The Global Digital Health Forum kicks off today, the leading networking and learning event for policy makers, practitioners, and tech professionals who are passionate about improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries through digital innovation. As the Director of Public Health at TechChange, I’ll be there to share one of our latest educational tools on digital health, developed with our colleagues at USAID.
Can you guess what it is? Hint– it’s not a policy paper, text book, worksheet, or even a video.
It’s a… game.
Surprised? Digital health concepts and tools can be complicated, but they don’t have to be boring. Play is an important – and often underutilized – way that we can put learning into action, in a way that’s fun and practical.
Players work as a team – online or in-person – to respond to new investments and new shocks to their digital health system – mirroring what happens in real life.
A Collaborative Game with Real-World Elements
Architects of Digital Health is a collaborative game that represents multiple years of building a digital health system in a fictional country that is facing challenges from HIV/AIDs, cholera, malaria and tuberculosis. Players, joined together in a team, have the ability to make investments in digital health tools, for scale or interoperability. Then, just like in real life, unexpected events and pressures cause problems for your intervention and your team has to decide how to handle it. There are new investments and shocks every year, impacting how your interventions unfold.
The different interventions represent key building blocks of a digital health tool box:
messaging systems like SMS and WhatsApp;
community information systems like Commcare or MobileCHT;
electronic medical record systems; and
digital systems to train the healthcare workforce.
In the game, you can add or remove systems, scale them to the next level, or invest in interoperability and governance. The goal is to fight fragmentation and achieve national level scale on coordinated interventions.
Putting Learning into Practice Through Play
We use this game as a capstone learning activity in our digital health course, created and hosted by TechChange and supported by USAID, PATH/Digital Square, the WHO and others. Digital Health: Planning National Systems is an online course that teaches policy makers and practitioners the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to design and implement digital health interventions. Participants use the key concepts and best practices from the course to play the game, working together to minimize shocks and scale beneficial systems.
More than 200 mid- to senior- level ministry of health officials from a wide range of nations including Laos, India, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines have already participated in the course and used what they have learned to inform their national digital health strategy.
Play Architects of Digital Health at GDHF22 or at Home
USAID’s Merrick Schaffer leads a round of “Architects of Digital Health” at the Frontiers of Digital Development Forum 2022
Want to learn more about the game or give it a try? If you are attending GDHF, come by our virtual session and we’ll teach you how to play. We’ll also be demonstrating it and playing in small groups at GDHF online (on the TechChange hybrideventsplatform) on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 9am EAT / 8am CET / 2am EST.
If you’re not able to join, you can print your own copy of Architects of Digital Health for free, including all the instructions you’ll need to follow along. Feel free to use this instructional aide in any of your trainings or workshops – we invested in it so that it could become a learning tool for the field.
As TechChange’s CEO and someone who finds great joy in bringing people together to discuss topics that matter, I love pushing the envelope on how we convene. On reimagining what a conference or event can be, and what it can mean for the people who participate.
And after nearly three years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the distance that it necessitated, people are hungry for connection. The kind that gets brain cells stimulated, but also the kind that you can feel in your bones. We believe TechChange’s hybrid event model brings together the best of virtual technology and in-person experiences for a new kind of convening that is accessible, inclusive, and downright fun.
With some help from our founding sponsors USAID, Chemonics, and the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), exactly one month ago, we put our hybrid model to convene the first-ever Frontiers of Digital Development Forum to explore the role of frontier technologies in international development. This two-day conference took place online and in Washington D.C., with nearly all in-person elements available to virtual participants and even more virtual-only content and networking opportunities. More than 600 people joined us from 55 countries– because conversations that impact the whole world shouldn’t just take place in D.C.
