The Lewy Global Development Technology Forum November 4, 2014
Lightning Talks from practitioners
#globaltechWL
Speed Geeking with technology innovators
Expert Round Table discussions with peer groups
Donald Steinberg has more than 35 years of experience in government and nongovernmental organizations. Prior to World Learning, Steinberg served as deputy administrator at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Steinberg served as director of the US Department of State’s Joint Policy Council, White House deputy press secretary, National Security Council senior director for African Affairs, special Haiti coordinator, US Ambassador to Angola, and the President’s Special Representative for Humanitarian Demining. He was also deputy president for policy at the International Crisis Group, a Randolph Jennings senior fellow at the US Institute of Peace, and has advised the Women’s Refugee Commission, the UN Development Fund for Women, the UN Civil Society Advisory Group for Women, Peace and Security, and the Institute for Inclusive Security. Cheryl Winter Lewy has more than 20 years of government experience including Mayor of Larchmont, NY, and Chair, Westchester County Planning Board. Cheryl led and initiated a Westchester 2025 visioning process, the transition from print materials to online planning tools and a tool kit for all 43 municipalities in Westchester. Cheryl has served on the World Learning Board of Trustees for more than 14 years, and is also on the Smithsonian Institution National Board. Alex Dehgan is the founder of a new startup, Conservation X Labs focused on bringing technological, financial and behavior change innovations to conservation. He is also a senior visiting fellow in the Office of the Provost at Duke University where he is co-developing the Duke Tropical Conservation Initiative. Dr. Dehgan most recently served as the Chief Scientist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with rank of Assistant Administrator, and founded and headed the Office of Science and Technology. Prior to joining USAID, Dr. Dehgan worked in multiple positions within the Office of the Secretary at the Department of State and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs where he developed a science diplomacy strategy toward addressing the most challenging foreign policy issues in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and the greater Islamic world.
World Learning Inc. is a nonprofit organization advancing leadership in more than 60 countries. We envision a just world, driven by engaged citizens and thriving communities. Our mission is to empower people and strengthen institutions through education, development, and exchange programs. Gensler is a global design firm that partners with clients to make cities more livable, work smarter and leisure more engaging. Our 4,500 professionals networked across 46 locations believe quality design can transform organizations and improve people’s lives. Since 1965, we have helped clients achieve measurable business and organizational goals, delivering projects as large as a city and as small as a task light for an individual desk. 2
THE LEWY GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY FORUM
November 4, 2014
AGENDA
A hands-on exploration of how emerging technology can be used realistically and effectively to address global development and education challenges. 12:30 REGISTRATION 1:00 WELCOME
Maurice Reid and Paul Samala, Gensler Donald Steinberg, President and CEO, World Learning Cheryl Winter Lewy, Vice Chair, World Learning Board of Trustees
1:15
FRAMING THE DAY “We see the future, and we’re definitely in it!” Alex Dehgan, Conservation X Labs
2:15 LIGHTNING TALKS ROUND # 1
1. H any Attalla, World Learning Egypt Education Consortium for the Advancement of STEM 2. Joel Selanikio, Magpi 3. Leah Bitat, World Learning Algeria, Promoting Education, Altruism, and Civic Engagement 4. Shahed Amanullah, LaunchPosse 5. Adele Waugaman, Catalyst Advisory
2:45
SPEED GEEKING
Hands-on engagement with leading practitioners and vendors with their products • DynEd • Indiana University / Course Networking • Global STEM Alliance / New York Academy of Sciences • Souktel
3:45
LIGHTNING TALKS ROUND #2
4:15
EXPERT ROUND TABLES
5:15
CLOSING and RECEPTION
• TechChange • Fab Lab • Magpi • DevResults
1. Josephine Kennedy, World Learning Education TESOL 2. Allan Freedman, International Rescue Committee 3. Ali Jafari, Indiana University 4. Nick Martin and Charles Weems, TechChange 5. James Bernard, Microsoft Corp. • Distance learning and online education • Democratizing technology • Bridging the user divides • Technology for monitoring and evaluation • Social media for networks, alumni, and participant engagement
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Lightning Talk Descriptions Round 1
Hany Attalla | World Learning Egypt Education Consortium for the Advancement of STEM A Glimpse: Technology and STEM education in Egypt How is it that learning through an integrated project based curriculum focused on solving Egypt’s Grand Challenges and working within a team can create appropriate technologies that may change a country? Hany Attalla is a development practitioner humbled by the intuition of local beneficiaries and the arrogance of donors. He believes that the success of a project relies on learning how to play in a team, even if you are its leader, and grasping that technical issues are minuscule compared to a project’s politics!
