Amal recently joined the TechChange team as a Marketing & Communications fellow! Prior to TechChange she worked in the startup, social impact, and tech space.

We recently sat down with Amal to learn more about her background and experience. Welcome to the team!

Q: So, tell us about yourself. How did you end up working in marketing and social impact?

I’ve always wanted to to be in the social impact and international development space. I graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in International Relations with a concentration in International Development.

My family and I were uprooted by the civil war in Somalia in the early 1990s. We lived in Kenya as refugees for the subsequent years until we were resettled to the States. Due to that experience, I’ve always wanted my work to reflect making a difference in my communities and the world. I want to be on the forefront of change and I am passionate about using technology to make that change.

Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?

I want to find meaning in my work so for me it’s essential my work and values align. Upon some research, I found TechChange and the company sat perfectly at the intersection of tech and social impact and embodied the values I was looking for. I immediately looked for ways to get involved and here I am!

Q: What excites you about marketing and sales?

I’m a tinker. I enjoy getting into the mind of the user – figuring out the needs and pain points of a potential customer and showing them how the product can address that.

Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next few months?

I’m really looking forward to expanding my knowledge on various international development subjects and tech as well as learning from all the talented folks at TechChange and the greater TechChange community.

Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

I’m startled very easily, even the sound of a text tone makes me jump. So it’s not the wisest choice to try to sneak up on me. However, I am a huge horror film fan and will watch a scary film in any language.

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in something called the Long Conversation at the IFC Sustainability Exchange organized by Veronica Nyhan Jones.

As a professor and an edtech CEO, I love thinking about new ways to facilitate conversations and inspire authentic moments on stage and online.

I’ve also participated in too many poorly-executed panels. You know the ones I’m talking about: where there’s little to no dialogue among panelists, too much Powerpoint, no limits on speaking times, badly moderated audience Q&A, etc.

So I was excited to try something new.

Format

The long conversation is essentially a relay of timed two-person dialogues around a central theme.

The first person interviews the second, asking a series of questions (some predetermined, some spontaneous), then the first person exits, the second person becomes the interviewer, and a third person takes the stage.

Set-up for Long Conversation

Interviewers and interviewees sit facing each other in the center of the room with audience seated around them. So it feels a bit like a closed fishbowl with predetermined speakers.   

The Long Conversation” format was adapted in this instance from Rachel Goslins and her work with The Smithsonian, where 25 leaders from the arts and sciences participate in a relay of two-person dialogues. But the unscripted back-and-forth of experts-interviewing-experts has also been used by organizations such as The Long Now Foundation, in 2010 which combined the 6-hour 19-minute presentation with data visualization performance by Sosolimited and a live performance of composer Jem Finer’s Longplayer.

Here’s what Veronica sent us in advance to set the tone:

“We are creating an intimate space to exchange ideas, thoughts, experiences to help everyone in the room appreciate the importance of and connections between resilience and creativity at various levels – whether it’s personal, community-level, organizational, or societal. Keep your ideas simple and concrete. Be yourself. Have fun.”

Preparation and reflections:

  • Planning: The IFC team clearly worked hard to select the theme (Resilience), pick the participants, and determine the order for the conversation. They shared a number of potential questions in advance and asked us to think of three personal or professional stories related to the theme. They also put us in touch with our interviewers and interviewees beforehand to settle on specific questions.  I’m a professor so I tend to over prepare anytime I go on stage. This format lends itself better to spontaneity and storytelling but it’s still important to check in with your interviewer and interviewee before the live conversation (even it’s 30 mins before the event) to agree on questions and a rough story arc.

