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How countries are using educational technology to support access to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

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EGYPT

The Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MOETE) announced steps to implement distance learning and assessment during school suspension that began on March 15.

MOETE extended the access to the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) to students, providing content by grade level and subject (kindergarten through secondary education). Content is available in both Arabic and English to all students, parents and teachers (does not username/password). This site features multimedia (videos, images, d​ocumentary films) to help explain the various lessons, and numerous full text books, including dictionaries. The EKB can be accessed by mobile phone or computer.  ​

A digital platform offers a communication channel between students and teachers to enable approximately 22 million students distributed over nearly 55,000 schools to communicate with teachers “as if they were present in the school”, explaining lessons, answering student questions, and taking exams online. Videos explaining how to do this are being developed. Students will receive a code from their teachers to enter a virtual class to continue electronically.

On March 19, Egypt announced it had contracted with the online learning provider Edmodo to deliver remote instruction to the country’s entire K-12 student body.

There is an arrangement with the Ministry of Communication and IT and mobile carriers to make available SIM cards at no cost to students if they have a device.

Assessment: For students at KG1-2 and grades 1-2, MOETE requires parents to make sure students complete the curriculum published on the electronic library and the platform. For grades 3-7 (transition years), exams will not be conducted for students at the end of the current school year.​ Instead, a research project for each subject will be completed on the electronic platform. For grades 10-11, students will take computer-based pilot tests from home using supplied tablets. The pilot test will be conducted (without grades) for grade 11 as a final rehearsal to prepare students for the year-end exam. Tests will not be corrected but will offer students the correct answer to self-adjust. The grade 10 and 11 final exam will be computer-based from home.

Egyptian students abroad will use the electronic platform and digital library. Examinations will not be taken.

Source:

World Bank
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/edutech/brief/how-countries-are-using-edtech-to-support-remote-learning-during-the-covid-19-pandemic