Joel Selanikio | Magpi Successes from the field via SMS Adoption of mobile data collection and data management systems is still a rarity in international development. With mobile phone user generation predicted to increase to 69.4% of the global population, the possibilities for real-time program monitoring, interactive data collection, and self-reporting activities from the field are within grasp for anyone—including the very new possibility of receiving real-time information from program participants via SMS. In this session, Magpi will discuss experiences from organizations that have successfully implemented electronic data capture to shorten data collection to reporting time, increase quality, and reduce the operations costs of their programs. Dr. Joel Selanikio is an award-winning physician, innovator and public speaker who leads the efforts of Magpi (formerly DataDyne) to develop and promote new technologies and business models for health and international development, including multiple-award-winning Magpi mobile data collection and messaging software – the most widely scaled mobile technology ever created for international development, with more than 32,000 users in more than 170 countries.
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Leah Bitat | World Learning Algeria, Promoting Education, Altruism, and Civic Engagement Technology for social innovation Increasing civic engagement and youth employment are world-wide goals, particularly in the MENA region. World Learning Algeria has leveraged social media to create networks for sharing of information between Algerian youth for increased collaboration on civic engagement projects. In addition, events such as TechCamp Algeria have served as incubators for innovative civic engagement projects and increased sharing of ideas between regions. Leah Bitat has been working in the field of inclusive education for nearly 20 years, with Universal Design for Learning being an area of particular interest. She has been with World Learning Algeria for four years, enjoying the adventure of rapid project growth in this fascinating country. She is pleased to lead a young, dynamic team in Algeria, whose innovative technological applications have vastly increased our projects’ impact. Shahed Amanullah | LaunchPosse Making your sound bite stand out among the terabytes A serial Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Shahed Amanullah currently serves as CEO and co-founder of LaunchPosse, a Washington DCbased startup that helps people turn entrepreneurial ideas into reality by leveraging their social networks. Prior to starting LaunchPosse, Shahed served as Senior Advisor for Technology at the U.S. Department of State, where he worked in the bureaus of Secretaries of State John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, and was responsible for building the Generation Change and Viral Peace projects. Shahed worked closely with the White House and other agencies on social entrepreneurship, social media policy, combating online extremism, and fostering innovation. Adele Waugaman | Catalyst Advisory What does the democratization of technology mean for the future of aid and development? Adele Waugaman is managing director of Catalyst Advisory, which provides consulting and advisory services to clients using communications technologies to strengthen social accountability and global development. A fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, she also has been a frequent commentator on technology and development trends, appearing in the BBC, Financial Times, New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
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Speed Geeking Souktel is a small business that provides a range of mobile services that supports development programming globally, with a focus on democracy and governance, humanitarian response, and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the Americas. The Fab Academy is a Digital Fabrication Program directed by Neil Gershenfeld of MIT’s Center For Bits and Atoms and based on MIT’s rapid prototyping course, MAS 863: How to Make (Almost) Anything. The Fab Academy began as an outreach project from the CBA, and has since spread to Fab Labs around the world. The program provides advanced digital fabrication instruction for students through a unique, hands-on curriculum and access to technological tools and resources. The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With more than 22,000 members in 100 countries around the world, the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy’s core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large. DynEd International, Inc. was founded in 1987 by a team dedicated to improving the quality of language education. The company’s blended approach combines the best of teachers and technology, and is built around a brain-based learning theory that is a breakthrough in English language learning. Now, after more than 30 years of results, DynEd has the world’s most comprehensive lineup of award-winning technology-based English Language Teaching (ELT/ESL) solutions. CourseNetworking (CN) offers cloud based, next generation online learning management and delivery services based on social networking. CN serves universities, K-12 institutions, corporations and organizations. CN is designed to complement existing learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, Sakai, Blackboard, Canvas, etc., or to be used as a full-scale LMS and Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) provider, operating on a worldwide, academic social networking platform. Membership and course hosting is free to all individual members throughout the world. TechChange provides training for social change. With a team of instructional designers, programmers and animators who deliver online certificate courses to individuals and build customized courses and learning experiences for organizations. To date, TechChange has prepared over 4000 alumni from 100+ countries to apply technology effectively and appropriately in response to global challenges. Participants have come from a number of prominent organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, USAID, UNICEF, Red Cross, US Department of State, Harvard University, and more.
