What You Missed
Recordings of all events and webinars can be accessed by clicking on the corresponding photo.
Host: UNESCO
Date: October 12 -14, 2020
Summary: The online edition of Mobile Learning Week (MLW) 2020 was devoted to the theme of Beyond Disruption: Technology Enabled Learning Futures. MLW 2020 was set against the backdrop of COVID-19 education disruption and response, and it shone a light on prospects for technology-enabled futures of learning. Each day of MLW focused on a various thematic issue including effective policies, innovative solutions, and the future of mobile technology. MLW is the United Nations’ flagship event on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education, and has been organized by UNESCO and its partners for eight years consecutively.
Speakers: Full list of speakers and their presentations can be found on the event program.
Host: World Bank EduTech Podcast
Date: September 29, 2020
Summary: You might recognize a familiar voice in this particular World Bank EduTech Podcast! Anthony Bloome, the mEducation Alliance’s Executive Director, spoke to Robert Hawkins of the World Bank about strengthening EdTech ecosystems in low-resource contexts and recapped the presentations from the Play Every Day 2020 Symposia series event. You can listen to the podcast HERE and also find other great World Bank EduTech Podcast episodes.
Speakers: Anthony Bloome (Executive Director, mEducation Alliance); and Robert Hawkins (Senior Education Specialist, The World Bank Group).
Host: Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
Date: August 17, 2020
Summary: Learning through play during COVID-19 was part of the INEE COVID-19 webinar series and highlighted how EiE practitioners can use “learning through play” approaches during COVID-19 response and recovery. The discussion focused on how play can be used to foster social emotional learning (SEL) in addition to academics. Panelists provided an overview of how they are adapting existing learning through play responses to the COVID-19 context in a variety of settings and how others can integrate similar approaches in their work during the pandemic, whether through distance learning or as in-classroom instruction resumes.
Speakers: Paul Frisoli (Senior Programme Specialist, The LEGO Foundation); Hadijah Nandyose (Senior Project Coordinator, PlayMatters IRC Uganda); Amani Mkamba (Head of Production, Ubongo); Gustavo Payan (International Development Specialist, DAI); Lawrence Ofei (Training Officer, Right To Play Ghana); and Bryan McCormack (Founder, Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow).
Host: World Bank Inclusive Education Initiative (IEI)
Date: July 28, 2020
Summary: The world is faced with a global education emergency of unprecedented scale. According to World Bank estimates, the COVID-19 pandemic, at its peak, caused more than 180 countries to mandate temporary school closures, leaving 85 percent of the world’s learners out of school. Children with disabilities and their families – especially those living in poverty – face significant multiple vulnerabilities during this pandemic, including education, health, and social protection. This global seminar featured experts and thought leaders on inclusive education, remote learning, and social inclusion and protection to discuss the WB’s IEI latest Issues Paper “Pivoting to Inclusion: Leveraging Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis for Learners with Disabilities.”
Speakers: Louise Cord (Global Director, Social Development, World Bank Group); Jaime Saavedra (Global Director, Education, World Bank Group); Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo (Global Disability Advisor, World Bank Group); Subekshya Karki (Inclusive Education Technical Advisor, Humanity & Inclusion); Dr. Joseph Murray (President, World Federation Of The Deaf); Hana Brixi (Director, Human Capital Project, World Bank Group); Fred Haga (Director For Special Needs Education, Ministry Of Education, Kenya); and Anna D’addio (Senior Policy Analyst, Global Education Monitoring Report).
Host: Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA)
Date: July 16, 2020
Summary: The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), in collaboration with the African Development Bank Group, shared a report during this virtual event that examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and training in Africa, with the participating Ministers highlighting the need to embrace change. ADEA presented its Country Status Report titled “Impact of COVID-19 on Africa’s Education: Reflecting on Promising Interventions and Challenges, towards a New Normal.”
Speakers: Hon. Tumwesingye Elioda, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Uganda); Hon. Ginette Amara Ali Mazicki, Minister of Scientific Research and Technology Innovation (Central African Republic); Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister for Education (Ghana); Hon. Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research (Mauritius); Hon. Valentine Uwamariya, Minister of Education (Rwanda); and Hon. Claudiana Ayo Cole, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (The Gambia).
Host: mEducation Alliance
Date: July 15, 2020
Summary: Coding Global: A Digital Literacy Partners Forum was the second event of the mEducation Alliance 2020 virtual Symposia series on Play and Technology for Lifelong Learning and held on July 15, 2020. This event featured organizations working on education technology interventions that teach coding and computational thinking, particularly in low-resource settings.
Speakers: Gareth Stockdale (CEO, Micro:bit); Irene Mbari-Kirika (Founder and Executive Director, inABLE); Eliane Metni (President and Director, International Education Association); Ernestina Appiah (Founder and CEO, Ghana Code Club); Kyle Thornton (Portfolio Manager, Cisco Foundation); Leonardo Ortiz Villacorta (VP of International Partnerships, Code.org); John Matogo (University Relations & Digital-Nation Africa Leader for East Africa, IBM); Scot Osterweil (Creative Director, MIT Education Arcade); James Aslett (International Programme Manager, Raspberry Pi Foundation); Sunil Geness (Director of Government Relations & CSR, SAP); and Davide Storti (UNESCO Programme Specialist, UNESCO YouthMobile).
