NomadLab by PN - a mobile learning hub

Easy-to-build, open source, comprehensive, mobile solution addressing the lack of ICT infrastructure and innovative educational approaches for teachers and students

All children deserve a quality 21st century education, regardless of where they live, gender or socioeconomic status. As the digital revolution transforms Southeast Asia, schools and curricula need to adapt. This process has to start with teachers, being essentially important for guaranteeing education quality as outlined in SDG 4. However, a recent UNESCO study found that across Passerelles numériques’ (PN) countries of operation - Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines - persistently low teacher quality, insufficient ICT skills and a lack of access to ICT infrastructure, seriously threaten the achievement of SDG 4. And while many initiatives supply schools with computers and technology, we observed that many of these labs were unoperational because of maintenance issues or unused due to a lack of knowledge about existing digital learning content on the teacher-side.

NomadLab tackles all these issues simultaneously by providing low-cost ICT infrastructure and improving teacher quality, while enhancing the educational performance of children and youth. NomadLab can lay the ground for a growing community of educators, an exchange of lessons learnt and the provision of a repository for on/offline learning tools and curricula. The final goal is to create an autonomous community of educators/NGOs/educational institutions that maintain and spread our solution.   

NomadLab consists of five main components:

1. Internet → based on an online/offline server installed with free copies of open source websites for download and use with/without internet, open access to content with an internet experience

2. Hardware → all in one computers, Raspberry-Pi based

3. Train the trainer → three-months program, based on PN’s current train the trainer program; NomadLab trainers will join local communities to set up the hardware and train the teachers

4. Teaching for learning 2.0 (see below)

5. Sustainability, green IT mindset → recycled screens, keyboards etc; mobile solar panel, power station

PN will use two main pedagogical components based on our best practices and supported by an extra tech component.

• Teaching in the digital age → PN identifies and distinguishes knowledge and information relevant for teaching in the 21st century and describes learning opportunities with the help of digital support. At the same time, we select and use the relevant digital resources and thereby build a new and effective learning environment. The content and resource database is continuously improved and updated

• Teaching for learning → PN’s train the trainer experience is used to set up training sessions and prepare participating teachers to foster learning in this digital environment. We identify the needs of underserved students, create learning objectives and design student-oriented learning materials and exercises. We provide learning concepts and customise off-the-shelf learning materials

• Tech component → maintenance procedure is set up and basic wired/wireless networks established. Updates are continuously installed and best practices shared across the community

Low-cost and easily scalable, NomadLab is a comprehensive solution encompassing hard- and software components as well as a train the trainer program. The open source content and community mindset make it easily transferable to other geographies and it has the potential to empower educators worldwide.  

PN’s innovative approach is not about introducing brand new, breakthrough technologies but rather about using already existing, affordable technology to the maximum benefit of teachers and students. Our solution combines hardware and carefully selected and customised software to simultaneously address existing infrastructure and human resource bottlenecks. This is accompanied by a carefully designed train the trainer component. The deployment of the lab in shock resistant and waterproof containers, built to withstand the extreme climatic conditions of Southeast Asia allows us to bridge the last mile of educational content delivery. A solar panel can be added in remote areas.

Raspberry Pi-based computers with an on/offline server delivering the learning content to underserved communities are at the core of PN’s solution. However, NomadLab does not simply provide a do-it-yourself tech solution because at PN, we believe that no technology will ever be able to fully replace real-life teacher-student interaction. The tech part of the solution is therefore accompanied by a three-months train the trainer program during which experienced PN instructors will train NomadLab educators to use the devices properly and explain basic maintenance procedures. The NomadLab teachers are also schooled in selecting appropriate digital resources that match the students’ curricula. 

During the first three months, hard- and software (open source content, including PN’s own curriculum) prototypes are finalised with our Education and Training Teams. PN’s Selection Team has identified partner schools that are keen to implement the first phase of our NomadLab project. Nomad Lab Boxes are compiled and the units delivered to target schools; local Nomads are identified and schooled in basic maintenance procedures. After the three months train the trainer program, delivered by experienced PN staff, the solution is implemented in partner schools. The implementation phase will reach up to 30 teachers and 1500 students in 5 schools.

