FALL 2015
means many companies are focused
on technologies that are relevant for
the West. (I think, however, that there is
great opportunity for market growth in
technology is in developing countries,
where most technology users are netnew versus in the West, where technology
is essentially a renewal business.) NGOs
don’t have R&D budgets for the most
part—although a few, like PATH, do some
R&D, but they are the exception not the
norm. So universities can play a critical
role in pushing change in development by
working with both NGOs and private sector
companies. Additionally, universities can
provide agnostic research into successful
strategies and implementations.
What are the biggest changes you have
seen in the intersection of development,
education, and technology during your
career?
First, I see a greater willingness for
different stakeholders to come together
to solve some of the big issues facing
education: ensuring students have access;
driving a greater focus on student learning
outcomes; ensuring teachers have time
on task; keeping girls in school and out of
dangerous situations. Additionally, we are
seeing some critical technology trends
that increase digital access:
The evolution of the User Interface. Touch
screens are now almost ubiquitous on
most devices. This allows technology
to be used in both online and tactile
learning environments. Nothing can
replace good teaching, but when teachers
are supported by interesting content
that takes advantage of the UI, magical
things can happen. We are seeing many
companies now reinventing what it
means to serve educational content. For
example, one company created an app
that allows students to see a forest, drill
into an individual tree, then a leaf, then
the cell and the molecular structure
of the leaf. They can spin the elements
around, and can pull in data from other
sources. It changes the way we perceive
of educational content.
The role of the device. Device form factors
have changed drastically in the last 10
years. We now have more computing
power in a mobile phone than many early
mainframe computers had. In addition, the
cost of devices has reduced significantly,
to the point where it’ll soon be possible
to have a high-end device for less than
$100 a unit. The danger here is that
governments begin to focus on the device
rather than supporting it in the right ways.
So it’s critical that funds, which would
have been used for devices in the past,
be used for content, assessment, and
teacher training. No matter what, a device
cannot replace a teacher, so teachers
need to understand how to use devices as
a part of their teaching practice.
Universal access. It’s continuously
getting easier for people to get online,
even in some of the more remote areas
of the world. More can be done with 3G
and 4G wireless connections, and we’re
seeing a number of new technologies
becoming more ubiquitous, including TV
White Spaces, which use unused TV band
spectrum (essentially unused channels)
to deliver long-range Wi-Fi that can cover
up to 100 square kilometers, and does not
require line-of-site access. We’re already
piloting this technology in a number of
countries, and believe that with effective
cooperation among wireless providers,
regulators, and other players, TV White
Spaces can be a game changer in providing
last-mile digital access. If we have better
access, you can easily imagine kids living
in a community without a fulltime teache