What went well
1. Virtual participants felt “centered.” There is such a temptation with hybrid events to focus on the in-person experience. The food, the drinks, the lighting, the seating charts… it can be all-consuming. But we tried hard – super hard – to focus our attention equally on the in-person AND the virtual experience. We wanted to create a hybrid conference that made our virtual participants in Kenya, Jordan, Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, Argentina, and everywhere else feel like they matter just as much as those who could be in-person with us in DC. And I’m happy to report that FDDF participants online resoundingly felt exactly what we intended for them: that the virtual experience far exceeded their expectations. In fact, 84% of participants who joined virtually reported FDDF improved their opinion of hybrid events.
TechChange producers kept the Main Stage content flowing so participants felt engaged, which was evidenced by a robust participant chat throughout.
2. Diversity of content types: For a nuanced topic like this, we knew that we needed to look at the subject matter from different angles. For FDDF, we had 25+ engaging and robust conversations, tech demos, breakout sessions, and networking activities that dug into aspirational, frontier technologies and their practical utility for large-scale humanitarian and development objectives.
3. Surprising session formats: For Day one’s kick-off, we tried a new session format, “The Long Conversation.” This unique Smithsonian-inspired approach staged timed two-person dialogues on frontier tech skepticism, aspiration and progress with luminaries from USAID, Google, and more from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. No moderator, no speeches, and no slides. Just interesting conversations on stage between two people at a time. You can watch it on YouTube or listen on Soundcloud to check it out.
We livestreamed 2-minute interviews from our Pop-Up Studio in between sessions to participants around the world
4. The Pop-Up Studio: One of the goals of hybrid is to break down the barriers between in-person and online participants. One of the ways we do this that allows online participants to dig into the energy of the conference is the Pop-Up studio. I’m biased, but this was easily my favorite part of FDDF22. I got to interview speakers fresh off the stage for their impressions and hot-takes, and talk with conference goers about what they’re thinking about all the material. Our on-site production team streams these interviews out to virtual participants like TV news. This allows people at home on their computers to get a back-stage view of the conference, and get a taste of the energy of the day.
What didn’t go so well…
No event is perfect. We had an honest conversation with our organizing committee about what went well and what we’d improve next time. Here are a few:
1. Timeline: I gave the team a deadline that was nearly impossible– under three months to envision, build, and execute a brand-new hybrid event from scratch. And yet they rose to the occasion to meet it. I’m still amazed they pulled it off – and didn’t even once try to kill me in the process!
2. Lack of a content czar: Next time, we’ll build in a longer lead time, and have a content Czar whose job it is to oversee the overall narrative of the conference and make sure all of the dynamic pieces fit together holistically. This is also something some of the partners we support may also want to consider.
Experimenting with improv comedy at a serious conference = worth trying!
3. Improv comedy is great, but not without some serious preparation: We tried something wild, y’all: we invited comedians to be part of our event. And not to just do some stand-up entertainment at the opening and closing plenary. We wanted them to sprinkle it in throughout the event. Does that sound nuts? Maybe it was, a little?! While we heard positive feedback on the comedians’ prepared sets, we gave them the pretty impossible task of doing improv – on camera – throughout the entire day. But we’re excited to keep exploring ways to make global development content more innovative, accessible and entertaining with more creative partnerships like this.
4. Not quite enough on-stage controversy: FDDF was meant to explore the boundaries of frontier technology within digital development, not shying away from tough conversations. And we did that – through sessions on the information war in Ukraine, the pros (and cons) of partnering with tech firms, and a feminist, Global South critique on AI. The topics were hard-hitting, but we think we can do more to set the stage for difficult and important conversations in the future. We’ll be exploring the role of anonymous inputs, and crowd-generated content, in order to further engage new voices in each conversation.
