Ubongo Learn Anywhere Kits for Localized Kid-Centric Learning in Emergencies
Multimedia kit for crisis contexts with effective & localized learning videos, songs, activities & curriculum, adaptable to different tech.
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"Entertaining kids to learn and love learning!"
What if all children in Africa could find the fun in learning? We're Ubongo, a Tanzanian social enterprise that creates fun, interactive edu-cartoons. Kids across Africa are in school, but not learning… and outside resources are expensive, hard to access, and often not localized. At Ubongo, we create fun, localized edutainment, that help kids learn, and love to learn… on the technology that they already have. We produce Ubongo Kids, an edu-cartoon that teaches math through fun animated stories and catchy original songs. Kids interact live with the show from basic mobile phones, answering math questions while they watch and getting feedback and encouragement from their favorite cartoon characters! Our first season on Tanzanian national TV, has reached over 1.4 million unique viewers, but that’s just the start. We’ve now launched across East Africa, and are translating Ubongo Kids from Kiswahili to other languages, to expand across the continent. We want to transform learning for the 440 million kids in Africa, by bringing them a fun new way to learn, opening the door to a future of digital learning.
Research
45pt
Idea
217pt
Evaluation
1pt
Collaboration
42pt
Total
305pt
Multimedia kit for crisis contexts with effective & localized learning videos, songs, activities & curriculum, adaptable to different tech.
We did in-depth phone interviews with parents in various regions of Tanzania, as well as an SMS poll for parents that was promoted through national TV (as part of our edutainment program, Ubongo Kids). The goal was to learn what challenges parents f
Hello Ofir,
The solution is ready for initial deployment, and it was just tested in Nyaragusu Refugee camp last week. However, our goal is to continue growing the content available within the kits, as well as documentation/ facilitator guide materials as we deploy.
The grade levels currently targeted are pre-primary - class 5 (Tanzania/ Kenya/ Rwanda curriculum). We create all of our own content, and currently have content divided into two broader age groups: 3-6 and 7-13.
A teacher's role is to select content which complements what he or she is teacher, and use the content as either an introduction or reinforcement. The teacher can then follow activity guides for activities to do with students around the content, or (as some of the teachers we currently work with do) to develop his or her own activities based upon what the kids have watched. We are currently working on best practice videos for teachers (and community teaching assistants without formal teacher training) to help them with this style of blended learning.
Best,
Nisha
Hi Rebecca Petras ! Thanks for your note, and I apologize for the slow reply. We would love to explore a collaboration. One of our big focuses now is adaptation to new languages, and it would be very exciting to be able to work with Translators Without Borders on this!
Let's set up a call sometime soon to discuss!
Nisha commented on Ubongo Learn Anywhere Kits for Localized Kid-Centric Learning in Emergencies