2020 Symposia Series

Going Global: Adapting High-Quality EdTech Games for Low-Resource Settings featured ten US-based educational game developers who have received prior US government grant support for their high-quality educational games and are hoping to expand the international reach of their products.

This event, as well as others in the series, was designed to share compelling ed tech innovations and to foster partnership opportunities. We were delighted to co-host this event with the institutional members of the EdTech Hub and the Global Innovation Exchange.

Presentation from 7 Generation Games

Recorded Event

Watch it Here!
Presentation from MidSchoolMath

Agenda and Presenters

Links to each of the organizations are provided and you can click on the headshots of the presenters for a short bio. The list of discussants can be found at the bottom of the page.

Moderator: Anthony Bloome, Senior Technology for Development Specialist, USAID and Founder, mEducation Alliance

Hour 1: Math and Numeracy Games

Muzology writes and produces modern hip youth-facing learning songs performed by professional industry artists for teaching K12 students hard to learn mathematical concepts.

7 Generation Games has designed a number of educational math learning games to teach students math through a cultural lens. All games already work with offline capabilities to be accessible in low resource areas across the digital divide.

MidSchoolMath has a game called EMPIRES, which is an epic story-based narrative mathematics game set in Ancient Mesopotamia which allows algebra to be coherently used and learned in context.

Teachley has a suite of math game apps that support fact fluency and promote math strategy development for students in kindergarten to grade five.

Mathalicious engages students in real-world questions using middle and high school math. The lessons are meant to put teachers and students in a position to have interesting conversations that foster a classroom culture of curiosity and rigorous mathematical thinking.

Hour 2: STEM and Literacy Games

Future Engineers uses an online platform to offer free STEM/STEAM challenges for students in kindergarten to grade 12, such as NASA’s “Name the Mars Rover” competition which engaged 28,000 students.

PocketLab allows students to use a sensor (a small wireless device that transmits scientific data using Bluetooth to a smartphone, tablet, or computer) which then enables them to complete real-world experiments that produce scientific data from the experiments.

Words Liive integrates hip-hop song lyrics with traditional classroom text-based lessons to promote literacy learning. It delivers free, accessible content through Google Drive, text message, SMS based apps, and social media.

Sirius Thinking owns a platform called Lightning Squad for tutors to work with struggling readers in grades 1 to 3 using digital books, multimedia activities, such as games, puzzles, and videos, and a dashboard to track student progress and provide instructional resources.

Vidcode is an online coding platform that teaches students from grade three and up computer science, computational thinking, and JavaScript through multimedia art projects.

Discussants

We want to thank our seven volunteer discussants who will be asking each of the educational game developers questions following each of the presentations. We know each of them will provide the presenters with valuable insights as they move to the international market.

  • Agustin Porres, Regional Director for LATAM, Varkey Foundation
  • Michael Trucano, Senior Education & Technology Policy Specialist and Global Lead for Innovation in Education, World Bank
  • Robert Hawkins, Senior Education & Technology Policy Specialist and Global Lead for Technology and Innovation in Education, World Bank
  • Suraj Shah, Lead, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Mastercard Foundation
  • Juan Pablo Giraldo Ospino, Education & Innovation Specialist, UNICEF
  • Stefano De Cupis, Senior Communications Officer, Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
  • Jesus Trujillo Gomez, Strategic Business Executive, Google Cloud, Education

The Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit focused on the evidence-driven and sustainable role of technology in education to advance quality educational outcomes. Initially formed in 2010, the mEducation Alliance is a unique, multi-stakeholder convening platform for government and donor policymakers, other investors, researchers, and practitioners to work together, particularly in lower-resource, developing country contexts. For more information about the Alliance, including about our signature activities, visit the organization web page. Read Full Disclosure and Policy Statement Here

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Jax Chaudhry

Jax Chaudhry leads Project Invent, a national nonprofit that empowers youth with future ready mindsets for individual success and global impact, through invention. Originally from the Southside of Chicago, Jax loves working with students, families and partners to ensure every student can attain success as they define it. For more than 10 years, she has worked with elementary schools, high schools, education nonprofits and led regional teams and operations to ensure student success.

Michael Leventhal

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning scienceMichael Leventhal is co-founder of RobotsMali, a pedagogical and AI4D laboratory and STEM education center in Bamako, Mali. RobotsMali has trained thousands of students from elementary school to high school in computer science, robotics, and artificial intelligence, coached national robotics teams that have won 32 medals in international competitions, and developed technologies using AI and robotics for the social and economic development of Mali. Before becoming an educator in Mali, Michael worked as a technologist in Silicon Valley.s, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.

Enouce Ndeche

Enouce Ndeche is the founder and Director of Vijana Amani Pamoja ,VAP a community scheme based in Nairobi Kenya that uses the power and the popularity of the game of soccer/football as a catalyst for social, educational and economic empowerment.Enouce holds a degree in sociology from Egerton university and he is also the 2020 individual award recipient “Diversity and Inclusion Eminent Leader Award Enouce is also a certified Sports Philanthropy and Executive, George Washington University and is a 2023 Gratitude Network fellow.

Kenneth Y T Lim

Kenneth Y T Lim operates at the intersection of neuroergonomics, the learning sciences, and cognitive psychology. In 2023, he and his team were identified by UNESCO to share their work on the affordances of Generative AI for meaningful teaching and learning, during UNESCO’s first annual flagship event Digital Learning Week, international forum on the implications of Generative AI for education, in the session on ‘Preparing students and teachers for responsible use of AI’.