At TechChange, we don’t just put on hybrid events for our partners, and sit back and watch. We are actively involved in putting on our own events, where we have skin in the game and a major role in planning and organizing. These events are our own R&D labs. They help us test out the technology we’re offering to partners, and always keep an eye on opportunities for improvement. Not only that, it keeps us empathetic to the stressors and joys of conference planning. When we say we’ll be the partner that does more for your hybrid event, we mean it. We’ve been there, and we want to put our lessons learned to work for you. From recommending ways to keep global participants engaged from afar to project management suggestions around timeline, our team can help you shorten the learning curve to engaging, inclusive, and fun hybrid events. We love this stuff!
Delegates from all over the world have returned home after attending the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, or COP27, which was convened in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt over the last few weeks. The first African COP since 2016 brought government representatives, climate activists and advocates, lobbyists, and policymakers together to hash out the details of an ambitious agenda to translate climate commitments and pledges into collective action towards our shared future.
COP27 panel (from COP27 media library)
Conveners came into a challenging, tense situation in Egypt, as the legacy of broken promises from COPs past loomed large, and many wondered whether any real progress could be made on topics that always seem to be a high-priority in name but not action.
At TechChange, we believe in the power of bringing people together to tackle big challenges related to topics that matter. And as someone who is obsessed with convenings, I was curious to see if COP27 would be the opportunity to do just that: tackle big challenges related to one of the topics that matters the most to every one of us on this planet.
While TechChange did not attend COP27 (we were busy hosting our inaugural Frontiers of Digital Development Forum!), we recognize the critical nature of this event and the work that countries, institutions and our partners do to harmonize global efforts to mitigate and adapt to the consequences of climate change.
In the days ahead, we’ll be keeping an eye on the following topics and key agenda items from COP27 to see if this convening can move the proverbial needle:
1. Climate finance must be prioritized
Low- and middle-income countries need more than $2 trillion in annual investments by 2030 to help fight climate change, yet commitments from climate funds are far from enough to fill that shortfall. The low- and middle-income countries most vulnerable to climate change have been vocal about the need for an agreement on loss and damage, or climate reparations, which has always been a somewhat controversial topic in the COPs of years past. In the final hours of COP27, the establishment of a loss and damage fund was agreed upon so that the high-income countries that helped to create the current climate crisis will compensate the countries experiencing the consequences of their actions. While the details of who will contribute and who will receive what from the fund remain unclear, it’s a huge step in the right direction. There are also strong calls to mobilize private capital and reform multilateral development banksto help fill this huge funding gap, but only time will tell if the status quo will actually change.
John Kerry addressing the COP27 delegates (from COP27 media library)
2. Trust must be rebuilt
Commitments and promises made by high-income countries to lower-income countries have been broken time and again in the past. Countries in the global south are feeling the disastrous impacts of climate change much more acutely than those in the global north, and suffering the consequences of other countries’ action (and inaction). Countries and institutions must prove they are good on their word and take action on their commitments coming out of COP27, or the galvanizing words spoken on stages are nothing but platitudes.
3. Our systems are failing, and quickly
As countries struggle with their own unique problems and pressures, the systems we have built, at a micro and macro level, are failing. Conflict, such as the war on Ukraine, have destabilized energy and food systems, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wage war on health systems globally. Natural disasters, such as the horrific floods in Pakistan and the drought in Horn of Africa, have taken countless lives and wreaked havoc on communities. The humanitarian system cannot support the needs of refugees, IDPs and human migration at large. We need to move quickly and strategically to address the most pressing challenges facing each of these systems, all of which are all feeling the heavy effects of the climate crisis.
***
These are only a few of the critical and multifaceted challenges discussed at COP27, but also some of the most pressing. As more convenings related to the climate crisis are organized in the weeks and months ahead, we’ll see if real progress on these issues is made and if the power of convening at COP27 can bring us closer to the future we are working towards.
“Loss and damage” fund signing at COP27 (from COP27 media library)
Do emerging technologies such as crypto and AI have a place in international development? How do we balance the risks of untested tools with their potential rewards, and impact?
