Open Learning Exchange (OLE) Nepal

Mission: 

Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE Nepal) is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing education quality and access through the integration of technology in classrooms. Since its inception in 2007, OLE Nepal has been providing open and free access to quality education and innovative learning environment for children in Nepal.

OLE Nepal's mission is to improve education quality and reduce the disparity in access across regions, school types, and population groups by integrating technology in the teaching-learning process. 

To achieve this mission, OLE Nepal developed the E-Paath platform, offering digital learning materials aligned with the government-approved curriculum for grades 1-8 in Nepali and English. The platform features interactive activities and assessments to support student learning. 

In addition, OLE Nepal provides the digital library platform "E-Pustakalaya," granting access to over 10,000 educational resources, including e-books, audio books, videos, and learning games. This platform has gained widespread adoption in community schools and libraries throughout Nepal. 

OLE Nepal also created "Hamro Ramailo Kathaharu," a collection of animated stories designed to be engaging and fun while promoting important learning outcomes. 

Ensuring education accessibility for all children, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location, is a key goal for OLE Nepal. To achieve this, the organization has made its products and services available on low-cost, low-power devices like smartphones, tablets, and other internet-enabled devices and freely accessible from our website or apps. This strategy has enabled OLE Nepal to reach children in even the most remote and undeserved areas of the country. 

Vision: 

OLE Nepal's vision is to engage young learners and inspire a love for learning. The organization believes that every child deserves access to high-quality, engaging educational materials, and we strive to provide these materials through innovative technology and approaches. 

Sparking curiosity and excitement in young learners is a core focus for OLE Nepal. By providing engaging and interactive resources, we aim to inspire a love of learning and foster a lifelong passion for knowledge. 

Another important aspect is providing access to quality materials. OLE Nepal believes that all children, regardless of background or location, should have access to high-quality education. The open and free learning resources aim to provide children with the tools and materials they need to succeed in school and life. 

Fostering inclusive learning environments is a priority for OLE Nepal. Recognizing that not all children have equal access to educational resources, we are committed to providing inclusive learning materials. From eBooks and learning games to animated stories and accessibility tools, OLE Nepal strives to make learning accessible to all.

OLE Nepal also actively supports the education sector by working closely with educators, schools, and other stakeholders. Through partnerships and collaboration, we aim to make a lasting impact on the quality and accessibility of education in Nepal. 

Core values: 

Inclusiveness, diversity, trust, empathy, and teamwork are the core values that guide OLE Nepal's mission and vision. These values underpin our dedication to providing quality education, fostering inclusivity, and collaborating with stakeholders to make a positive change in the education sector.

The following outlines the responsibilities and duties that the team lead in our organization is tasked with:

• Take the lead in managing the organization's Digital Content Development Program, specifically focusing on "E-Paath" initiative. This involves overseeing the entire program, including planning, implementation, and evaluation. 

• Continue to lead and execute the functions of Content Designer and Coordinator in the current project and pursue new project opportunities that align with our objectives. 

• Coordinate and support to develop and/or update of digital content training- orientation packages based on the demand of time and deliver the training. 

• Develop appropriate training-orientation packages as per the need and upon seeking training opportunities. 

• Coordinate, interact and maintain relations with central/local government agencies and other line agencies for smooth execution of the project.

• Work with Senior Manager - Government Affairs for meeting Social Welfare Commission's requirements such as project approval, reporting, project appraisal meeting, social audit, coordination possibly up to ward level of the project lead by the lead.

• Research and stay updated on the latest developments in the field of education technology and provide suggestions.

• Preparation of reports as per the requirement of the donor and government line agencies.

If granted the opportunity, Deepa Thapa as the Project Manager, will assume the responsibility of overseeing the LEAP Project and ensuring the successful completion of its deliverables. She completed her B.Sc. and postgraduate degree in Education (PGDE) from Kathmandu University, School of Education and Masters degree in Social science from Tribhuvan University.  For the past 10 years, she has been leading the E-Paath development project, demonstrating her leadership skills and commitment. Throughout this time, she has consistently sought out new opportunities to identify innovative solutions and enhance the project's capabilities. Her proactive approach and dedication have enabled the continuous improvement and evolution of the project.