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DevResults is a software development firm based in Washington, DC with a focus on the international development sector. The firm is a team of international development and M&E experts, software engineers, and data scientists. Our goal is to build great software that makes it easier for international development organizations to manage information, measure results, and deliver more impactful programs. Magpi is a revolutionary mobile data collection application that enables anyone with access to mobile technology to quickly and easily collect information, even in remote areas of the globe. The software has evolved and been adapted to new use cases, with organizations making use of the web-based application in industries as diverse as microďŹ nance, energy, education, governance, international health, and supply chain. With Magpi, the full beneďŹ ts of using mobile phones for data collection can be realized: weeks, months, or even years of data entry (transcribing from paper to computer) simply disappears, along with data transcription errors.
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Lightning Talk Descriptions Round 2
Josephine Kennedy | World Learning Education TESOL Experiential learning going digital: Can we capture the magic? Increased technologies in many education contexts, and greater efforts in the development community to support larger numbers of educators from remote areas, have channeled professional development in the digital direction. Drawing on a decade of stories from World Learning’s blended and online teacher education programs, this lightening talk explores how my colleagues and I have struggled to capture in online environments the ‘magical’ transformations we so often witness during World Learning’s face-to-face teacher education programs. Unpacking a variety of stories, we share a number of strategies we use to create rich experiential learning opportunities in virtual learning spaces. For over two decades, Josephine has been involved with teaching, training and education reform projects in a wide variety of contexts around the world. In recent years, Josephine has designed, delivered and/or managed a number of blended language learning, teacher education and education-management training programs in highand low-tech environments including Burundi, Oman, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia.
Allan Freedman | International Rescue Committee Defining the relationship: Successfully integrating technology and innovation in frontline humanitarian response The love affair with technology and development has all the hallmarks of a short-lived affair — irrational longing, exaggerated importance and, the old standby, misplaced expectations. Moving technology from youthful high-romance to long-term relationship will take a greater commitment to get the program teams and technologists to the altar. We explore what happens when the romances fades, when the hard work of building technology into programs really begins. The talk focuses on quick insights from the front of humanitarian response. Allan Freedman is the International Rescue Committee’s advisor for private sector engagement and innovation. He has lead program teams in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Liberia as country director, and worked in senior leadership positions managing diverse teams across Asia and Africa. In his current position, he supports IRC’s private sector and innovation work, and wrestles daily with the big question about how to integrate technology and innovation in programming.
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Ali Jafari | Indiana University Next Generation of learning environment; Global, social, and engaging For the last eighteen years, Professor Jafari has focused his research and entrepreneurship activities on a series of learning environment systems. Being recognized as the father of Learning Management Systems (LMS), Professor Jafari developed Oncourse (Sakai), ANGEL Learning, Epsilen and most recently CourseNetworking or theCN.com. He is currently a professor of Information Technology and Director of CyberLab at IUPUI and CEO of the CourseNetwoking. Nick Martin and Charles Weems TechChange From MOOCs to COOCS: Creating amazing community-oriented online courses Massively Open Online Courses have exploded in popularity of the past five years, but in many cases more than 90% of students in MOOCs fail to complete the course. With over 4000 alumni and an 80% completion rate for its courses, TechChange’s community-oriented online learning model presents an innovative approach to achieving better online learning results. TechChange will present a series of lessons learned on how to choose the right tools for e-learning, assess your audience, create engaging content, and build online communities. Nick is the Co-Founder and President of TechChange. As President, he oversees all strategy and programming for the organization. Nick is an educator, technologist, and social entrepreneur with significant international peacebuilding and development expertise. Charlie is an instructional design and multimedia Project Manager at TechChange where he builds interactive online courses. With experience in communications design, web design and development, and knowledge management, Charlie has worked for several international development companies as well as USAID. James Bernard | Microsoft Corp. Driving transformation through shared value partnerships James Bernard is global director of Partners in Learning at Microsoft Corp. where his focus is on primary and secondary programming and strategic partnerships. Bernard took time off from Microsoft between 2006 and 2008 to serve as vice president of marketing and communications for World Learning, an international nonprofit focused on educational exchange and international development. Bernard previously held a number of globally focused positions in consumer marketing and communications at Microsoft between 1999 and 2006, working on consumer technology products and projects designed to bring technology to people in developing countries, specifically through the distribution of low-cost PCs. Before joining Microsoft in 1999, Bernard spent eight years in a variety of marketing, public relations and communications roles in Chicago, including four years managing global accounts (DaimlerChrysler, Michelin, Owens Corning) at GolinHarris International Public Relations. 9
Expert Round Table Descriptions Technology for monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
New technologies are opening up all kinds of possibilities for improving our efforts in monitoring development programs and evaluating our short and long-term impact. These technologies can often make M&E easier, faster, and sometimes cheaper but they also come with their own set of challenges. This session will explore practical and relevant new tools and technological innovations for data collection, analysis, and visualization. In this session you will: • Understand best practices in M&E and tech • Identify tools/tech solutions to meet the needs of a program M&E needs • Plan the rollout of a monitoring activity that collects, manages, and analyzes data using technology.
