STEMtastic Adventures! 2024 mobiles for education alliance symposium

2024 mEducation Alliance Annual Symposium Official Webpage

THIS WAS THE SECOND ANNUAL GLOBAL STEM EDUCATION FOCUSSED CONFERENCE

For the mEducation Alliance’s 14th annual Symposium, we attracted exceptional presenters who are propelling learners on STEMtastic Adventures! The mEducation Alliance, with our 100+ Alliance and Community of Practice (CoP) members, is the largest convening platform of development, donor agencies, non-profit organizations, private sector associations and other institutions focused on supporting data-driven and evidence-backed uses of technology in education, primarily in lower middle-income economies.

As with our 13 prior Symposia, we were joined at this event by Ministry of Education officials and other policymakers, Alliance member representatives, practitioners, funders, researchers, etc., particularly those focused on pre-primary, primary and secondary instruction in formal and informal low-resource settings. This also includes those institutions and individuals working on teacher preparation/support and community outreach initiatives.

This was the second annual global STEM education focused conference. Our 13th annual Symposium, Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Leaders-Everywhere! and held in September 2023, was the first ever global STEM education conference with a primary focus on low-income countries and context. For our 14th annual Symposium, we created even more dynamic spaces for intentional knowledge-exchange and networking around a broad range of STEM literacy topics.

Quick Links

Symposium Agenda

Accepted Presentations

Presentation Abstracts

2024 Symposium Tracks

AI and STEM Education and Other Emerging Technologies
Climate Education
Coding and Robotics
Digital Literacy
STEM Digital Courseware
STEM is Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
Global Science of STEM Education
#InspirationSTEM is Girl Powered!
Making STEM Accessible (equity, diversity, learners with disabilities, nonformal education)
Mathical Thinking/Non-Digital Games
National STEM Education Programs
Peace Tech
Science Labs (Physical and Digital)
Science Museums
STEM in Challenging Education Environments
STEM and Early Learners
STEM Empowered Educators
STEM Empowered Educators – and Volunteers
STEM Game & Play (tech and non-tech interventions)

Symposium Presentation Teaser Videos

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Symposium Interview Series

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AI and STEM Education and Other Emerging Technologies

National Institute of Education, Singapore; Nurturing learner agency through disciplinary deconstruction, Dr. Kenneth Y T Lim, Senior Research Scientist

RobotsMali; Use of AI to produce Transformative Children’s Literature Rooted in Local Culture in Low-Resource African languages, Michael Leventhal, President of Board (virtual)

Chimple; Transforming Lessons into Engaging Games using Generative AI, Srikanth Talapadi, CEO

AUDA-NEPAD; Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Inclusive STEM Education in Africa: A Pathway to Socioeconomic Transformation, Barbara Glover, Programme Officer: APET

Learning Equality; Progress on human-in-the-loop automation of STEM curriculum alignment using AI, Jamie Alexandre, PhD, Executive Director

Climate Education

Change for Children and Mundo Possible; Climate Change Education MOOC in Central American Indigenous Communities, Tony Llorente, Coordinator for Results, Monitoring and Communications, Nicaragua, Change for Children and Juan Reanda, Technology Facilitator, Mundo Possible Guatemala

Take Action Global; Coding for Climate: Connecting Classrooms to Take Action for the Planet, Katherine Centore, Senior Partnerships Advisor and Riley Justis, Chief Operating Officer

World Learning; The Fusion Of AI, STEAM, And Entrepreneurship for a Green Economy, Yacine Hakmi, World Learning Algeria

Education Development Center; Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, Rebecca Lewis, Managing Project Director, Amy Chen, NASA Program Director, Irina Karmanova, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Coding and Robotics

VEX Robotics (Auditorium); Creating an Inclusive Computer Science Environment for K-12 Students, Jason McKenna, VP, Global Educational Strategy

British Council (Room 121); International partnerships and examples - coding, computing and STEM, Adrian Fenton, Senior Consultant

Robotical (Room 118); From Young Learners to AI Machine Learning - Using Physical Computing to Teach STEM, Hal Speed, Head of North America

UNICEF (Room 120); Tinkering with Tech: Innovating & Developing 21st Century Skills for Teachers and Students; Juan Pablo Giraldo, Education Specialist

Digital Literacy

Digital Promise; Challenge-based Learning for Global STEM Skills, April Williamson, Project Director, Global Programs and Karissa Bowen, Senior Project Manager, Youth Voice and Innovation

EdTech East Africa; STEMtastic Adventures: A Collective Action Approach, Joan Mwachi, Collective Action Lead

Team4Tech and Dost Education; Building a Partnership to Achieve Impact for Learners at Scale, Julie Clugage, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Team4Tech and Anar Amin, Chief of Staff, Dost Education

