In developing countries, lack of funding can mean understaffed schools and under qualified teachers. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a rapidly increasing school-age population means that almost 69 million new teachers need to be trained by 2030. Classes tend to be very large, with the average class in Malawi containing 70 children, meaning children must share textbooks as well as the attention of the teacher. This impacts a child’s education and life chances.
onebillion is a non-profit organisation with the goal of bringing quality maths and literacy education to one billion children in need worldwide.
The innovation – onecourse – is modular, giving the child a personalized and comprehensive learning experience. The child learns at their own pace, building the literacy and numeracy skills gradually.
onecourse was recently announced joint winner of the Elon Musk sponsored $15 million Global Learning XPRIZE, a competition designed to challenge teams from around the world to develop a learning solution which allows children to teach themselves to read, write and do basic arithmetic. The competition involved a 15-month testing phase which saw 2,000 children from 141 rural villages in Tanzania using the finalists’ software until April 2019.
Research conducted by UNESCO and the World Food Program found that "at the beginning of the Global Learning XPRIZE field test, less than 10% of the participating children could read a single world in Swahili. After the field test, 45% of these children could read a word, with 30% reading full sentences."
The onecourse numeracy material is currently available in over 50 languages and starts from the very beginning with exercises such as sorting and matching. The carefully structured material is packed with colorful and engaging activities, which are designed to give practice in core math concepts. With guidance and instant feedback, children can progress through the next concepts and revise difficult topics.
The onecourse literacy material is ambitious, working towards children teaching themselves to read from the very beginning, gradually progressing to a point where they are able to read with comprehension. It is currently available in 4 languages – Swahili, English, French and Chichewa – with more in the pipeline. The software is modular, meaning the course is well structured and the difficulty level is built up slowly in line with the child’s ability. Key learning units are also re-presented so children are able to repeat important lessons they struggle with.
One of the central goals is to instill a love of reading, so onecourse includes a graded library of stories suitable for different reading abilities. Stories from local authors also feature, to ensure a mix of tales from around the world.
Children with learning difficulties or memory issues can also benefit from onecourse, as it facilitates as much repetition and practice as they need.
Recent academic research also showed that boys and girls in Malawi learn maths equally well through onebillion's app, countering a global trend of gender differences.
onebillion has also developed onetab – a dedicated learning device that offers reading, writing and numeracy in one simple package. It is robust and comes in a durable protective case with an optional solar charger. It boots straight into onecourse, in the correct language, and gives extra tuition on tablet usage for first time users. onetab is already being implemented at scale in Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Canada, Lebanon and the United States in both school and community settings.
onebillion is now supporting partners to scale onetab exponentially to reach children across the world, empowering them to learn autonomously whether they have access to formal schooling or not.