Facilitator: Herb Caudill, DevResults
Herb Caudill loves to make elegant and efficient systems that solve real-world problems. A data-visualization geek, a graphic designer, and a programmer, he has been building websites and software for the last 15 years for international development organizations. His clients have included USAID, the World Bank, GIZ, DFID, the World Resources Institute, and Chemonics International. Herb grew up in Latin America and worked in Africa for 5 years, first teaching high-school math with the Peace Corps and then working on internet connectivity initiatives with USAID. Herb has visited 47 countries and speaks six languages. Herb currently lives in Washington DC with his wife and two young boys.
Social media for networks, alumni and participant engagement
Thanks to social media platforms barely a decade old, it has never been easier for someone with an Internet connection to tap into globe-spanning networks, share rich media content, or organize a meeting, whether it’s a book club or a political rally. Yet in many ways social media’s full potential as a professional tool is still only partially understood. This session will explore social media strategies and techniques that enable development and communications professionals to maintain virtual communities, monitor progress, and serve constituents more effectively. The session will also consider the unique challenges inherent to the use of social media as a communications tool. In this session you will: • Understand social media best practices for engaging participants • Identify ways to leverage social networks to maximize alumni engagement
Facilitator: Neal Piper, Presidential Precinct
Neal Piper is the Managing Director of The Presidential Precinct. He has extensive experience managing teams worldwide and creating innovative solutions for Fortune 100 companies, start-ups, non-profit and non-governmental organizations. Neal recently lead the Precinct’s Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders program (YALI) and launched the Presidential Precinct Network, a secure online community and mobile app that connects emerging leaders with scholars, diplomats and private sector leaders. 10
Distance learning and online education
The 21st century has seen a dramatic increase in online courses, both as supplements or replacements of the traditional face-to-face learning experience. In this round table discussion, participants analyze the key questions and challenges faced by educators and students as they transformed the mode of delivery. Working with examples from online teaching practices, participants explore ways of creating technologybased instructional environments that expand learning opportunities. In this session you will: • Understand three key ingredients of educationally effective online courses • Differentiate between content, process and application in online learning
Facilitator: Sean Conley
Sean Conley holds a BA cum laude in English literature and an MA in teaching from SIT. He has designed computer labs for language teaching, integrated technology threads into language curricula, and consulted internationally on the integration of technology in language learning. His current interests are the application of open-source solutions to the educational problems presented by the digital divide.
Democratizing technology
Technology has the potential to radically level the playing field and enable people to directly connect with each other, new learning opportunities, and interact with institutions in new and profound ways. This session will explore the potential to use technology (light apps, low-cost hardware, open learning platforms, etc.) and approaches to learning that purposely seek to disrupt traditional notions of schooling, the student-teacher dynamic, and the ability of tech to empower “non-technologists”. In this session you will: • Understand how technology can disrupt traditional ways of learning, sharing, and communicating • Identify 2-3 apps/products that can help facilitate learning • Plan at least one activity that can promote/build upon the democratization of technology
Facilitator: Celina Morgant Standard, NYAS
Celina Morgan-Standard is the Senior Vice President of Global Business Development focusing on key growth initiatives at the Academy including the recently launched Global STEM Alliance (GSA) and overseeing its business strategy and development. Celina previously worked at Tucker Capital advising on strategy, acquisitions and partnerships for leading organizations including National Geographic, the JASON Project, and Battelle Memorial Institute.
Bridging the user divides
As advances in technology progress, considerations must be made to ensure that all citizens are engaged and able to access new technologies and innovations. This round table will explore the challenges of bridging the digital divide and consider strategies to best engage disconnected audiences. In this session you will: • Learn what the factors are that create a divide in technological access and utilization • Discuss how international organizations can bridge this divide and better engage with audiences that lack access to or knowledge of technological innovations
Facilitator: John Zoltner
John Zoltner has more than 20 years of professional experience designing and implementing initiatives that take advantage of the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to achieve social impact across the globe. John’s career has focused on ensuring that people and organizations with few resources would have access to the internet, digital tools and the skills to use them effectively. 11
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