EdTech Mondays April Radio Show to Examine Digital Literacy in Ethiopia

The Mastercard Foundation, in partnership with Shega Media & Technology, will air the next episode of the EdTech Mondays Radio Show that will examine the power of edtech in delivering and assessing 21st-century skills.

The show, which will be aired on April 24, 2023, at 8:10 pm via Fana FM 98.1 and 10 other affiliated radio stations across the country, will ask what Ethiopia needs to do to facilitate access to digital literacy and how edtech can help with digital literacy for learners and educators.

Digital literacy is the ability to utilize communication and information technologies to create, evaluate, and communicate messages, requiring technical and cognitive skills.

In Ethiopia, digital literacy is a crucial component in creating and improving learning opportunities, particularly in classrooms where it enables students to access information in new ways and then communicate what has been learned with others, giving students a more prominent voice in their community.

However, one of Ethiopia’s significant barriers to digital literacy is the lack of adequate information technology support systems and the inability to afford the necessary digital infrastructures. According to the 2021 Ibrahim Forum Report, many learners in Ethiopia do not have access to household computers or internet access, which hinders young learners from accessing education through digital tools such as computers and mobile devices, affecting knowledge acquisition.

In addition, learning institutions cannot afford to hire teachers, instructors, or professors with the relevant skills, thus limiting the quality of education received by young learners in Ethiopia.

To address this issue, experts say there is a need for sufficient investments in digital literacy to lay the foundation for faster adoption of hybrid learning models in Ethiopia.

EdTech Mondays, launched to felicitate critical conversations on using technology for teaching and learning in Ethiopia, will host a panel of experts to discuss how Ethiopia can accelerate the acquisition of these skills relevant to today’s workplace.

Recap the last episode of Edtech Mondays: Redefining Learning in Ethiopia: Playful EdTech Solutions for Foundational Literacy

The EdTech Mondays Radio Show is part of an Africa-wide conversation initiated by Mastercard Foundation, one of the world’s largest private foundations.

In addition to running a continental program on CNBC Africa, Mastercard Foundation collaborates with local organizations to bring discussions about edtech to the local level, incorporating local context, experts, nuances, and case studies.

In Ethiopia, the EdTech Mondays radio show has been airing since October 2022 and was extended for a year at the beginning of 2023. The show has aired five episodes, discussing topics such as the benefit of technology in improving foundational literacy, how edtech can be used to increase access to education for learners with disabilities, and advancing girls’ education through digital learning.

The Mastercard Foundation’s mission is to advance financial inclusion and education to improve the lives of those living in poverty. The Foundation’s programs are primarily focused on Africa and Indigenous communities in Canada to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. To date, the Foundation’s programs have benefitted 146 million people.