Category: News

Education entrepreneur addresses benefits and risks of digital disruption in education at UNM-Congress in Zurich.

Digital disruption means change. It forces industries to break with old habits and redefine industry norms. But in the arena of education, digital disruption still does not seem to live up to its potential. Why is that? How can we change this? And how can we start to take advantage of the benefits of such drastic change while controlling its risks?

To consider these questions, the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH) invited Ursula Suter to share her experiences as the opening keynote speaker at the 17th Teaching with New Media (UNM) Congress. The Swiss entrepreneur started pioneering technology-enhanced education as early as 1997 and co-founded Avallain in 2002, a Swiss company that has since evolved into an international key player in educational technology.

Technology Needs Both Control and Freedom to Innovate

Suter began her keynote by briefly introducing the key factors of digital disruption, defining the term, pointing out the opportunities and cautioning against possible risks. Directly linking theory to practice, she illustrated her comments with real-life examples such as Uber and its controversial impact on the taxi business

She outlined how digital disruption can and partly is already answering questions that have been occupying the education sector for many years. Emerging educational technologies can be helpful in maintaining student attention and in enhancing student-teacher interaction. To help technology unfold its power of innovation, the education sector needs to give itself the space to freely experiment while mediating risks stemming from hasty integration of new media.

The Flipped Classroom, a Successful Model

Suter introduced models that are already being implemented successfully, such as the “flipped classroom”. This pedagogical approach allows students to acquire theoretical concepts at their own pace assisted by technology, either at home in the ‘full flipped’ model or during classroom lessons in the ‘half flipped’ model. These models allow teachers to use class time for interactive classroom activities and group discussions and give students a chance to apply their knowledge in practice.

Suter illustrated how Avallain technology is used worldwide to facilitate such models, as in Oxford University Press’s Kerboodle, a digital learning platform for secondary schools used by more than 1 million teachers and students.

From Models to Real Life: Unlock Education For Africa

The entrepreneur ended her keynote by describing how Avallain is using its technology to drive charitable work in Africa. Her Kenya-based team has developed an educational platform for primary schools to bridge the gap between the availability of electronic devices and the lack of quality instructional materials. This gap is especially prominent in rural areas. Drawing from footage and testimony directly from Kenyan schools, Suter explained how the a-ACADEMY platform helps to address these challenges by building on recent instructional models in its new “Unlock Education For Africa” campaign.

The audience of 250 enthusiastically responded to Suter’s keynote in a lively question-and-answer session following the address.

“Ursula Suter’s thinking and action features a rarely holistic view on the usage of New Media. She and Avallain are effectively embedding technology in comprehensive pedagogical models in order to strengthen what matters the most: the interaction between students and their teachers. To me, Ursula Suter is one of the few digital learning specialists that consequently keep the focus on the human. As a logical result, her efforts are sustainably enhancing learning. I am very excited about the wonderful Unlock Education For Africa campaign and wish everybody involved the best of success.”

 – Priska Fuchs, Teacher and School Developer

 (Centre for Commercial Education Zug, Winner of the Swiss School Award 2015)

Avallain Africa’s a-ACADEMY has been recognized as an official partner of the Kenyan Ministry of Education and the Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development. The partnership focuses on integrating information communications technology in public education and reflects a-Academy’s success as a digital learning tool adapted to the needs of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The announcement came as part of a meeting organised by the Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development and the Aga Khan Foundation, which focused on the integration of technology in teaching, learning and assessment.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited Kenya last week, emphasised that this generation of Kenyans has the opportunity to build its future and actualise its potential at home – an opportunity previous generations had been denied.

a-ACADEMY prioritises such a home-focused approach by working with local teachers, said Martina Amoth, Avallain’s Kenya-based education manager. Several a-Academy features particularly impressed the Kenyan Ministry of Education, such as its functionality as a teacher tool to support student-centered approaches to learning through problem-solving and collaborative learning.

During the meeting, Amoth showcased a-ACADEMY ‘s Class 6 Science curriculum, which is based on consultation and collaboration with local teachers and includes extended learning activities, experiments, and collaborative learning activities. John Temba, Head of Information Communications Technology in Education for the Ministry of Education, singled out Avallain Africa, which creates and operates a-ACADEMY, for its sincere and effective collaboration with the Ministry. Temba noted the high quality of a-ACADEMY’s educational materials and its responsiveness to local educational needs.

The Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development has been charged with rolling out a full national teacher preparation program for ICT integration in education over the next four years. Other partners in this initiative include the Teachers Service Commission, the Kenya National Union of Teachers, AKF, Plan International and USAID. As a next step, a-ACADEMY has been invited to participate in an eLearning Innovations Conference sponsored by the Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development in September.

Avallain Africa is a not-for-profit organisation financed by Avallain AG. Based in Kenya, Avallain Africa combines capacity building with investment in the local economy.

“Siempre innovando, siempre creando, siempre contigo.”

Today, being able to communicate in foreign languages is no longer a hypothetical need but a requirement for successful work and leisure interactions in a globalised world. For more than 25 years, Difuisòn has helped people overcome linguistic barriers to personal and professional communication. High-quality, resourceful language teaching and learning tools have allowed Difuisòn to live up to its motto:

“Siempre innovando, siempre creando, siempre contigo.” (“Always innovating, always inventing, always with you.”)

