Touch and Point – Our Way to Knowledge
April 16, 2018
In the digital age, information technology is the most important part of our life. Good Neighbors works to provide children with more extensive opportunities to learn using ICT (information and communication technology). Let us take a look at how ICT is used to bring a new world of rights and knowledge to those who did not have access to education.
“Our goal is to develop an app that can help all children achieve a certain level of knowledge by themselves, without external intervention. It was, thus, a very meaningful time for us to confirm that our Kit Kit School app could offer quality education to the children.” – Soo-in Lee, CEO, Enuma Inc
These children in Tanzania use tablet PCs to learn alphabets from games, music videos and so on. Through the new educational application, children who did not have access to diverse learning methods now have access to activities such as word-formation learning games.
This app was developed by Enuma Inc with support from KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency). Good Neighbors Tanzania performed field test of the app, which started in October 2016 and was completed quite recently, was the first step toward the improvement of education in Tanzania. It utilizes a Swahili software to contribute toward the enhancement of children’s basic education and the eradication of illiteracy.
The app offers basic reading, writing, and math skills, which are equivalent to those taught in the lower elementary level. The child-friendly design of the app allows students who lack access to schools, such as those living in rural areas, to use it for learning without the intervention of a teacher.
Good Neighbors Tanzania implemented the tablet-based education program; “Kit Kit School” in three primary schools including the Sala Sala Primary School, from November 7 to December 2 of the previous year. A total of 384 students took part in the three-week program, which was verified by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) to have efficacy in enhancing the basic literary and math skills of the students.
Bangladesh is another site of such education through ICT. The education is implemented through a partnership with KOICA and addresses to the rights of children to education through app-based learning, which is intended to improve the public’s perception toward certain practices such as child labor and child marriage, as well as the low school registration rate. Through the app, children will learn how valuable they are and how their rights must be protected.
The app was designed by a local company in Bangladesh, and since July 2017, it has been used for training sessions in primary and secondary schools from eight regions including Gulshan, Sirajganj, and Ghatail. The app focuses on the four major rights guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (rights to life, protection, development, and participation), and quizzes and cartoon contents are used to educate the children on what to do when they are in danger and what situations constitute a violation of their rights. As the training sessions utilize a limited number of devices, they will be conducted multiple times so that more children can participate.
A research by a team of Early Childhood Education of Ewha Womans University in Korea will be carried out from July 2017 to June 2018 to evaluate the effectiveness of the ICT training offered by the app.
“We were able to provide a clearer picture of the rights of the child and help the children learn how to use a tablet PC. I will likewise try my best to help the children learn more about their rights.”– Rijesh Devnas, tablet PC training instructor in Bangladesh
Good Neighbors is planning to implement more ICT training programs in Ghana, Bangladesh, Paraguay, and Tanzania. While we face many challenges, such as the development of a suitable software and electrically efficient technologies using solar power. We will continue to provide applications and infrastructure support and teacher training sessions to expand the possibilities. We hope to contribute toward discovering the hidden potential of children and developing quality contents through our efforts in the relatively obscure field of ICT projects.
MOONJOO CHAE / GOOD NEIGHBORS INTERNATIONAL