Experts in the education technology field have called for partnerships in the design process to enable Edtech solutions to deliver the desired learning outcomes for students.
Speaking at the April edition of Edtech Mondays, an initiative of the Co-Creation Hub (CCHUB) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation’s centre for innovative teaching and learning in information and communication technology, an instructional designer, Bisayo Adewole, noted that for tech solutions to deliver learning outcomes that would be effective and translate to desired knowledge, instructional designers must be involved in the process.
The engagement session themed, “Sustainable partnership for effective Edtech design,” was moderated by Chinyelu Akpa, Practice Lead, Education, CCHUB.
Adewole emphasised the critical role of instructional designers in the success of any Edtech solution.
In her view, the contribution of instructional designers should not be limited to coming up with user-friendly solutions, but to having one that hits on learning outcomes.
“From the moment you start defining the problem, bring the designers into the conversation. We must understand that the customers are different from the learners. So, you need designers when you start having conversations around Edtech solutions. You need them because they understand the learning experience.
Founder of Xtra teacher initiative, Victoria Abiola, explained the need for teachers to be involved in the design process of Edtech solutions, saying their collaboration with instructional designers would go a long way in making the solution implementable and effective.
She emphasised the necessity of professional development opportunities through adequate training on Edtech solutions for teachers to help them deliver on their task of improving learning outcomes for students.
Urging Edtech designers to come up with innovative solutions that do not require Internet connectivity to increase access to learning, especially for those in underserved communities, she said: “I wish more Edtech solutions do not need access to the Internet. Another thing is to ensure that the solution is domesticated to suit the interest of learners and teachers.
Co-founder, 9ijakids, Titi Adewusi, called for the adoption of a partnership model that would determine the efficacy of Edtech solutions.
She supported this by citing an example of a solution created by her firm, where things were done to make learning fun for users.
“All relevant stakeholders in the Edtech ecosystem need to come together to understand how well to create a solution that would achieve the intended goal. Although the process of designing a solution may be slow, it is subject to fine-tuning, in the long run, depending on feedback,” she said.
The programme manager of education partnership centre, Utibe Henshaw, stressed the need for partnerships that lead to scalable Edtech solutions, noting that doing so would guarantee quality education, improve learning outcomes and consequently strengthen the system.