STEM Digital Courseware (e.g. Infrastructure and Inter-operability)

EIDU; EIDU: The Pathway to STEMtastic Adventures for Millions of Children, Nina Bolte, Head of Learning and Tomas Kessl, Director of Partnerships

Spix Foundation; RESPECT: Making Digital Courseware Better for MoE's, Donors, and Developers, Mike Dawson, CTO, RESPECT Initiative and Jim Plamondon, CEO, Spix Foundation

STEM is Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

Educational Initiatives Private Limited; Ei Mindspark - Improving Foundational Literacy and Math for low-income communities in India, Ritesh Agarwal, Vice President, Ei and Paul Flowerman, Social EdTech Entrepreneur at Ei, Chairman Emeritus PLT Health Solutions

Imagine Worldwide; Early Learnings from Scaling Edtech in Sub-Saharan Africa, Jennifer Welsh, Head of Business Development

World Education, A Division of JSI; Digital Tools as Continuous Professional Development: What Supports Primary Teachers and Students in Mozambique; Stephanie Paloscio, Program Officer

Global Science of STEM Education

Chemonics International Inc.; Connecting STEM to SEL through Teaching and Learning Materials in Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Phillip Butterfield, Chief of Party and Zahina Nazarova, Intervention Specialist

Smithsonian Science Education Center; Smithsonian Science for Global Goals, Alexia Antunez, Program Specialist and Layla Sastry, Program Assistant

Global Science of Learning Network; Let's talk about Classrooms where the Science of Learning meets the Joy of Making, Akshay Nagarajan, Cognitive Science Researcher, University of California San Diego

#InspirationSTEM is Girl Powered!

Imagine Worldwide; Personalized EdTech and Gender Equity, Dr. Karen Levesque, Head of Research and Celeste Lopez, Research Associate

Quest Alliance; STEM Mindset and its myriad challenges, Aparna Balakrishnan, Senior Program Manager, Sameera, Senior Program Manager

UNESCO, Global Education Monitoring Report 2024, Gender report: Technology on her terms, Dr. Priya Joshi, Senior Research Officer

Technovation; AI + Entrepreneurship + PBL + Community = Enduring STEMtastic Adventures for Girls, Rebecca Anderson, Sr. Director of Programs

Making STEM Accessible (equity, diversity, learners with disabilities, non-formal education)

Save the Children and Accenture Development Partnerships; STEM Up: Breaking Gender Barriers, Building Better Futures for All Youth through Inclusive Digital Skilling, Monica Caminiti, Senior Director, Skills to Succeed, Save the Children and Natalie Co, Managing Director, Accenture

Benetech/ Inclusive EdTech Working Group: The impact of Accessible EdTech on Inclusive Education and Dignified Work: What is Accessible EdTech and why it is important for students with disabilities, Vanessa Lombardo, Benetech/Inclusive EdTech Working Group

Peace Corps; High Engagement in Low Resource Settings: Teaching STEM Outside the Box, Peggy Koenig, STEM Education Specialist and Mendeya Konate (Peace Corps Guinea)

eKitabu and Sesame Workshop; Improving Foundational Learning through more Accessible Formats, Nadia Nibagwire, Project Manager, eKitabu and Kara Koch, Senior Producer, International Social Impact, Sesame Workshop

Peace Corps - Kenya; Promoting STEM Education among Deaf students, Renalda Mwanyuma, Program Manager - Education

EdTech Hub; Understanding the potential for EdTech in SEND: reflections from formative research in Malawi, Daniel Plaut, Innovation Learning Lead

onebillion; Centring neurodivergent voices in STEM education: lessons in content and implementation design from delivering impactful EdTech to marginalised learners, Sam Weekes, Content Author

SIL International; Growing Minds: How Bloom Nurtures STEM Learning, Paul Frank, Associate Director of the Language Solutions Portfolio and Cate Burnett Fierbaugh, Bloom Program Director

GIZ; Digital Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities, Susann Gihr, Junior Policy Advisor

Benetech; Using Bookshare and PageAI, students with disabilities can learn STEM subjects, Ayan Kishore, Chief Executive Officer

Ubongo Learning; Creating New Norms: Empowering a Generation of Neurodiverse Learners with Inclusive Edutainment, Cliodhna Ryan, Director of Education and Research

Edutab Africa; Unveiling STEAM Horizons: Science, Exploration, Education, and Foldscope Storytelling in Rural Kenya, Michael Mumbo, Co-Founder and Director

The Wilderness Technology Alliance; The Cycle of Transformation, Lou August, Executive Director

