Letter from the mEd Desk

Nicole Carney

Director of Engagement

Dear EdTech Connected readers,

We are excited for the release of the our third EdTech Connected issue with a thematic focus on Open Educational Resources (OERs). However, since our last issue a lot has happened!

Our team has grown and we want to welcome the newest members: Scott Nicholson, Escape Games for Education Strategic Advisor; John Comings, Senior Literacy Specialist; Hector Rosario, Senior Numeracy Specialist; and Peter Joyce, Senior Digital Scaling Specialist. You can learn more about them on Our Team page, along with our great set of interns and volunteers. With the addition of new team members has come two new activities: #InspirationSTEM and Afghan Kids Support Hub (use the links to learn more about these new initiatives).  

The Alliance Membership is growing as well! We currently have 44 innovative and dynamic members at the moment, and anticipate adding new members in the upcoming year. These new additions will be announced in our eNews and shared through our social media channels. 

We also hosted our 11th Annual Symposium in September on EdTech for Accelerating Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Low-Resource Contexts. Overall, the event included 145+ presenters who represented 38 countries from around the world. You can view recordings from the symposium sessions on the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Showcase page. 

As for this issue of EdTech Connected, we chose OERs as the thematic topic as a response to one of the recommendations in the #SaveOurFuture White Paper produced by the Education Commission. Since the publication of this report, the mEducation Alliance has been working to promote OERs in various capacities and collaborating with a variety of partners, including the Education Commission, EdTech Hub, UNESCO, and Neil Butcher & Associates (NBA) on this topic. Also, be on the lookout for an OER policy dialogues series the mEducation Alliance will be co-hosting with NBA in the new year!

Click the photo to be taken to the 2021 Symposium page

In this issue, there are a variety of features that demonstrate how OERs benefit educators and learners.  Are you looking for organizations who have produced quality OERs? Checkout out the Notable OERs article. If you are seeking expert opinions on OERs, then we suggest watching one of the three Voices interviews: Angela DeBarger (Hewlett Foundation), Zeynep Varoglu (UNESCO), or Neil Butcher and Kirsty von Gogh (NBA). We also suggest reading a thought-provoking piece co-written by UNHCR and Learning Equality on Maximizing the Utility of OERs: An exploration into curriculum alignment, collaboration, and machine learning. Overall, there is a lot of great content that we are excited to share with you! We want to thank everyone who made this issue of EdTech Connected possible. 

And Happy Holidays from the mEducation Alliance – We look forward to all the wonderful things to come in the New Year!  

All the best,

Nicole Carney

Director of Engagement, mEducation Alliance

The Mobiles for Education (mEducation) Alliance is a non-governmental organization 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.

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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’.