The lack of ICT infrastructure and skilled educators - threatening to marginalise an already impoverished class even further - call for the steady growth of the NomadLab community in Southeast Asia and beyond. NomadLab offers multiple scaling options. The hardware components are affordable and easy to assemble which makes the solution’s tech part globally replicable. The software component can be spread using any storage medium. NomadLab graduates (educators that have undergone the three months PN training) will be able to train new trainers, both in pedagogical concepts and technical maintenance which can guarantee an organic growth of the NomadLab community.

Each of the eight computers included in one NomadLab Box can be used by two students simultaneously. As the Boxes are easily transportable, they can be rotated between different users in schools and communities, ensuring that up to 300 students can be taught with one NomadLab over the duration of a course. Partner schools have been identified through our Selection Team. During the next twelve months, PN will complete the pilot design and start the initial implementation and oversight (more infographics on the deployment/use and a more detailed timeline)

None to date. We are currently finalising the hard and software components of NomadLab. Our network of partner schools, NGOs and corporates is the prerequisite for the successful roll-out of NomadLab. PN’s core project and the work in our education hubs concentrates on vocational training programs in IT for underprivileged youth and has served over 2000 direct beneficiaries in our three educational centres/hubs so far. This in-depth, on the ground experience informs PN’s work on NomadLab and allows us to reach a high number of beneficiaries during the first implementation stage already.

30 teachers and 1500 students trained during the first twelve months in Cambodia. Roll-out of the solution in Vietnam and the Philippines during year two (30 teachers and 1500 students in both countries), while the NomadLab trainers train NomadLab novices in the use of soft- and hardware in Cambodia (120 teachers and 6000 students). The cycle will be repeated in all three countries which means we serve 800 teachers and 40.000 students after three years. And that is just PN. The more NGOs and educational institutions adopt the Lab, the more people will be affected in different geographies worldwide

Staff working on the solution hold masters degrees in IT and have more than 15 years of experience in operation project management, IT infrastructure project management and business consulting. Additionally we can rely on our local ICT experts in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines (IT training managers, IT admin, IT teachers and SNA coordinators).

Local PN educators have multiple years of experience in delivering innovative IT trainings and regularly participate in capacity building exercises. Key staff of the project has 25 years of project management skills in education programs.

The different components of the NomadLab allow PN to follow a three-pronged approach

1. Hard- and software solution targeted at public schools in remote/underserved areas: aiming to reach low income students with no access to computers and providing teachers with digital resources - no fees apply and PN relies on its strong fundraising expertise for educational projects and cross-financing from revenues created through option 2 and 3 of our approach    

2. Software solution targeted at NGOs: reaching low income students through partner NGOs to help them improve their teaching because many local NGOs have access to computers but teachers are unaware of digital teaching content and how to use it in class - fees apply for the train the trainer component

3. Software solution targeted at private schools and companies: marketed as e-learning software for revenue generation - these institutions will pay for access to the NomadLab community, train the trainer program, software updates

The sharing mindset is a key feature of NomadLab. Once we hand the solution over to educational partners/NGOs and deliver the train the trainer component, NomadLab educators can train new NomadLab recruits and the number of skilled educators can increase exponentially across different geographies

Building bridges and creating fruitful partnerships lies in PN’s DNA. As a finalist of last year, we know that the Solve community offers the unique opportunity to exchange experiences and lessons learnt with fellow Solvers. Your community offers access to experts from academia, non-profits and the corporate world. Our on-the-ground experience in Southeast Asia has taught us that interdisciplinary cooperation and multisectoral partnerships yield the best results when addressing one of the most complex development challenges of our time: quality education for all

As an educational NGO, PN is not equipped for mass production of the NomadLab computers and boxes. After the pilot phase, we need to identify partners that can help us to transform/adapt our structure and grow a relatively small educational project into a medium-sized, operational start-up. PN possesses the field knowledge, has access to the targeted communities, tech expertise, a curriculum to share and the ability to roll out the first phase of the NomadLab, hence the capacity to mass produce the NomadLab remains the crucial hurdle to overcome.