The following supporting team members will be working closely with the Team Lead.

Pawan Dhakal, a member of the supporting team, holds the position of Product Manager at OLE Nepal. He earned his B.A. in Physics and Mathematics from Dartmouth College and an M.Sc. in Physics from The Ohio State University. Previously, Pawan contributed as a Content Designer for E-Paath and learning games, with a primary focus on developing captivating educational content for a self-learning app designed for students aged 9-12. His interest in enhancing access to quality education that is locally relevant and contextualized motivated him to engage with OLE Nepal's free and open-source educational content. Pawan aspires to create compelling learning materials that can reach students across Nepal.

Sanish Dangol, who holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Information System and a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in English Language Teaching from Kathmandu University, is another valuable member of the project's supporting team. He currently serves as the Project Coordination Lead for the E-Paath Content Development Project at OLE Nepal. In this role, he collaborates with the content team to arrange and evaluate novel digital learning activities. He is committed to enhancing education in rural areas and reducing the educational disparity between rural and urban areas. 

Furthermore, our team consists of exceptionally experienced facilitators, well-equipped technicians, and skilled, self-motivated members. We are fully prepared to embrace a mindset of continuous learning, unlearning, and relearning, enabling us to adapt, evolve, and successfully execute our tasks in the process.

E-Paath is a collection of interactive digital learning activities aligned with Nepal's national curriculum, providing engaging education for grades 1-8.

Addressing the challenge of inadequate learning outcomes in classrooms has been a major issue in Nepalese context. A significant number of students have been under-performing in various subjects, including science, math, Nepali, and English. This concerning trend has highlighted the need for effective strategies to enhance their academic performance. Moreover, a substantial disparity exists in learning outcomes between the students of community schools and private schools. Students from private schools usually perform better in every subject compared to the students from community schools. On top of that, adequate learning materials are not available in many community schools across rural regions of the country due to geographical difficulties. To address these problems, E-Paath was developed as a multimedia-based learning application consisting of contents that align with the national curriculum, enabling teachers and students to meet learning objectives effectively. With its modular structure, E-Paath offers subject and grade-specific activities covering core subjects such as Nepali, English, science, and math from grades 1 to 8 in both Nepali and English languages. The multimedia-based approach of E-Paath incorporates contextualized images, audio, animations, and games to enhance the learning experience. Each activity module includes a lesson section that helps students grasp the covered concepts, followed by an exercise section to assess their understanding. Furthermore, there are additional exercises within the lessons to reinforce the learned concepts. To assist teachers, each activity is accompanied by a Teacher's Note, providing guidance on integrating E-Paath activities into classroom teaching practices. To meet the diverse needs of learners, the E-Paath application is designed to be accessible both online and offline. In the online mode, students can access it through the website and Android mobile apps. For offline access, the application is deployed on local servers in rural schools, making it available on affordable, low-power devices such as smartphones, tablets, and Raspberry Pi. This approach has been instrumental in enabling OLE Nepal to extend its reach to children in the most remote and under-served regions of the country.

E-Paath is a free collection of interactive digital learning activities developed by OLE Nepal. It aims to provide engaging and meaningful learning experiences for students in grades 1-8. Covering core subjects such as Nepali, English, science, and math that are aligned with the national curriculum of Nepal, E-Paath offers multimedia-based content that includes images, audio, animations, and games to enhance the learning process. The modules are organized by subject and grade, featuring a lesson section to explain concepts and an exercise section to assess understanding. Smaller exercises within the lessons help reinforce learning. E-Paath recognizes the importance of learning variability, understanding that learners differ in their learning processes, cognitive abilities, social backgrounds, and learning needs.    

