MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

WhatsApp-based-Learning (WhatsApp Edu)

One-line solution summary:

Provide an education or training model so that populations with low connectivity and ICT resources can access high quality education

Pitch your solution.

In the LA&C area, scarce resource families in rural areas have difficulties to access high-quality education and training. With common ICT technologies such as WhatsApp, education can be effectively mediated and tutored. Access to the internet, although not fully democratized, augments yearly, as well as, the access to smartphones helping full deployment of the idea locally and globally at minimum cost whilst using a BYOD strategy.

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

In LA&C countries, people that live in the rural areas ave problems to access high-level education due to scarce infrastructure an human resources required to educate. In that sense, the idea is to use WhatsApp to mediate the learning process providen content following conceptualization of contents, pedagogical sequences and tutorial actioning to participating students. In Colombia (DANE 2018), 72.2% have access to cellular phones compared to 60.3% who have laptop, tablets or desktop computers. In the same state census, 52.7% have access to the internet, with 20% or less in rural states or departments. These metrics facilitate the possibilities of success of our project.

What is your solution?

Use WhatsApp to deliver educational contents following a given curricula to children organised in app groups so that autonomous learning and posterior tutorial actioning be done. Content delivery through WhatsApp will be automatised by a RPA (Robotic Process Automation) that will automatically copy-paste-send daily group by group educational contents. Other technological resources requiered to support the project are BYOD smartphones or tablets with access to the internet.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

The target population is comformed by people that live in rural areas and that require access to primary and secondary schooling for their children and for them selves, as well as, general training to improve access to new jobs. The solution will facilitate by administering current drawbacks of the education process in rural areas where infrastructure and human resources are scarce and some time below standards in order to deploy high quality education and training. The use of WhatsApp and their own devices (smartphone) collaborate with decreased cost structure of the process, and meliorate student participation percentage.

Which dimension of the TPrize Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Design, create, and implement new educational or training models for educators and students that guarantee access to quality education in low connectivity environments

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the TPrize Challenge.

Our solution directl and at very low costs impact positively by providing and promoting high quality education to families across Latin America and te Caribbean that live in rural areas and that have accessibility problems

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model.

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.

The ideas as been used in Spain to tutor university students, as well that for other high education institutions. Through the School graduate and postgraduate studies institute of Universidad of Cartagena, the prototype ideas can be better organised and pilot programmes be executed to additionally meliorate de process.

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Martin Cadena / Adriana Cadena