Throughout my time working in ICT4D, I’ve tended to be a skeptic when it comes to the promise that frontier technology can improve development outcomes and, most importantly, people’s lives. Rather than fixate on the newest technology on the scene, I’ve tended to focus on basic tools deployed in ethical and effective ways. At the intersection of technology and development, there are no “magic bullets,” but new tools can unlock exciting ways for people to connect and collaborate with one another.
TechChange believes deeply in that power. To put our values into action, we convened the first-ever hybrid Frontiers of Digital Development Forum (FDDF) to bring technologists, development practitioners, and thought leaders from all over the world together for exciting, tough, and necessary conversations about the role of emerging technology within development.
We used our innovative approach to hybrid events to ensure that these debates, conversations and demonstrations were accessible, inclusive, and dynamic. Compared to a traditional DC event, the hybrid nature of the Frontiers of Digital Development Forum allowed for critical voices from outside of Washington D.C. to be heard. Overall, over 600 people across 55 countries participated in the forum either in-person, virtually, or both.
FDDF Day 1
For Day 1 of the conference, 190 people representing more than 60 organizations convened in DC’s historic Capitol Turnaround hall to discuss topics such as the role of technology in humanitarian response, digital transaction of carbon credits, and how crypto can democratize development.
As a new TechChange employee, I was thrilled that FDDF did not shy away from polarizing topics, and I was struck by how fresh and inclusive this event felt compared to many conferences I’ve participated in the past. In addition to select virtual-only sessions, all of the in-person sessions were live-streamed to virtual participants, who could also engage with discussion boards, Pop-up Studio interviews, and virtual networking experiences.
Our amazing FDDF ambassadors led local watch parties and conversations in Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Jordan. It was exciting to be a part of a new model for convening in this globalized, digital age, and engage with ICT4D practitioners all over the world.
TechChange CEO Nick Martin engages with Nairobi watch party organized by FDDF Ambassador Peter Omondi
Watch party in Dar es Salaam
FDDF Day 2
Day 2 of the conference utilized the TechChange platform for an entirely virtual experience. As one virtual participant from Kenya said, “FDDF2022 was one of the greatest events I have attended. The quality of discussion, unique topics, great panelists exchanging ideas, insightful audience– this was an eye opener.”
One of the most-watched sessions featured Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation
The user-friendly features of our platform provided not only unfettered access to content but multiple ways to engage with speakers and other attendees. The platform recorded over 32 hours of content featuring 97 speakers, and participants were buzzing with energy– over 1,000 in-session chat messages were sent throughout the forum.
That’s our favorite thing about hybrid conferences- there’s something for everyone. And when gathering together to discuss emerging technology, isn’t it appropriate that we should use an innovative approach that leverages the best of conference tech to ensure a diverse collection of voices are at the table?
At TechChange, virtual participation isn’t just an afterthought, it’s an integral part of how we make connections and build community. We’re looking forward to applying the lessons we’ve learned to our hybrid events in the future to make them even more engaging and inclusive. This is emerging technology I can get behind.
Q: So, tell us more about yourself.
I studied a number of foreign languages in college. Eventually, my love of spoken language led to an interest in computer languages, and a career shift into tech swiftly followed. At the core of what drives me, though, is a deep-seated belief that education is a primary solution to many of the social, economic, and ideological challenges that plague our world today. I also believe that, with the right tools and guidance, all people are capable of making small but effective choices that can ultimately reduce suffering in the world and make our communities safer and more equitable places to be.
Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?
When I first started applying for software engineering jobs, I knew I either wanted to work in edtech or for a company in the social change/impact sector. I never dreamed I would be lucky enough to get both! So when I heard back from TechChange and kept getting advanced through the interview process, I almost didn’t believe it was real. I am so glad that TechChange welcomed me into the work they are doing, and it feels like a true privilege to be a part of the team here.
Q: What are some of your favorite parts of working at TechChange so far?