E-Paath emphasizes learning variability by providing content and instructions in multiple formats, allowing learners to utilize their cognitive skills for improved learning outcomes. The application transforms the content into an interactive experience by integrating texts, images, visuals, animations, and audio. By offering content and instructions in various formats, E-Paath acknowledges learner variability and provides a flexible learning environment that can adapt to the needs of different learners. This approach ensures that learners can engage with the materials using cognitive skills that enhance their understanding and retention of the subject matter.    

In addition, E-Paath demonstrates its commitment to learner variability by incorporating Nepali Sign Language (NSL) videos into its existing chapters. The integrated NSL instructions into each E-Paath lesson and exercise, benefit students with hearing impairments. By including NSL instructions for English, Maths, Science, and Nepali subjects for grades 1-6, E-Paath enables students with hearing impairments to follow audio instructions through sign language. This inclusive approach recognizes the unique needs and abilities of students with hearing impairments, catering to their specific learning requirements and promoting inclusivity within the E-Paath platform.    

Next, E-Paath caters to learner variability by promoting a personalized learning approach. By allowing students to learn at their own pace through timely assessments, E-Paath accommodates individual learning speeds and preferences. The interactive activities within E-Paath are designed to enable learners to navigate through the content at their preferred speed and access materials as needed. This grants them autonomy over their learning process, acknowledging and catering to their unique learning styles and abilities. Furthermore, E-Paath's flexibility in extending learning beyond the classroom setting facilitates recreational learning experiences, addressing the diverse needs and interests of learners.    

Lastly, E-Paath embraces inclusivity and recognizes the diverse social and cultural backgrounds of learners. By situating the learning content in real-world scenarios and local contexts, E-Paath ensures that the material is personally meaningful for students from different communities in Nepal. It values the rich cultural diversity of Nepal by representing and incorporating content from various communities, making it relevant to learners' social contexts. This approach allows E-Paath to cater to the unique learning needs, experiences, and perspectives of students from different backgrounds.

Basic school children (ages 5-14)

The organization has carried out foundational and formative research. Before carrying out the initial tasks of designing and development of the E-Paath, the organization had carried out the foundational research that included literature review and desktop research. Literature review included the review of studies pertaining to how providing learning contents through multiple formats such as texts, visual, audio and animation in digital format cater to the learning process tailored to individual strength in the learners’ multiple intelligence. On the other hand, the desktop research informed us about the existing problem of inadequate learning outcomes among young learners and the need for learning resources across the country. The desktop research also included a thorough examination of existing educational resources, literature, and cultural materials which helped the E-Paath team gain insights into the diverse social and cultural contexts of learners in Nepal. This enabled the team to gather information, data, and materials that were then carefully integrated into the E-Paath platform. This process involved curating content from different communities, incorporating local examples and references, and ensuring that the learning experiences are personally meaningful for the students.    

Additionally, there have also been usability studies and user interviews conducted among the users during and after the development of the application. These studies were carried out among the end-users who included the children aged 5-14. The study helped us evaluate the application and make changes in the design features.    Further, the organization has also been involved in conducting implementation studies, to enhance its educational initiatives. 

The organization had conducted implementation studies to evaluate the effectiveness of E-Paath deployment in schools in 3 districts of Nepal (in Doti, Baitadi and Bajhang) between 2016-2017. The study involved two surveys, a baseline survey conducted before the introduction of E-Paath, and a mid-line survey conducted one year after the program launch in the total of 50 schools in each of the districts. Students from grades two to four were randomly selected to participate, and the surveys consisted of multiple-choice questions. The baseline surveys were administered with the help of school teachers and OLE Nepal volunteers, while the mid-line survey was conducted by school teachers and OLE Nepal's teaching residents. The study included a total of 1512 students, with equal gender distribution. The implementation studies aimed to assess the impact of the E-Paath usages on student learning outcomes and gain insights regarding E-Paath implementation.

The foundational and formative research conducted by the organization has allowed it to initiate the development of learning resources and modify them to some extent. The initial foundational research in the form of literature review informed us about the theory of multiple intelligence and the possible opportunities of using multi-modal formats to help the learners use linguistic, visual and audio cues to have an improved learning experience. This has helped us come up with an E-Paath that uses multiple modes of learning such as texts, images and illustrations, audio and other visual cues to engage students in meaningful learning experiences.     