 

  • Timing: The IFC team set the time limit at 10 minutes per conversation with a chime at the one minute mark to prompt a final question/answer. The total time for our session was 1.5 hours with seven 10-minute conversations. 5 minutes may be too short but 10 can also feel a bit long in our current era of diminished attention spans.  
  • Audio: There are no options for powerpoint slides or AV in this format, but audio is important. Be sure to use microphones (ideally lavs) because at every moment, some audience members are not facing a speaker.
  • Stage and seating: If you go with the fishbowl setup be sure to have the central platform raised enough so that folks can see the stage. And ideally, create a stadium seating effect so that audience members in the back are higher up and can see above folks in the front.
  • Audience polling: This format doesn’t lend itself well to audience Q&A. I tried to do a hand-raising poll during mine (how many of you think that in 20 years the majority of traditional education (HS and College) will be delivered online?) and folks seemed eager to answer. I think this could be a neat technique to interject between sessions as new speakers join on stage.
  • Order of roles: In our relay the new person on the stage started out as the interviewee and then transitioned to the interviewer in the second conversation. I am someone who always takes a few minutes to settle into the spotlight and imagine others are in the same boat. Interviewing seems like an easier way to do start on stage. I think there’s room to experiment here.

At TechChange, we are going to be working on adapting this format for our next online certificate course: Agriculture, Technology and Innovation which kicks off on June 11th. COO Chris wrote about the experience watching the webcast of the long conversation here. So if you’re interested in helping to pioneering a virtual version with us then sign up or reach out.

Thanks again to the IFC and Smithsonian teams for an enjoyable session. I’m always on the hunt creative ideas to improve and innovate beyond the traditional conference model (keynote/lightning talk/panel/breakout).

What other creative session formats have seen/tried/enjoyed at a conference?

 

When building a community online, language should be a key consideration. While it’s true that our francophone users would be able to reasonably navigate an English-language platform, their opportunities for community may be restricted to our forums, minimizing connections with other areas of the platform and, more importantly, with course content. At the same time, anglophone users wouldn’t be able to meaningfully connect with their francophone colleagues in the forums without the kind of translation capability our Translation Manager feature is working to create.

TechChange, in partnership with Chemonics and the USAID HRH2030 program, recently launched a platform and course on Capacity Building for Malaria. Alongside advancements in our newly piloted Translation Manager, the Capacity Building for Malaria platform is the first of its kind in offering a fully integrated, bilingual experience for its user base, which is around 75% francophone, and 25% anglophone.

Given that a strong cohort of both French and English speakers were set to use the platform, the Instructional Design team opted to include both languages on the platform, with the French translation of course content appearing first to represent the larger cohort of francophone users from primarily West Africa.

It isn’t enough to offer resources on the platform in both English and French — in order to create a user experience that speaks to both our anglophone and francophone users, integration across the back end and front end is entirely necessary. As studies have shown, we connect with and retain information with greatest ease when it is presented in our primary language — when it comes to online learning, therefore, nothing should prevent this from being a priority. Narration, both in online courses and in video content, and subtitles are equally important considerations when constructing content in multiple languages.

TechChange’s recent partnership with Family Care International (FCI) resulted in two separate animations, one produced in English, the other in French, to reflect the dominant languages of target audience members, who were primarily from Kenya and Burkina Faso. Check out that project here, and stay tuned to learn more about TechChange’s advances in language integration.

Does investment and entrepreneurship have a role to play in international development?

Lawmakers are currently exploring creating a new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) to invest in and draw private capital to international development projects in exchange for equity. But the idea of unlocking finance to promote growth in developing countries is not a new idea.

USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) targets emerging markets where small businesses cannot access the loans they need to grow and offers risk-sharing agreements to mobilize local private capital to fill the financing gap. Through DCA, more than 500 guarantees between financial institutions and USAID have made up to $4.8 billion in private financing available for more than 245,000 entrepreneurs around the world.

When we started working with DCA in 2017, we wanted to communicate this global impact in simple terms to broader audiences. So we settled on three strategies based on the questions we wanted to answer.

First, we wanted to connect the community not just with DCA’s mission, but with individual entrepreneur stories and how they and their communities were affected by access to loans guaranteed by DCA. The resulting 2-minute animation on Mobilizing Local Wealth for Entrepreneurs Around the World tried to tell the story of individuals in different countries, contexts, and industries through kinetic text and light character animation. The negative-to-positive shift in music is accompanied by a color palette change to represent an unlocking of the full potential of development dollars for entrepreneurship. As with many of our animations, this tried to answer the “why” question for the relevance and importance.

USAID DCA Poster

Second, we wanted to create an informative annual poster for the 2016 DCA Impact Brief that would hang in every USAID mission to answer “what” had been accomplished in the previous year using attractive infographics, “where” the impact had taken place along with highlights, and a reminder of “who” was benefiting from the investments. While not everyone will click a link and watch a video, a poster hanging in a hallway is a printed physical prompt to engage with information. Click on the image above to check out the full poster online!