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Strengthening learning equity for STEM through technology: A comparative analysis from Latin America, Santiago Ospina Tabares, Ph.D. student and Nathan M. Castillo, Assistant Professor of Global Studies of Education

Mathical Thinking/Non-Digital Games

Darsel; Scaling Darsel's Personalized Math Learning Chatbot, Abdulhamid Haidar, Founder & CEO

Early Family Math; Playful early math in the home and classroom using the EFM mobile app and materials, Dr. Chris Wright, Co-founder and CEO

mEducation Alliance, Math Power! Explorer: Math Games Via Interactive Voice Response in Low-Resource Settings; Anthony Bloome, Executive Director

Teach for All, Teaching STEAM to Cultivate Student Leadership, Patrycja Janekankit, Teach for Poland Alumna & Member of the Leadership Team of Teach for All’s Global STEAM Community

National STEM Education Programs

Liberia Ministry of Education and Learning Upgrade; Deploying STEM EdTech in Liberia’s High Schools: a Ministry of Ed and Learning Upgrade Partnership, Sangay Freeman, Director of STEM Education and Vinod Lobo, CEO, Learning Upgrade

Ghana Education Service; Empowering Global STEM Education: A Comprehensive Approach to Competence-Based Learning, Olivia Serwaa Opare, Director, Science Education Unit, National STEM Resource Centre

Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad; Impact of Information and Communication technology on teachers' and students' engagement in public schools, Dr. Parmod Kumar, the State Programme Officer of Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP)

Injini; The valuable role of Tech Hubs in the EdTech ecosystem, Kelly Gifford, Programmes Head

Reflective Learning; Exploring edtech user behavior: a deep dive in what students are doing, Eugene Pelteret, Co-founder and COO

Resolute Education; Building Africa’s Future Workforce with STEAM: Lessons from 300 Schools, Rajesh Pasungili, CEO

Western Cape Education Department, South Africa, Coding & Robotics in South African Context, Ashric Don, Deputy Education Specialist: Coding & Robotics (virtual)

Peace Tech

George Mason University - Center for Peace Tech; Discussion on the philosophy of technology and teaching in peace, Dr. Keil Eggers and Dr. John DeRosa

George Mason University - Center for Peace Tech; Advanced applications of technology in Peace Research among Women, Dr. Erin McFee, National Defense University and Dr. Ayse Kadayifci Orellana, Georgetown University Women in Peace Institute

Science Labs (Physical and Digital)

Hilo Intermediate School; Engaging Students in Citizen Science Experiments with the Yellow Submarine, Dr. Pascale Creek Pinner, Science Educator

PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder; Multilingual Early Math with PhET: Supporting Teachers in Play-Based Education with Interactive Simulations, Rebecca Vieyra, Director of Global Initiatives

School Equipment Production Unit, SEPU; Mobile Laboratory: a low-cost, eco-friendly and Inclusive solution to STEM Education in Kenya, Dr. Joel Mabonga, School Equipment Production Unit - Kenya (virtual)

Education Development Center; Bringing Biotechnology Education to the Global South, Rebecca Lewis, Managing Project Director, Monica Cinco, Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) Mexico, ABE Mexico, Eduardo Cortez, ABE Brazil, Akash Dusrath, ABE South Africa.

Science Museums

Hawaii Science and Technology Museum; Making Waves in Hawaii with STEMtastic Adventures, Christian Wong, Executive Director

mEducation Alliance, The Science of Animal Senses, Jacqueline Moore, Math Teacher, Arlington County Public Schools; Cristian-Michae Heichen-Cabello, Student, Carnegie Mellon University

Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute; Our Classroom is a Zoo! Resources in real STEAM; Kaden Borseth, Manager of School and Teacher Learning

STEM in Challenging Education Environments

Arizona State University, ASU SunSPOT: Offline-first Solution Learners Everywhere, Nicholas Sabato, Senior Director, Education for Humanity

Imagine Worldwide; Tackling Education Data Deficits In Contexts of Intermittent Connectivity and Power, Karen Levesque, PhD, Head of Research

Sesame Workshop; Integrating Watch, Play, Learn: Lessons learned from piloting early learning videos in low-resource settings, Lilith Dollard, Director, International Education and Amin Marei, Senior Director, Impact and Efficiency

War Child Alliance; Harnessing the power of digital personalised learning solutions (DPLs) in fragile settings: key findings and policy recommendations from War Child’s KIX-supported research programme, Selin Turan, Knowledge Mobilization and Engagement Coordinator

Beekee; Advancing education at the edge with portable digital classrooms that go beyond libraries, accessible and effective in low or no connectivity environments, Sergio Estupiñán, Co-founder & Co-CEO

