Digital StudyHall Overview

Digital StudyHall June 2009

The Challenge: Improve Quality of Education in Developing Countries
Shortage of qualified teachers for slum and rural schools in developing countries
Teachers lack subject matter knowledge and understanding of effective teaching practices
Teachers are isolated and lack support and resources

The Digital StudyHall Model Overview
A community-based video production and sharing system
Films and distributes lessons taught by the best grassroots teachers to poor rural and slum schools on DVDs
Teachers at spoke schools use the DVDs to provide high-quality instruction to their students and train themselves

The Digital StudyHall Model Key Components A People’s Database of “Everything” Practical Technology for Community-Based Content-Sharing Mediation-Based Pedagogy Network of Hubs and Spokes

The Digital StudyHall Model Themes
Not about any one particular piece, but about building an “eco-system” of symbiotic pieces
Cheap, practical, effective, replicable on a large scale
Solve end-to-end education problem (not just a technology project)
It’s a people system!

The Digital StudyHall Model A People’s Database of “Everything” Practical Technology for Community-Based Content-Sharing Mediation-Based Pedagogy Network of Hubs and Spokes A People’s Database of “Everything”

A People’s Database of “Everything” Overview The Digital StudyHall Vision A People’s Database of “Everything”
Importance of Being
Video-Centric
Accessible to the largely illiterate community
Easy-to-scale content production (vs. flashware)
Effective in capturing pedagogy and showmanship of great teachers
Open-source , freely available content
Community-based : Content relevant to audience due to localized creation
Video-centric so audiences can use

A People’s Database of “Everything” Database Content
Classes are based on the state government curriculum and textbooks, and are filmed in organized, coherent sequences
The goal is to cover:
All subjects
All grades
All languages

A People’s Database of “Everything” Recording the Classes
Daily filming of live classes conducted by grassroots teachers
Filmed by local staff using cheap, simple equipment
Pune Calcutta Lucknow

A People’s Database of “Everything” Bridging the Education Gaps: The Challenge
Content development must account for key differences between the privileged and underprivileged schools:
Teacher qualification
Language (e.g., English vs. Hindi medium)
Student background and environment
Textbooks (e.g., CBSE vs. Uttar Pradesh State Board)
“ Rich” School “ Poor” School

A People’s Database of “Everything” Bridging the Education Gaps: The Solution
Pair the best teachers with slum students so classes filmed are audience-appropriate and bridges the education gaps
Classes are filmed in local language
Examples and language used are generalized (e.g., not specific to urban lifestyle)
Best teachers from best schools Slum kids Slum kids Best teachers from best schools

A People’s Database of “Everything” Characteristics of Recorded Classes
Classes are highly interactive, with lots of:
Questions and answers
Role plays
Activities
In local languages
Science demonstrations via the recorded classes compensate for the lack of equipment, specimens, etc. at under-resourced spoke schools

Since 2005, we’ve accumulated over:
1500 lessons in English, math, science
Languages include: Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, English
1500 pieces of other complementary materials
A People’s Database of “Everything” Current Status Classes Stories Plays

The Digital StudyHall Model Practical Technology for Community-Based Content-Sharing A People’s Database of “Everything” Mediation-Based Pedagogy Network of Hubs and Spokes Practical Technology for Community-Based Content-Sharing

Practical Technology for Community-Based Content Sharing The Process Cheap, simple camcorders / equipment to record classes “ Hubs” digitize and organize data
“ Hubs” sync with each other to build global database
“ Hubs” burn DVDs to send to spoke schools Spoke schools use content with a cheap TV / DVD player setup 1 2 3 4 5

Practical Technology for Community-Based Content Sharing Equipment at Spoke Schools
Current Equipment
Spoke schools given TV, DVD player, and electrical equipment, including power supply if necessary
$550 per set of equipment
Cheap, easy to use, easy to replicate
Equipment Being Tested
Low-power solution based on “pico projectors” powered by a solar panel
$700 per set of equipment

The Digital StudyHall Model Mediation-Based Pedagogy A People’s Database of “Everything” Network of Hubs and Spokes Practical Technology for Community-Based Content-Sharing Mediation-Based Pedagogy