My career and life have not always followed a very straightforward trajectory, but I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve had and am so happy with where I have ended up. It’s really resonated with me to see the diverse background of so many of the employees at TechChange and to see the CEO actively encouraging the people in his sphere of influence to reject the stigma associated with taking a little more time to find your path. The leadership here recognizes that those of us who have needed to take a long way or who have a nonlinear work history contribute to the diversity of perspectives that makes the work at TechChange all the more inclusive and effective. Being among such people, in addition to the shared values and goals of social change, really makes me feel like I’m somewhere I belong.
Q: What excites you about this role?
Coming into the position as a brand new software engineer, I was acutely aware that I would have a lot to learn on the job. However, I did not expect that I would get to work in an environment where my relative newness to the field wouldn’t actively devalue me. I am so tremendously grateful that my work ethic, potential, and commitment are recognized and invested in and that learning and growth are built into the role. Being intentionally given the space to ask honest questions, receive meaningful guidance, and prioritize deep learning over frenzied productivity when needed has instilled me with a new level of confidence and motivation. TechChange, a company built around empowering people with education opportunities, has shown me that this value applies not only to their clients but also to their employees.
Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next year?
Working at TechChange opens up a huge opportunity to connect with organizations doing meaningful education and impact work that I otherwise might have never known about. In a world where the news cycle is dominated by the worst events of the week, I’m especially looking forward to being regularly reminded of all the good going on in the world and to connecting myself to the change makers, helpers, revolutionaries, and advocates making a difference every day. I’m excited to get to contribute to their efforts, even in small ways, with my daily work at TechChange.
Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?
I’m surprisingly risk averse for someone who’s seemingly done a lot of things to keep my mother up at night. I’ve paraglided in the French Alps and gone spelunking in Mammoth Cave. I’ve lived in foreign countries and have had close encounters with sharks, stingrays, and more. I’ve free solo climbed cliffs and lived with survivors of human trafficking. I’ve had these experiences not because I’m impulsive or fearless but because I’m committed to “doing it scared” if it’s something that really matters or something that will make my life or the lives of others richer and better, to doing important things even when I’m uncomfortable or facing significant obstacles Deep down, though, I’m far from an adrenaline thrill chaser. What I really love is a calm and quiet night in with a good book and a cup of tea and would happily choose that any day I can!
Guest Blog Post By: Amanda Livingstone (she/her/hers)
Facilitator, Communicator, and Campaign Strategist for Reproductive Justice
What TechChange’s Gender Data Online Course is all about and why I signed up
TechChange’sGender Data 101 Edition 2.0 is a 5-week blended online course organized and facilitated by the incredible Natalya Buchwald that featured live events with gender and data experts, online tools and tasks, and provided additional resources that could be used within our professional environments. The course gave participants the skills to:
Define
best practices needed for gender data at all stages of the data life cycle
(collection, processing, analysis, visualization, uptake, and impact)
Identify
the multiple forms of systemic discrimination that affect the overall efficacy
of gender data
Evaluate
the limitations of the gender binary and how it may affect the phases of the
gender data lifecycle
Create
action-oriented strategies and an intersectional approach to combat gender data
inequities and biases
I
was keen to sign up to 1. Improve my skills at effectively implementing the
data life cycle throughout a project I managed that focused on women’s and
girls’ sexual health and rights and 2. Continue to dismantle and unlearn my own
internal biases on gender and race and reconstruct more affirming and
intersectional approaches for improved organizational strategies and impact.
Why everyone should take this course
The
course covers five key topics: fundamentals of gender and data; gender data
collection and processing; gender data analysis; gender data visualization; and
gender uptake and impact. At first, I was pretty hesitant to dive in – full
well knowing my inability to use advanced excel formulas, GIS, and most of the acronym-ed
data analysis tools out there – but the course progressed at an accessible
pace, offered several engaging guest panels, and included how-to videos for
those of us who may have needed a second watch to let a new methodology or tool
fully sink in (cough me cough). The course also delved into how systemic
discrimination based on gender, race, ability, geography, and more negatively
affect the overall efficacy of gender data and how we can work to identify and
combat discriminatory practices from the start. The course ends by asking all
participants to take actionable steps to employ gender data to create and
improve impactful programs within their professional and everyday lives.
