classrooms. Based on these, they innovate and adapt their practice, but their innovations often go unrecognized. The Forum highlighted the need to promote teacher autonomy and agency – that is, the capacity to act in an autonomous manner – to generate meaningful pedagogical innovation.

Old and traditional practices and approaches limit broader uptake of new technologies. In many cases, experimentation with, or piloting of innovative applications of technologies are often seen as outside the role of teachers, and thus discouraged. Students are different, but schools are still using materials developed decades ago, but today’s students come to school with very different experiences due to globalization and information overflows. Changing these processes will require major shifts in attitudes as much as they will in policy.

However, educators need training, sufficient resources, good working conditions and support to develop the autonomy and agency needed to initiate, implement and evaluate new ways to teach that will improve student learning and wellbeing.

Innovations involving digital technologies must be adapted to each context

The advent of utilizing technologies as supplemental tool for education had been globally recognized by academic institutions. The demand of providing these technologies had been rapidly increasing. Thus, business firms that supply such need are significant.

The role of digital technologies in innovation was also explored during the Forum, emphasizing tailored and context-sensitive use of technologies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.

With the introduction of collaborative learning platforms, students would be able to get more involved. Students would be able to access required resources anytime and from anywhere and also tends to solve the problem on student’s interactivity and attentiveness during classes. The use of technology would increase the convenience, usability and accessibility of the educational resources available in educational institutes.

For the purchasing authorities, this would translate into reduction in overhead cost of maintaining student records in house and related logistics. Overall, it enhances the teaching and learning experience of various parties in the educational cycle.

Innovation in policy making must be inclusive and collaborative

Teachers need to be part of decision- and policy-making processes. One example presented was the development of the Comprehensive National Teacher Policy (CNTP) in Ghana. This process was coordinated by the Ghana Teacher Task Force (GTTF) with contributions from the Ghana Education Service, development partners and other actors.

This collaborative process established a framework for social dialogue with teachers and their representatives at the local, district and national levels.

The Final Report from the Policy Dialogue Forum is available for download on the Teacher Task Force Knowledge Platform. 

The Ramifications of Illiteracy

 

Economic Impact

·         Illiteracy and low levels of literacy have estimated to cost the global economy approximately 1.19 trillion annually.

·         More than two billion adults worldwide don’t have the essential literacy skills employers need. Unemployment causes lost productivity which slows economic growth.

·         When a high proportion of the adult population has poor literacy skills, many positions remain vacant as insufficient individuals are adequately skilled to fulfill those roles.

 

Social Impact

·         Functionally illiterate parents often prioritize work before education and have lower expectations regarding schooling. This leads to a cycle of disadvantage through generations.

·         People completely or functional illiterate face the prospect of poor health outcomes, welfare dependency, gender inequality, and a lack of social cohesion.

·         There are currently 5.5 million more out-of-school girls than boys, worldwide. In the long term, this widens the gender gap.

 

Health Impact

·         Studies have shown the mother´s literacy level is closely related to child health and survival.

·         People with low levels of literacy are more likely to experience adverse health outcomes, have poor health literacy, and practice poor health behaviors.

·         Literacy significantly enhances a person’s ability to access, understand and apply health information to make accurate decisions.

 

The Practice of Reading

We write to taste life twice; in the moment and in retrospect.

Books are idea containers and are a means of transmitting ideas. The oppressor made sure that the oppressed persons’ parents could not read. That is because books contain ideas, and the goal was to maintain oppression by the maintainace of ignorance.

Words – spoken and written – are the building blocks of life. You are, right now, the result of words that you have heard or read and believed about yourself. Books are every child’s birth right.

The best way to learn critical thinking is to learn how and what to write; And you can only be a good writer if you are equally a well-read reader. Critical thinking makes you act effectively in this world, it makes you win the battles you undertake. If you can critically think, speak and write; you will be absolutely unstoppable.

 

The fact of the power of written ideas communicated through reading is a foundational reason why some governments oppose free and honest communication. Illiterate people are easier to control and manipulate. They lack the ability do their own research and thinking. They rely on what they are told and how their emotions are swayed.

Writing is the most powerful contribution you can make not just to your generation but to all the generations after you die. Even makes it so important to practice a culture of reading.

Our aura of necromantical significance helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams. Yes, we are going to face difficulties, and we will experience many disappointments – but all of this is flitting; it leaves no permanent mark. One day we will look back with satisfaction and honour at the journey we have taken. 

“In my whole life, I have known NO wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero.” - Charlie Munger

How Can ‘Ed-Tech,’ Support Learning In Low-Income Communities? Lessons from Zambia (BOOK-IT ZAMBIA - CASE STUDY)

Teachers’ efforts and ambitions to integrate new technologies in classrooms and curriculum implementation have changed. The results are that the new investments are underutilized, not used at all, or used in a way that mimics an old process rather than innovating new processes that may be more engaging for students. Old and traditional practices and approaches limit broader uptake of new technologies.

In many cases, experimentation with, or piloting of innovative applications of technologies are often seen as outside the role of teachers, and thus discouraged. Students are different, but schools are still using materials developed decades ago, but today’s students come to school with very different experiences due to globalization and information overflows. Changing these processes will require major shifts in attitudes as much as they will in policy. 

The advent of utilizing technologies as supplemental tool for education had been globally recognized by academic institutions. The demand of providing these technologies had been rapidly increasing. Thus, business firms that supply such need are significant. One of these business firms is Book It Zambia Limited. Book It is an Edu-Tech support provider that caters academic institutions with regards to providing supplemental tools for teaching, as well as for the learning process of the students.

The education industry is showing some positive trends such as adoption of technology is increasing, online and correspondence courses are rising in vocational education market etc. It is clear Zambia is not an IT powerhouse and or major supplier of IT professionals across Africa. As such the Zambian education system is still not up to par as far as application of educational technologies is concerned. However, this trend is changing slowly but steadily; Zambian education industry is shifting gears to incorporate digital systems and ICT in education.

1. What is the offering and how can 'Book-IT' make it fit low-income settings?

Understanding what the core product offering of an EdTech solution is and seeing how it can be fine-tuned and iterated for specific contexts are critical. This process starts with contextualization, a vital step in addressing the wide supply-and-demand gap in EdTech.

Research shows that students struggle to use products that are not in their native languages, when content is not aligned with their ability, and when unfamiliar, non-localized examples are used.

2. How does 'Book-IT' generate evidence of adoption in response to the context?

Meaningful adoption and effective implementation of EdTech are complex and multi-faceted. Generating evidence of how a product, hypothesis, or use-case of EdTech can be implemented effectively in native, contextual settings, such as government schools or affordable private schools, is thus essential. 

The way forward

Book IT Zambia remains optimistic about the power of technology to eliminate the borders and walls of the classroom so that every child has access to the best quality education, both in school and at home.

The synergistic actions of governments, for and not-for-profit EdTech companies, academics, teachers and parents can be transformational and help us reimagine traditional ways of teaching and learning to positively impact the learning outcomes of our children.  

Vote for; 'Book IT Zambia' as the Best Online Education Platform - Zambia 2022 Ecommerce Awards. 

To vote click on link here: https://eafricaexpo.com/round-1-voting/#gf_12