 

And lastly, we wanted to create a series of explainer videos using a combination of whiteboard-style animations, motion graphics, and 3-D effects. While the first animation sought to connect viewers to the entrepreneurs who were improving their communities, these videos attempted to explain concepts using representative animations and statistics. The animation was intended to connect viewers with information, rather than with other people.

 

These are just a few examples of of how we’ve tried to communicate impact. If you’ve seen great examples, share them with us at @techchange on Twitter!

Panels are a generally terrible formats for online webcasts, but solo presenters often lose the spontaneity of expert interaction. Can a new format help produce better conversations and better insights?

Today, TechChange Founder Nick Martin participated in the IFC Sustainability Exchange 2018, where he was interviewed by Kavya Kopparapu, and then turned to interview Reg Manhas of Kosmos Energy. This 15-minute rolling conversations continued between a dozen experts on topics ranging from energy, healthcare, politics, and more, with each expert linking the conversation to the next. The full archive is available online, but represented an interesting an interesting new application of online conversation format.

The Long Conversation” format was adapted in this instance from The Smithsonian, where 25 leaders from the arts and sciences in a relay of two-person dialogues. But the unscripted back-and-forth of experts-interviewing-experts has also been used by organizations such as The Long Now Foundation, in 2010 which combined the 6-hour 19-minute presentation with data visualization performance by Sosolimited and a live performance of composer Jem Finer’s Longplayer.

What was most interesting about this format is how well it fits in with online-first pedagogy, where the shift away from broadcast-based technodeterminism of Ted Talks is moving towards more participatory approaches. Thus far, the main method for altering presentation formats has been to engage audience participation in solo presenters (including ignite talks) and panels via polling or questions. These are steps forward, but still represent the “sage-on-a-stage” approach to learning.

What is interesting about the Long Conversation format is the approach that each presenter has something to share, but also something to learn from another presenter. Through curation of speaker selection, each speaker provides a link between ideas to flesh out their own understanding, which acts as an intermediary for the audience’s own learning. Through this manner, each binary “hop” happens through paired learning, which can then flesh out increasingly complex themes such as sustainability.

There’s no one way to create an online learning experience. But concepts such as the Long Conversation may make a more natural fit than panels and ignite talks for the evolution of online discussion formats.

According to new research, learners who passively observe experts feel confident that they’re prepared to try a task themselves. Unfortunately, they often show no measurable improvement when they attempt the task itself. And most of online learning content is currently built on exactly this observational method using instructional videos.

Whether it’s sitting through mandatory HR training DVDs or spending free time on watching MasterClass to learn basketball from Stephen Curry, the model is almost exactly the same as what you’d find in the world of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs). But while mandatory compliance and higher production values may improve on dismally low MOOC completion rates (one edX study found only 5.5% of learners who enroll in a course receive a certificate), the learner may not be better off for having completed the course.

Engaging content, whether its recorded experts or instructional animations, is still vital to the online learning process by capturing and retaining learner attention. But investments in production value are best understood as a starting point rather than as a the desired end result of building an effective course. A more useful method for evaluating online learning is through the lenses of the traditional four levels of interactivity and their intended purpose:

Level 1: Passive – The learner acts merely as a receiver of information. The learner may read text on the screen as well as view graphics, illustrations and charts. The learner may interact simply by using navigational buttons to move forward or back through the program.

Level 2: Limited Interaction – The learner makes simple responses to instructional cues. As in Level I, there may be multiple choice exercises, pop-ups, rollovers or simple animations. Level II adds a component of scenario-based multiple choice and column matching related to the text and graphic presentation.

Level 3: Complex Interaction – The learner makes multiple, varied responses to cues. In addition to the types of responses in Level II, complex interactions may require text entry boxes and manipulation of graphic objects to test the assessment of the information presented.

Level 4: Real-time Interaction / Simulation – Real-time interaction creates a training session that involves a life-like set of complex cues and responses in this last level. The learner is engaged in a simulation that exactly mirrors the work situation.