My top 3 takeaways
Once
you start identifying discriminatory data collection methods and visualizations,
you can’t – and shouldn’t – unsee them. From filling out a survey that doesn’t include your race but
rather lists “other,” to only offering “male” and “female” gender identity
choices, to the color choices used in mapping visualizations – discrimination
and biases in data collection, analysis, and visualizations are far too
prevalent. I also recognize my privilege and embarrassment that it took a class
for me to be fully aware of these systemic types of oppression and how they are
directly connected to the harmful ways that information is understood and
shared, how choices (like policies and laws) are made, and how resources are
allocated. This also extends into and is a foundation of the decolonization of research in the development field more
broadly. My ask to readers: When you see a collection method or
visualization that – purposefully or not – is exclusive, discriminating, or biased
– write to/call/tag the author/organization/etc. calling out the issue and encouraging
them to make the necessary changes to make their methods more inclusive,
affirming, and respectful.
Everyone can make inclusive adjustments to their gender data collection and visualization methods. Many of the tips shared in TechChange’s class were straightforward, doable, and can be integrated into pretty much any data collection, analysis, or visualization method. Are you about to ask your staff or your organizational members to complete a survey? Make sure to double-check if it could put someone’s privacy or personal information at risk. Ask yourself if it only allows individuals to check “male” or “female” rather than letting folks self-identify. When you’re making a graph visualizing your survey’s results – what colors are you using to represent participants’ responses? Who is asking the questions, and who will see the answers? And how are you portraying the data within your larger contexts? These are just a few questions to ask yourself before, during, and after requesting information from a broad and diverse audience.
TOOLS. I love a good tool – whether it’s a template for a new, integrated workplan or a chart that helps me better decide what type of data visualization tool I should use, I want to see them all. This course offers, dare I say, hundreds of free, easily accessible online tools that can support users in all their gender data needs. I have downloaded many of them and use them daily. Below is a sneak peek of some available tools shared.
All
in all, I highly recommend this course to anyone looking for support on a
specific project or to folks who are interested in broadening their inclusive
data collection, analysis, and visualization skills.
For more information
on the next available course, email: info@techchange.org
Shannon is Director of Virtual & Hybrid Events at TechChange, where she leads the Events department in creating engaging virtual and hybrid conferences for partners and participants across the globe. Prior to joining TechChange, she worked in nonprofits in France, the US, and the UK, and holds an MSc in Globalisation and Development from SOAS University of London.
Q: So, tell us more about yourself. How did you end up working in events?
Previous to working at TechChange, I worked in a few different nonprofits with education and human rights at the core of their missions. In these organizations, I was involved in events — everything from external-facing networking events focused on hiring to internal-facing events revolving around employee wellbeing programs and trainings. While my events experience was primarily in person, I was very interested in pivoting to the digital space when the pandemic hit and organizations turned their focus to convening virtually.
Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?
I heard about TechChange via one of Nick’s LinkedIn posts! A mutual connection reshared something he had posted, which led me to look into the organization and reach out to connect.
Q: What are some of your favorite parts of working at TechChange so far?
My favorite part of working at TechChange is the opportunity to collaborate with a group of innovative, intelligent colleagues and partners. The curiosity and energy that the TechChange team brings to their work creates an inspiring environment to work in. The partners that we work with also bring such passion for the programs and initiatives connected to each of their events, and, having worked in organizations focused on social change throughout my career, I feel lucky to be able to contribute to our partners’ success in areas from human rights to peacekeeping to public health!
Q: What excites you about this role?