Date: July 13, 2020
Summary: UNHCR and UNESCO, and co-hosts Canada and the United Kingdom, convened a high-level roundtable discussion on ensuring learning and schooling continues during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond for refugees. Planned alongside the High-Level Political Forum event, participants heard from refugee learners and graduates, and Ministers of Education from Cameroon, Pakistan and Kenya, about how their personal education experiences and national education systems have been affected by the pandemic, and how they are planning for the return to school for refugee learners. A discussion was also moderated by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie.
Speakers: A further description of participants can be found on the event page.
Host: KERIS
Date: July 1, 2020
Summary: The discussion took place as part of the “8th Special Webinar on COVID-19 for Policy and Technology Sharing” held on 1 July, 2020. Hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and organized by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), the webinar focused on the theme of “Korea’s Science, ICT and Education Policies & Practices.” In this context, KERIS participated on behalf of the education sector, sharing Korea’s online experiences of the last 4 months.
Speakers: Dr Jinsook Kim (Director of the Education Service Division); Director Chungwon Lee (Ministry of Science and ICT); Director Dave Lee (Seegene Institute of Future Technologies); and Mr Wangshick Ryu (CEO of Institut Pasteur Korea & Professor of Yonsei University).
Host: Global Book Alliance
Date: June 25, 2020
Summary: Global Digital Library representatives and audio learning experts from EDC outlined the power of audio as an education system enhancement, introduced the available resources, and outlined steps to ensure quality of repurposed existing resources and new materials development. Here are the links to the webinar recording, as well as the webinar slides.
Speakers: Rebecca Rhodes (Team Lead for Reading & Literacy, USAID); Christer Gundersen (CTO, Global Digital Library); Rachel Christina (Director, International Basic Education, EDC); Simon Richmond (Team Leader, ICT in Education, EDC); and Dorothy Matiti (Program Management Specialist, USAID Malawi).
Host: mEducation Alliance
Date: June 19, 2020
Summary: 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.
Speakers: Dr. Lana Israel (Founder & CEO, Muzology); Maria Burns Ortiz (CEO and Co-Founder, 7 Generation Games); Scott Laidlaw (CEO, MidSchool Math); Kara Carpenter (Co-Founder, Teachley); Ginny Stuckey (Managing Director, Mathalicious); Deanne Bell (Founder and CEO, Future Engineers); Dr. Clifton Roozeboom (CEO and Co-founder, PocketLab); Sage Salvo (Founder and President, Words Liive); Christopher Cerf (President and CEO, Sirius Thinking, Ltd.); Dr. Robert Slavin (Director, Center for Research and Reform in Education, Johns Hopkins University); Dr. Nancy Madden (CEO, Success for All Foundation); Alexandra Diracles (Co-founder and CEO, Vidcode); and Leandra Tejedor (Co-founder and CPO, Vidcode).
Host: UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti
Date: May 6, 2020
Summary: Children Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic was the first Leading Minds online event UNICEF Innocenti hosted as part of a new series on Coronavirus and Children: What the Experts Say. In this discussion, experts covered various topics, including bridging the digital divide and how gaming can translate into learning. For further details, click HERE to read the follow-up report.
Speakers: Dr Vikram Patel (Professor at Harvard Medical School, USA based in India); Patrick Burton (Executive Director of the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention, South Africa); Mizuko Ito (Director of the Connected Learning Lab at the University of California, USA); Nighat Dad (Executive Director Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan); and Daniel Kardefelt Winther( Digital Research Specialist, UNICEF Office of Research Innocenti, Italy).
Host: Basic Education Coalition (BEC) and mEducation Alliance
Date: April, May and June 2020
Summary: In April, May, and June 2020, BEC and the mEducation Alliance hosted four webinars under the theme of “Education Technology for Continuity of Education in Response to COVID-19”. The series brought together practitioners from around the world to learn from one another in an effort to better meet learners’ needs during this pandemic.
Speakers: Full list of speakers and their presentations can be found on the BEC event page.
Host: Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)
Date: April 7, 2020
Summary: The third webinar of the INEE COVID-19 webinar series focused on providing distance learning in low-resource and low tech environments. The webinar highlighted the challenges currently facing Education in Emergencies (EiE) practitioners in the face of the school closures and restricted movement associated with COVID-19. EiE actors shared guidance and recommendations for continuing learning along with practical examples. Here are the links to the webinar recording, as well as the webinar slides.
Speakers: Jacqueline Strecker (UNHCR); Luke Stannard (Save the Children); Abigail Bucuvalas (Sesame Workshop); Camilla Lodi (NRC); Judith Flick and Laura Miller (WarChild Holland); and Lauren Lichtman (Learning Equality); Mark West (UNESCO).
Host: Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences
Date: Series of virtual events
Summary: The U.S. Department of Education hosts an in-person event each year, the ED Games Expo, to showcase educational learning games and technologies developed through programs at the US Department of Education and across the government. The 7th annual event took place in early January 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of schools across the U.S. and around the world changed plans for the in-person 8th annual event. Instead a group of government supported developers and researchers began offering their learning games and technologies at no cost and participating in various virtual events to train users on various educational products.
Supporters: A full list of government agencies and game developers for the 7th annual event can be found on the recap webpage.