True to its vision, Difusiòn has chosen to maintain innovation, invention, and ease of access by increasing its digital content and improving online learning experiences.

“We have decided to engage fully in a digital publishing model and are happy to embark on this journey with the innovative but proven service offered by Avallain. Our brand stands for high quality and unusually effective educational material and concepts, and we are convinced that our new solution in the digital realm will mirror and enhance this standing.”, said Jaime Sala Tunez, chief financial officer at Difusiòn.

This new approach encompasses enhanced and broader digital content, simplified user interfaces and an entirely new component to improve the day to day experience of teachers engaging in an online learning environment.

Avallain drives Difuisòn’s latest approach as it enables production of content for web, tablets, smartphones and CD-ROMS. In addition, Avallain offers an intuitive “Learning Platform” for tracking of the user experience, content distribution and communication.

“It is a pleasure to engage with the dynamic and exceptional team of Difusiòn and to help our partner build on their tradition of success. Our increasing presence in Spain and South America makes optimum support and local market intelligence possible.”, said Ignatz Heinz, Avallain’s Managing Director.

Oxford University Press achieves historical benchmark with digital teaching and learning service.

Kerboodle works alongside course textbooks to create a truly blended learning solution. Packed with customisable learning content, assessment materials and reporting tools, Kerboodle allows educators to seamlessly integrate quality digital resources into their classroom.

Kerboodle is powered by Avallain Author, a flexible authoring tool, and supported by Avallain’s learning platform solutions.

Kerboodle provides:

• Teacher notes, planning materials and on-screen lesson presentations. Instructors can set and monitor homework and track progress with in-depth reporting functionality.
• A range of assessment materials including auto-marked tests, self-assessment checklists and a variety of support materials.
• An extensive bank of learning resources including videos, animations, podcasts and worksheets as well as digital versions of the textbooks.
• A wealth of support features including FAQs, video tutorials, walk-thorughs, free in-school training and workshops with digital consultants.

The comprehensive learning system “I want to learn German”, which supports immigrants in German language acquisition and social integration, has earned a prestigious European award.

“Ich will Deutsch lernen” is a free, publicly available online course offered by the German Adult Education Association (Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband). The curriculum focuses on social integration, professional development, and German language and communication skills. Online tutors are available around the clock to help new users.

Avallain’s flexible authoring tool and customisable platform enabled the creation of more than 10,000 interactive content units based on real-life scenarios. The course is not just relevant for new immigrants already in Germany but also for refugees or those planning to immigrate. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research supported the development of the learning system.

The interactive digital learning system was awarded the Comenius EduMedia Seal in June 2015 by the German Society for Pedagogy and Information, which has been recognizing top European educational media for 20 years. A jury of international experts and scholars selects top multimedia projects based on the curriculum, pedagogy, and instructional design.

The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development approves Avallain powered digital learning

Learning in Kenyan schools is changing. Increasingly, students spend time in computer labs responding to questions in video or audio format, completing interactive tests, and solving crossword puzzles. This educational technology feels high-touch rather than remote – students smile after successfully memorizing concepts, listen with full attention to their teacher, or immerse themselves in educational videos.

Instilling this sense of communal learning is a-ACADEMY, an interactive digital learning tool built with the Avallain Author and officially approved by the Kenyan Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

a-ACADEMY’s digital lesson plan aligns with the Kenyan curriculum, features an intuitive and child-friendly user interface and integrates teacher guidelines. While the lesson plans are highly interactive, a-ACADEMY’s offline functionality allows its use even with very limited infrastructure.

a-ACADEMY succeeds in meeting local education needs while adhering to high international standards, according to Kenyan officials who reviewed the curriculum and issued official approval for the “Supplementary Digital Curriculum Support Material.”

“All doors are now open to establish digital education not only in Kenya but in all of East Africa,” said Martina Amoth, a-ACADEMY’s Education Manager.

Cornelsen Publishers present the latest additions to its successful platform www.scook.de at the leading educational trade fair didacta in Hanover, Germany.

Using the flexibility offered by Avallain’s Author technology, Cornelsen worked intensively with UX specialists, visual designers, students and teachers to hone a perfect look and feel for the rich interactive content, on any device.

Marie von dem Berge, Head of Product Management in the New Business department at Cornelsen, says: “We are very happy with the result achieved by a complex team of experts at Cornelsen and from a range of suppliers. We really focus on the end users experience, therefore the flexibility offered by the authoring technology in this aspect was of the utmost importance in the selection process.”

Learning system architects will take note that Tin Can (aka the xAPI), a modern standard for recording learners progress, comes to full use in scook. In an exemplary integration of the LRS component of Avallain’s Unity platform, the otherwise Cornelsen-built Scook relies on just the parts of third party technology that add most value at the time, adding speed and flexibility to the entire process.

Ignatz Heinz, Managing Director of Avallain, comments “We are delighted to see our new approach to learning platform solutions come into use in this great product. Avallain Unity is no longer a monolithic platform, it is composed of standards-based components, allowing our customers to mix build and buy as best suits the current market needs.