Purdue University; Integration and Contextualization of an Adaptable Engineering Teaching and Learning Technology for Displacement Contexts, Dr. Dhinesh Radhakrishnan, Research Scientist and Dr. Jennifer DeBoer, Director of Practice for Education and Youth, Purdue Applied Research Institute - Global Development and Innovation

War Child Alliance; War Child’s Can’t Wait To Learn Math Content Framework and Classroom Program: a freely accessible Math resource for Education in Emergencies and Teacher Professional Development programming, Selin Turan, Knowledge Mobilization and Engagement Coordinator

Learning Upgrade, LLC; Creative Interventions for Out-of-School Youth: How Learning Upgrade Partners with Local Orgs to Transition Youth into Formal Ed, Vinod Lobo, CEO and Haneen Khalaf, Director of Global Partnerships

Geeks Without Frontiers and SMART Technologies Connecting for Success: The N50 Project Leverages Partnerships for STEM Education in the most Challenging Contexts

San Francisco State University, Role of Emotion Expression on Math Performance among Korean Elementary Students, Dr. Jae Paik, Professor

IlluminAid; Harnessing Cordless Pico Projectors to Advance Education and Rural Development, Matt York, Founder, Executive Director

Ustad Mobile; Improving performance on Android in low-resource contexts for better STEM education outcomes, Mike Dawson, CEO

Learning Upgrade and COHERE; Delivering EdTech through Refugee Led Organizations (RLOs) at Global Scale, Vinod Lobo, CEO, Learning Upgrade and Ruth Njiri, Head of Partnerships, COHERE

Imagine Worldwide; Sustainably Scaling Edtech in Refugee Settings, Nadia Asmal, Director of Refugee Programs, Imagine Worldwide, Marcel Cirhuza, Executive Director, Fountain Of Hope Africa

ProFuturo Foundation and UNHCR Zimbabwe; Bringing STEM Adventures to Refugee Learners with ProFuturo Mathematics, Milada Tonarelli Goncalves, Head of Innovation and Product, ProFuturo Foundation, Rumbidzai Gwete, ProFuturo Project Manager, UNHCR Zimbabwe and Alexis Lefranc, Education Officer, UNHCR Comité español

STEM and Early Learners

Hilo Intermediate School, NGSS/STEM Curriculum Development and Teacher Workshops: A Partnership Between TMT International Observatory and Hilo Intermediate School, Dr. Pascale Creek Pinner, NGSS Curriculum Developer/Educator

ideas42; Improving teachers’ support to leveled smaller groups in an after-school remediation program in Senegal using applied behavioral science, Carolina Better, Associate Managing Director and Katherine Flaschen, Principal Behavioral Designer

Learning Equality; Educator certification to enable and encourage widespread adoption of blended learning, Navya Akkinepally, Co-Executive Director

ProFuturo Foundation; Encouraging the Improvement of Teacher Training at the Techno Pedagogical Level, Milada Tonarelli Goncalves, Head of Innovation and Product

Afrika Tikkun Bambanani; Play based learning through Technology, Theresa Michael, CEO

Dost Education; Achieving Language Readiness in early childhood - Role of tech in partnership with community, Anar Amin, Chief of Staff

SIL International; 98% of the World's Languages Lack a Literacy Games App. Now What?, Aaron Hemphill, Mobiles for Literacy Advisor

STEM Empowered Educators – and Volunteers

AUDA-NEPAD; STEM Power Play: Unlocking Africa’s Future with AU Policies, Barbara Glover, Programme Officer: APET

Ori Consultancy; Building a Community of STEM learners through the introduction of Everyday STEM, Bunmi Esho, Founder & Principal

Punto Crea - Vitruvian Consulting de Guatemala; STEAMizing communities, with dignity through the leadership of volunteer tutors, specialists in facilitating STEAM challenges, Ismael Pecher, General Coordinator, Punto Crea and Luis Quino, National Director

US Department of State, Fulbright Teacher Exchanges; U.S. Department of State STEAM Opportunities for K-12 Educators; Jennifer Gibson, Branch Chief

Rede Brasileira de Aprendizagem Criativa (Brazilian Creative Learning Network) and MIT Media Lab; Fostering creative and meaningful STEM learning through Festivals of Invention and Creativity, Leo Burd, Founder and President of the Board, Rede Brasileira de Aprendizagem Criativa

STEM Game & Play (tech and non-tech interventions)

Ubongo Learning; The Crucial Role of User Testing in Digital Ecosystems for edutainment content, Anette Ngongi, User Research Manager and Jacquiline Mujulizi, Digital Video Manager

Practical Education Network, Hands-on STEM with local materials: scaling up in Ghana, Liberia and Rwanda, Heather Beem, PhD, CEO/Founder

Special Thanks to our 2024 Symposium Sponsors

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