Besides, desktop research informed us about the existing status of inadequate learning outcomes among the learners. For example, the reports on the nation-wide assessment of learners’ achievement in Nepali language and Mathematics suggested that a huge mass of students fall under the category of “under-performing” level and that the disparity between the learning achievements of community and private schools was large. Further, the desktop research helped us to undertake the approaches of embracing inclusivity, recognizing diverse backgrounds, situating learning content in real-world scenarios, and valuing cultural diversity. This research provided the necessary knowledge and understanding to shape the content and design of E-Paath, ensuring that it effectively meets the needs of learners from different communities in Nepal and celebrates their unique identities and cultures.

Conducting usability studies and user interviews have also helped us modify our product. By engaging with children aged 5-14, the organization gained understanding of their interaction with the app and their needs. These studies identified usability issues, gathered direct feedback, and informed design enhancements. Incorporating these findings attempted to improve the user experience and ensure the application aligns with user needs. 

Furthermore, by conducting the implementation studies of E-Paath deployment in Baitadi , Doti and Bajhang districts of Nepal, the organization gathered data and insights to evaluate the impact of the E-paath usages on student learning outcomes. The results of the implementation study showed significant improvements in student learning outcomes in English, Science, and Mathematics through comparisons between the baseline and mid-line survey results. However, while the implementation studies provided valuable insights, it is still necessary to interpret the results within the context of the limitations of the research methodology and consider a holistic approach when evaluating the impact of E-Paath on student learning outcomes.

The fact that we have limited evidence to support the design and development of our solution suggests the need to strengthen its evidence base. For OLE Nepal, E-Paath is a growing product with a growing number of users who access the app online via its website and Android application, and offline via local servers deployed in several local communities across Nepal. So, strengthening its evidence base can help us improve our product and cater to the growing number of users. Particularly, with recent updates in the national curriculum, we are looking to develop new contents, update the contents and make the platform relevant to the emerging needs of the learners. So, this could be the right time for an organization to gain deeper insights into the effectiveness of E-Paath in various contexts, identify areas for improvement, and enhance the learning experience of students. An evidence-based approach will support OLE Nepal in continuously improving and updating the product based on the feedback and insights gained from research. It will allow for iterative development, ensuring that the application remains responsive to the evolving needs of students and educators.    

Moreover, in the current scenario, a growing number of teachers and students are looking to leverage technology to enhance education in Nepal. So, building an evidence base will enable OLE Nepal to compare the effectiveness of E-Paath integrated teaching with traditional teaching methods and enhance the credibility and effectiveness of E-Paath. The evidence generated through rigorous research and evaluation can be used to advocate for the adoption and scaling up of E-Paath in more schools and communities, leading to wider educational impact. 

1. Which specific user interface elements of E-Paath positively impact learning outcomes, and how can they be further optimized?

2. What strategies and improvements can be implemented in the content presentation of E-Paath to maximize its effectiveness in facilitating learning outcomes?
   

3. How does personalizing the E-Paath learning application contribute to improved learning outcomes, and what approaches can be adopted to enhance its personalized learning features?

Literature review: Conduct a focused review of existing literature on user interface aspects of a digital learning platform related to improved learning outcomes. The output will be a concise summary of key findings, highlighting the most relevant aspects for consideration in E-Paath.    

Guidance on usability evaluation: Provide guidance on how to perform a streamlined usability evaluation of the current user interface of E-Paath. The guidance can involve details on how to conduct user testing and gather feedback from a sample of end-users. The output will include a brief report outlining the guidelines to gather the major usability strengths and weaknesses of the application.    

Strategies on content presentation assessment: Provide strategies on how to evaluate the content presentation in E-Paath through a combination of quick assessments and feedback. This can involve identifying key areas for improvement and providing specific recommendations to enhance content organization and visual presentation. The output will be a brief report summarizing the strategies that will help in improving the content presentations in E-Paath.