Mediation-Based Pedagogy Overview
In Mediation, the TV and a local teacher form a team
Model TV Teacher
Provides lesson plan and knowledge of subject matter and pedagogical practices
Local Teacher
Periodically pauses the video to “mediate” the lesson through mimicking, expanding upon, and tailoring the video content
Uses questions, activities, board work, role playing, poems and songs, etc. to deliver an interactive lesson

Mediation-Based Pedagogy Training for Mediators
Training occurs over time:
An introductory training session gives teachers fundamentals for mediation
DSH staff regularly visits school site to observe and give feedback to teachers
Training for spoke school teachers emphasizes:
Ways to interact with their students, while
Viewing videos together

Mediation-Based Pedagogy Peer Teaching
Good students are enlisted as class “leaders”
Can be effective in cases of teacher absenteeism
Potential of scaling skilled and motivated mediators

Mediation-Based Pedagogy DSH Role in Teacher Training
Local teachers learn from video teachers
Teachers should “graduate” from the DSH program
We want the local teachers to kick out DSH equipment in the long run
 Technology Replacing People People Replacing Technology

The Digital StudyHall Model Network of Hubs and Spokes Practical Technology for Community-Based Content-Sharing Mediation-Based Pedagogy A People’s Database of “Everything” Network of Hubs and Spokes

Network of Hubs and Spokes Overview
Each Hub :
Is a local center of excellence
Radiates content and methodology into neighboring slums and villages through:
Developing content
Distributing content to spokes
Supporting teachers at spoke sites
Connects with other hubs to populate global database and share best practices
The Spokes :
Beneficiaries of hub activities, often slum and village schools
Spoke school teachers build their own capacity through mediating the lessons
May connect with each other through the voice social network system

Network of Hubs and Spokes Key Benefits
Decentralized content production, distribution, sharing, training, and monitoring means:
Content is localized and relevant to audience (e.g., in local language, based on state curriculum)
DSH is easily scalable and replicable
Hubs can recognize and tailor operations to meet needs of specific region
Hubs can learn from each other through sharing of best practices
Pune Calcutta Karachi Lucknow

Network of Hubs and Spokes Current Status
Operational hubs in Lucknow (IN), Pune (IN), Calcutta (IN), Dhaka (BD), Karachi (PK)
Each hub works with a number of poor village and slum schools, totaling about 40 spoke schools
Spin-Offs
Digital Green (Bangalore, IN): Spread sustainable agricultural practices
Digital Polyclinic (Lucknow, IN and Ghana): Rural public health care education

Network of Hubs and Spokes Spin-Offs from Digital StudyHall
Themes of Spin-Offs:
Community-based video sharing system
Locally relevant content
Mediator-based dissemination
Training of mediators results in local capacity building
Open-source content
Digital Green: Agriculture Digital Polyclinic: Rural public health

Impact of Digital StudyHall Evaluation Study
Evaluation study conducted at 4 schools over 8 months
Assessed impact of DSH on:
Student academic achievement
Improvements in teacher pedagogy
Evaluation Methods:
Tests
Interviews
Field visit notes
Madantoosi Kannar Mauthri Sarojini Nagar

Impact of Digital StudyHall Evaluation Study: Summary of Findings
Compared to non-DSH classes, DSH classes saw:
Significantly greater improvements in student test scores
Increase of teachers’ and students’ engagement with subject matter
Teachers asked more questions relating to subject material
Teachers better connected material to children’s daily lives
Teachers asked more sophisticated questions that require complex or critical thinking from students
Teachers adopted better pedagogical principles
More participatory practices and collaborative approaches
More effective use of illustrative tools
Caution : Findings should not be over-generalized.

Final Thoughts
Not about any one particular piece, but about building an “eco-system” of symbiotic pieces
Cheap, practical, effective, replicable on a large scale
Solve end-to-end education problem (not just a technology project)
It’s a people system!

Contact Us
Google for: digital studyhall
Website: http://dsh.cs.washington.edu
Email: [email_address]

Digital StudyHall Overview

by Digital StudyHall

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