Panelists on EdTech Monday advocate for relook at blended learning system

Panelists on the June edition of EdTech Monday on the Citi Breakfast Show discussed the need to relook at the country’s blended learning system in order to bridge the gaps and accelerate gains.

The panellists were Kabiru Seidu, Product Designer and CEO of Nubiavor; Dr. Millicent Agangiba, Executive Director of Inclusive Tech Group and Senior Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA); and Nicholas Mawunyah Gborse, Tutor at Bishop Herman College.

They spoke on the theme “Accelerating Blended Learning in Africa.”

Seidu said that it was imperative for Ghana to take a proper look at blended learning and assess how it could be accommodated into the educational system. He noted that most schools are not equipped for blended learning in terms of infrastructure and that most teachers are not trained to facilitate digital learning.

“We need to start looking at how we could strengthen our digital infrastructure and then strengthen the skill sets of our teachers and the skill sets they bring into the classroom,” he said.

Agangiba agreed and added that all stakeholders need to be involved in the development of platforms to give them hands-on experience and deepen their knowledge of such platforms. She said that not doing so would create a desired reality gap.

“I think it is about time that if we want to build systems that can fit the context, sustainable, that can really help to accelerate gains then we need to involve the key actors and make sure that when we put up, apart from it being robust, it is something that we can associate with and something that has the needed features that can fit our context,” she said.

Agangiba also identified some of the challenges faced with blended learning, including the lack of devices on the part of some students and pupils, internet cost and network challenges. She also said that teachers also had challenges because of the lack or inadequate training with some platforms.

Gborse said that because there was no policy guideline regulating the space, designers of digital platforms mostly developed platforms that were not fit for purpose and were not context-bound.

“There is no policy guideline regulating that space at the moment, so it appears everybody is left to do as they please. Most of the products they come up with are not context-bound. They are not fit for purpose for the institutions they are designing for,” he said.

He emphasized the need for key stakeholders to be brought on board to ensure that their inputs were incorporated, adding that it was critical because blended learning helped to encourage “relearning, unlearning, and learning.”

Kwenki Quaynor, a law student at GIMPA, spoke about leveraging the input of the ecosystem to design better learning products. She said that the focus must be on the users, thus teachers and students, and designed to meet their needs.

“For instance, there could be pre-recorded audios and videos to aid students in learning,” she said.

EdTech Monday is an initiative of Mastercard Foundation’s Regional Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT in partnership with Mest Africa. It is a platform for EdTech entrepreneurs, education stakeholders, and government representatives to facilitate critical conversations on the use of technology for teaching and learning.

The initiative is part of the foundation’s strategy to find solutions to Africa’s youth employment by closing the gap in access to quality education and advancing the integration of technology in education policies and practices across Africa.

About MEST

MEST offers Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training, internal seed funding, and a network of hubs providing incubation for technology startups in Africa.

Founded in Ghana in 2008, MEST provides critical skills training, funding, and support in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech entrepreneurs. Hubs are located in Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Cape Town, South Africa; and Nairobi, Kenya.

To date, MEST has trained over 500 entrepreneurs from across the continent and invested in over 80 startups across industries from SaaS and consumer internet, to eCommerce, Digital Media, Agritech, Fintech and Healthcare IT.

MEST is primarily funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence and Outside Insight.

The post Panelists on EdTech Monday advocate for relook at blended learning system appeared first on Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana.

Read Full Story