Strategies on gathering user feedback: Suggest strategies on gathering feedback to understand the potential benefits and challenges of personalizing E-Paath. This can help in identifying common themes and suggestions for incorporating personalized learning features in E-Paath.

Incorporate insights from the literature review into the development process: The organization will aim to integrate the literature review findings into the development process of E-Paath. The concise summary of key findings will inform the design decisions related to user interface aspects, ensuring that the platform aligns with best practices for improved learning outcomes.    

Conduct usability evaluation: Next, we will aim to use the guidance on usability evaluation to conduct a streamlined evaluation of the current user interface of E-Paath. By following the provided guidelines, the team can gather feedback from end-users and identify strengths and weaknesses of the E-Paath’s usability. The findings from the evaluation can be used to make iterative improvements to the user interface.    

Implement the strategies to improve content presentation: The organization can implement the strategies on content presentation assessment to evaluate and enhance the content organization and visual presentation in E-Paath. By applying the recommended assessment methods and incorporating specific recommendations, the team can ensure that the content is effectively presented to enhance learning outcomes.    

Collect user feedback for personalization of E-Paath: The organization can utilize the suggested strategies on gathering user feedback to understand the potential benefits and challenges of personalizing E-Paath. By actively seeking input from users, the organization can gather valuable insights and suggestions for incorporating personalized learning features into the platform. This feedback can guide the development of personalized learning features in E-Paath.    

Overall, the organization will look to continuously integrate the research outputs into the ongoing improvement process of E-Paath while aiming to update and develop new contents based on the upgraded national curriculum. The organization will look to analyze the outputs, identify areas for enhancement, and implement changes based on the recommendations and findings.

Short-term outcomes

Increased Awareness and Understanding: The outputs, such as the literature review, usability evaluation guidance, and content presentation strategies, will lead to increased awareness and understanding among the OLE Nepal team about the key factors influencing user interface, usability, and content presentation in E-Paath. This knowledge will serve as a foundation for making informed decisions and improvements. 

Improved User Interface: The usability evaluation guidance and user feedback strategies will contribute to immediate improvements in the user interface of E-Paath. By addressing the identified strengths and weaknesses, OLE Nepal can enhance the user experience, making the platform more intuitive, engaging, and effective for learners. 

Enhanced Content Presentation: The strategies for content presentation assessment will result in improved content organization and visual presentation in E-Paath. This will make the learning materials more accessible, engaging, and aligned with learners' needs, thereby facilitating better understanding and knowledge retention. 

User Engagement and Satisfaction: The iterative development process based on the outputs will lead to increased user engagement and satisfaction with E-Paath. By incorporating user feedback and implementing improvements, OLE Nepal can create a learning platform that resonates with the users, meets their needs, and enhances their overall learning experience. 

Long-term outcomes

Improved Learning Outcomes: The combined effect of the enhanced user interface, optimized content presentation, and personalized learning features will result in improved learning outcomes for students. By providing a more effective and engaging learning experience, E-Paath will help students develop a deeper understanding of the subjects, improve their knowledge retention, and apply concepts in real-world scenarios. 

Increased Adoption and Usage: As the usability and user experience of E-Paath improve, there will be increased adoption and usage of the platform by both teachers and students. The intuitive and user-friendly interface, along with personalized features, will encourage teachers to integrate E-Paath into their teaching practices, and students will be motivated to actively engage with the platform, leading to higher usage rates. 

Empowered Educators: The outputs and ongoing research initiatives will empower educators by providing them with valuable insights, guidelines, and recommendations. This will enable teachers to effectively utilize E-Paath as a powerful educational tool, enhancing their teaching methodologies and enabling personalized learning experiences for students. 

Sustainable Impact: The continuous improvement and evidence-based approach fostered by OLE Nepal will lead to long-term sustainability and scalability of E-Paath. The outcomes generated through research and user feedback will contribute to a robust evidence base, supporting the long-term growth and expansion of E-Paath's impact across Nepal's education system.