Most online learning solutions are best understood as Level 1: Essentially a slide-based presentation with the potential inclusion of multimedia. Level 2 enables students more control over their training and to do more than watch, read, and navigate through interactive exercises and scenario-based learning. But once learners start engaging with Level 3 and above, their course experience begins to shift from a passive presentation of static content to a participative experience with a dynamic course environment. Level 4 includes all elements of 1, 2, and 3 at higher levels of sophistication, as well as simulated or real-time simulation.

Not every course demands Level 4 interactivity. Cost and time implications should be measured against the nature of the content, intended target audience, and available Learning Management System (LMS). But as LMS solutions are gradually upgraded from their outdated SCORM standards, learners will soon come to expect their content to be effective as well as engaging.

Fortunately, research also indicates that instructors can still incorporate this passive content into higher levels of interactivity. One technique is to mix watching and practicing, as learners benefit from watching after they’ve already practiced a skill. Another is to combine reading and thinking exercises along with passive content, as those are less likely to cause learners to overestimate their abilities while still providing valuable information.

Much like the class textbook and engaging lecturers, engaging content is still the foundation of an online classroom. But educators don’t need to stop there.

 

Would you like to learn more? Consider signing up for our four-week course on Online Learning for International Development!

After starting as a Marketing and Communications fellow in spring 2018, Danielle officially joined the TechChange team in a role split between Instructional Design and Creative. Prior to TechChange, she was a Program Associate at the Society for International Development – Washington Chapter, where she worked on event planning, graphic design, and marketing projects for the international development community.

We recently sat down with Danielle to learn more about her background and experience at TechChange. Welcome to the team!

Q: So, tell us more about yourself. How did you end up working in design and international development?

Well, that story begins where my-would-have-been medical career ends. Growing up, I always thought I’d end up in the medical field. But after completing a social innovation fellowship with Kaya Collaborative in the Philippines after my freshman year of college, I realized I could make still make a positive impact in the world without having to breakdown over biochemistry. I eagerly switched my major to International Relations and have been pursuing opportunities to work and think globally ever since.

As for graphic design, it was a random hobby I picked up in college. Designing t-shirts, social media graphics, event posters… it was through random projects like these that I taught myself Adobe Creative Suite. Over time, I’ve come to realize how important design can be for storytelling and social change, and I’ve been able to put that theory into practice here at TechChange.

Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?

I came across TechChange during my time at SID-Washington. TechChange was listed online as an Institutional Member and it sparked my interest due to its social enterprise business model, focus on education, and emphasis on user-centered design. As I was looking for opportunities after SID-Washington, TechChange immediately came to mind as a place where I could put my design, marketing, and communications skills to good use.

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of working at TechChange so far?

First and foremost, the people! Everyone at TechChange is incredibly talented and passionate about their work both in and out of the office. Finding a balance between working hard and having fun has been surprisingly easy thanks to TechChange’s supportive environment.

Apart from the people, I also love being able to work on important projects that reach a global audience. In my short amount of time at TechChange, I’ve already worked on a sexual harassment prevention training with USAID, an ICT in Education policy guide with UNESCO Bangkok, and started a project with the Ministry of Finance in El Salvador! I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Q: What excites you about Instructional Design?

Many things! First of all, it encompasses several of my interests – design, psychology, technology, among others. As an Instructional Designer, I love that I can continue learning and spreading knowledge on important topics like gender, education, etc. There are also many opportunities to be creative and I like the challenge of figuring out how to best design a course in a way that is effective and engaging.

Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next year?

I’m excited to expand my creative skillset and work with clients to create high-quality and thoughtfully designed products!

Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

That I spent two years of my childhood living in the Philippines. It was definitely a life-changing experience that helped me get in touch with my Filipino heritage and even learn to speak Tagalog!

We’re proud to announce that registration is now open for WeRobotics Online Training Academy! 

WeRobotics has just launched its inaugural course on Drones in Humanitarian Action: From Coordination to Deployments. Building on the first-ever trainings on humanitarian drones by the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators) between 2015-2016, the training team brings over 40 years of experience in humanitarian aid, complex emergencies, and humanitarian technologies.

