The 4th Annual eLearning Innovators Conference & Expo (ELICE), an international conference for mobile educators, researchers, innovators & leaders, was held between 12th-16th September at KICD in Nairobi. This year's event attracted over 300 delegates during the five day event. The 2016 theme, Powering Growth, saw us kick off conversations about mobile learning, competency based learning and digital literacy. From key notes - on gamification in learning, collaboratively building capacity for financial inclusion and using big data to empower decision making and M&E - to workshops and a networking mixer; the conference was a great opportunity to discover and discuss trends in the industry, network and build potential partnerships. www.elice.co

1. CARE ICT and Education
Innovation

2. Why?
How can CARE’s girls’ education programming effort achieve lasting
change in the learning and empowerment of adolescents, especially
girls, through the use of ICT tools to solve root causes of challenges
inhibiting their empowerment?

3. What will we influence
• Access: ICTs are expected to broaden access to learning opportunities
at different levels and varied educational contexts.
• Quality: ICTs are hoped to improve the quality of knowledge
acquisition, knowledge deepening, and knowledge creation, and the
development of 21st Century/leadership/cognitive skills.
• Equity: related to access, ICTs are believed holding potentials to
equalize learning opportunities in favor of economically,
geographically, demographically or socially disadvantaged populations
(especially gender).

4. What in promoting Access through ICT?
What we could focus on (not exhaustive)
• Promote access to learning - materials and information - outside
of the classroom
• Promote collaboration with others through a peer network or
mentor
• Facilitate increased participation in school

5. What in improving QUALITY through ICT
What we could focus on (not exhaustive)
• Influencing curriculum development and/or implementation (on a
specific area)
• Improving the learning process for the learner (increased
participation and learning outcomes)
• Promoting better child-centered pedagogy/teaching process,
information and techniques, teacher networks
• Assessment and evaluation (linking interaction with ICT and learning
outcomes)
• Acquisition of 21st Century/leadership/cognitive skills

6. What in improving EQUITY through ICT
• Focus on facilitating gender equity in education through ICT (access to
more gender equitable information, materials and practice)
• Promote access to and utilization of ICT devices for learning with a focus on
girls
• Influence power dynamics within the household in relation to learning
(continue our work at HH level with attention to use of ICT devices and
leadership skills development and spaces for demonstration of leadership
skills)
• Create connection with safe spaces for interaction to address barriers to
education for girls and negative social norms (e.g. GBV, child marriage, etc.)
• Strengthen social networks for girls support

7. Characteristics of ICT tool/medium
A device(s) that is:
• Affordable: cost and maintenance
• Accessible: common in market and integrates with available
infrastructure
• Useful: User friendly and has both social and educational utility
functionality

8. Activities to consider
• Activities the learner does alone: e.g. research, reading, tests, etc.
• Individual to individual(s) interaction: such as collaborative
assignments
• Individual to group interaction: e.g. mentorship program or teaching
piece
• Group to group interaction: social networks, discussion groups, etc.

9.  Discussion groups
 Share/exchange information
 Collaborate to find solutions or
perform activities
 Invite participation
 Have fun/communicating
 Access to an ICT device & platform
 Training on how to use it/application
 Connectivity to infrastructure
 Technical support & maintenance
 Customizable to learner
 Access to information and learning
material (e.g digital library)
 Intuitive progression to next topic/level
 Data aggregation
 Curriculum based content
 Provide instruction and information
 Identify topics for discussion
 Respond to learners
 Provide assessments
Basic model of operation/interaction
 Set up norms for interaction
 Provide information/subject matter
 Initiate questions for discussion
 Guide discussions/keep focus on goal
 Monitor and encourage participation
 Reporting

11. CO Education and ICT Proposal topics
• Cambodia: Career counseling app and digital literacy skills: Using
Notebooks/tablets, smart phones
• Mali: DRR – use ICT for skills development and youth engagement in DRR :
Use simple mobile phones
• Rwanda: ICT – very narrow, training on use of cameras and video (need to
expand this); data collection throughout program
• Nepal: looks like direct core curriculum learning outcomes linked to MOE
efforts. Explore mobile phone platform. Want to partner with OLE
• Kenya: E-mentorship - use of ICT for mentorship, life skills, SRH integration
for lifelong learning
• Zimbabwe: use ICT for life skills, SRH and financial literacy; E-mentorship

12. Proposed what in terms of content (example
below for SRH)
• Life skills on SRH seems to be rising to the top. This should embed
leadership skills (merge leadership concepts with SRH)
• Explore access to digital libraries on SRMH content for adolescent
• Explore digitization of existing SRH curricula
• Use multiple media for interaction with content
• Track impact on learning outcomes on core curriculum
• Allow learners to have access to and engage with core curriculum
content material (digital access) – learning promotion