Education Technology Services

Five ways educational technology can reach marginalised learners

Education is one of the most important aspects of a child’s development. Not only does good education teach kids to read, write, and communicate effectively, but it also prepares them for the world and equips them with the tools necessary to grow into productive members of the society. Unfortunately, millions of children around the world are unable to attend school for various reasons. According to UNESCO, the number of primary age children lacking basic reading skills has skyrocketed from 387 million to 584 million during the pandemic. Most of these marginalised learners are disabled or hail from low-resource backgrounds.

The growing lack of basic literacy across the globe is a major crisis. One of the factors impeding the spread of literacy is the prevalence of outdated methods and processes in the education industry. Applying modern technology to education is a growing trend, which is poised to play a major role in providing quality education to marginalised learners in low- and middle-income countries around the world. Ensuring that all kids in low-income countries receive basic education can lift millions of people out of poverty and boost literacy rates. Let’s explore ways to utilise the existing information and communication infrastructure to bring modern education technology solutions to rural and isolated communities.

Modern applications of old technology and devices

While most discussions about education technology revolve around internet connections and modern smart devices, older technologies such as radio and television also play a role in spreading literacy. Interactive radio instruction is an emerging distance education system for developing countries. It uses radio broadcasts to guide teachers and students through various learning activities, experiments, and exercises. Similarly, interactive educational television is being used to educate marginalised learners in isolated regions such as South America’s Amazon.

• Device sharing: When we think about applying modern technology to education, it’s easy to imagine each student with their own educational tablet or other devices. This, however, isn’t economically viable in several low-income regions around the world. Instead, certain device-sharing projects allow a classroom of students to work on a single computer independently, each with their own mouse.
• Caching online learning content for offline consumption: Places with low or intermittent internet connectivity are providing marginalised learners with offline access to online learning resources by caching digital content before distributing it to educational institutions to simulate an online environment for their students. Affordable e-readers provide students from low-resource backgrounds the ability to study and read various books distributed by educators in digital formats.
• Using video to create peer support for teachers: Low-cost video cameras, such as the ones on mobile phones, provide opportunities for self-assessment and peer support among teachers in remote or isolated regions. Teachers who may not have been trained in contemporary teaching methods can share short classroom videos among themselves to review and discuss various approaches to teaching difficult topics. This provides them with a way to boost their professional development and provide quality education to their students.
• Local development of teaching content and tools: While much digital educational content exists worldwide in major international languages, certain groups of marginalised learners often don’t speak these languages. Innovations to create digital learning content indigenously can help students in these areas learn in a language they are familiar with, utilising the technology available to them, such as low-end mobile phones.

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How can Infosys BPM help?

The suite of Infosys BPM Edutech Solutions exceeds the conventional learning management systems, with various cloud-based platforms designed to be accessible from any location and on any device.