 

 

One of these leading experts, Dr. Patrick Meier, has over 15 years of experience in humanitarian technology, including spearheading the coordination of drones in the aftermath of Category 5 Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu and the 8.0 Earthquake in Nepal. He has also authored the the book, Digital Humanitarians, which has been praised by experts from the UN, Red Cross, World Bank, USAID, DfID, Harvard, MIT, Oxford and more.

We asked Dr. Meier to share more information about his vision for the course and the academy:

What student profile would you say this course is designed for?

The great thing about this course is that it is highly instructive for humanitarians, drone pilots and individuals who are new to both drones and humanitarian action. Why? Because of the different modules that we’ve put together and the different topics covered in each module. What’s exciting for us is precisely the fact that we’re bringing different student profiles (communities) together for this course. The exchange of ideas between these communities in response to the modules will be highly beneficial to all.

Why would you move a successful in-person training online?

We realized that a significant component of the professional hands-on training we’ve been giving to dozens of humanitarian organizations across many countries over the years can be provided online. What’s more, moving this training online means we can reach more participants more quickly in more countries. Ultimately, the point of our trainings is to ensure that emerging robotics technologies are used safely, responsibly and effectively in a wide range of humanitarian efforts. So the more participants we can train, the more positive impact drones can have during major disasters.

What does success look like for the first course of WeRobotics Online Training Academy?

Engagement and long term collaboration. We see this course as key to engaging a broader community of individuals and to developing a meaningful, long term relationship with everyone who participates in the training. As such, success for us will be determined by how engaged participants remain with the broader WeRobotics community and how closely they continue to collaborate with us and our Flying Labs in the years to come.

What other courses are you thinking about making in the future?

We’re excited to add a series of new courses in the future, including a course specifically on the use of drones for cargo delivery in terms of health and humanitarian applications.

Want to learn more or register? Check out WeRobotics Online Training Academy

*photo courtesy of WeRobotics

TechChange partnered with Family Care International (FCI) to produce a short animation to make the case for national budgets that reflect the people’s needs and priorities. This animation was intended to build on our first animation with the Mobilizing Advocates from Civil Society (MACS) project, which dealt with “The Power of Civil Society” and critical roles in holding governments accountable.

The MACS project in Burkina Faso and Kenya between 2012 and 2015 was intended to bring together civil society organizations working in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) and to strengthen their capacity to advocate for health policies that meets the needs of women and children. Since the dominant languages in Kenya and Burkina Faso are English and French respectively, it was vital for the animation to be in both languages.

FCI MACS Budget

This animation was intended to encourage taxpayers to understand their rights to the highest standards of health and the commitments of their governments to their well being. As people pay taxes so the government can provide these essential services, and a budget reveals the government’s real priorities, citizens have a right to understand how the government is spending their money so that they can hold the government accountable.

If you’d like to learn more, please check out this video in English:

Or feel free to watch in French!

With over 9,000 attendees and 1,000 speakers, re:publica 18 is one of the largest conferences about digital culture in the world. The conference has a diversity of attendees such as artists, activists, scientists, hackers, entrepreneurs, NGOs, journalists, social media and marketing experts, and many others. The re:publica 2018 theme is POP, touching on opening up societal discussion to all and make net culture and politics tangible to anyone.

TechChange was invited to participate in the “Tech for Good” track supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The goal of this track is to bring together inspiring and innovative inputs that highlight the potential of digital technologies to solve global problems.

Meronne Teklu, an instructional designer at TechChange, participated on the “Building a new life, one e-lesson at a time: refugees and online education” panel along with Maren Kröger (UNHCR), Henner Kirchner (GIZ Jordan office), and Mohammad Moataz Ghannam (Kiron Higher Open Education). Main points of focus included how new technologies and policy approaches to making e-learning tools available to refugees, and the ethical and political issues that come with using e-learning platforms in vulnerable communities.

re:publica 2018 was truly a transformative experience – from exploring the beautiful city of Berlin, to meeting inspiring panelists and attendees, to having rich dialogue on how the public and private sectors can collaborate in making impactful programs, it was truly an enriching opportunity. Thank you to BMZ for sponsoring the panel, and Charles Martin-Shields from the German Development Institute (GDI) for organizing!

*Photo provided by re:publica flickr.