One of the most pleasant surprises about this role is the constant exposure to live virtual production approaches. There is nothing more thrilling than being in the virtual greenroom/studio as we go live with a keynote speaker or opening ceremony!
Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next year?
I’m really looking forward to the ways in which hybrid events will evolve as more of our partners become able to further explore this space. Over the past year and a half, we’ve had so many opportunities to shift our approach to virtual events and further enhance the participant experience, so it will be really interesting to see the ways in which we carry new and existing elements into a hybrid world and continue to improve based on what we learn!
Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?
I’m a bit restless and am always looking for a craft or hobby to keep busy! Some of my favorite activities are jogging and hiking, trying out new recipes, and designing jewelry or clothing. I’ve worn a few of my own creations to friends’ weddings and am always seeking new creative activities!
September 2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of our first hybrid event. It’s also the 18-month anniversary of the last time TechChange was able to convene our community in person to learn from one another.
Until 2020, the stodgy in-person event industry has been protected by a scarcity of solutions (only so many conference centers) and a captive audience (you can’t easily attend another event). Online events were often intentionally neglected to drive attendees towards more lucrative, and superior, in-person experiences.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed all that. Not only were in-person events impossible, but expectations for online convening increased drastically as the months went on. By March 2020, it was no longer enough to release a pre-recorded video or hold a massive webinar; participants were expecting online events to recreate in-person participation. By May 2020, participants began demanding organic networking opportunities to unlock the real value of event attendance: driving business and career growth.
In competing for attention, there is no substitute for production value and seamless event execution. But it doesn’t just stop there. At a minimum, be prepared to figure out multiple audio streams for interpretation, live captioning, lower thirds, integrated videos, ASL/ISL, and transitions. But it’s worth it. The plenary events are consistently the highest attended across all events on the TechChange platform over the course of the last two years — and are consistently the most viewed archives of any event.
Screenshot of RightsCon Outcomes Report 2021
2. But Networking Is Still Best When Informal and Organic
Networking doesn’t require a fancy 3D world with location-based audio to recreate the hallway experience of a conference. Although, as we’ve seen for the Greater Giving Summit 2021 and Global Digital Development Forum (pictured in featured image), they can be highly effective and popular. For example, the integrated Social Hour sessions for RightsCon 2021 leveraged small-group tables that enabled informal networking to recreate the hallway experience — and according to the RightsCon Outcomes Report 2021 81% of surveyed participants who attended a Social Hour session rated them as Excellent or Good.
Banner for Pathfinders event
3. Partners are Seizing Opportunities for Accessibility and Inclusivity The loss of a requirement to travel has opened up new opportunities for addressing accessibility and inclusivity in conference organizing — for both participation and convening. Most recently, this has included supporting the USAID-HBCU International Development Conference, the Action to Achieve Equality and Inclusion, and more. The shift to online convening has prompted many online conference partners to think through not just who is in the room, but also who is holding the mic and what is being discussed.
Over the last two years I have fielded a lot of questions about my two main areas of interest, education and user experience design. For many curious onlookers, education studies and UX/UI design studies present as two very different pedagogies, and thus, they require an explanation from me about how I can combine two seemingly unrelated areas of work.
I always appreciate those people who are interested in hearing more about my decision to pursue both interests. The following is a brief explanation of how I plan on leveraging my experience at TechChange to better serve the education community this upcoming year and beyond.
Following my completion of undergrad in June 2020, I moved from New Hampshire to D.C. to pursue a year of service with AmeriCorps. I worked for an AmeriCorps National partner organization called Literacy Lab, which provides one-on-one reading help to students in DC Public Schools.
As you can imagine, moving to a new city and starting a new job amidst the pandemic came with a lot of unexpected challenges. But I don’t think anyone at Lit Lab was really prepared for the level of chaos that would befall DCPS, especially Title I schools, and especially during that first fall of the pandemic. It was admirable to watch how DCPS staff and faculty rose to the challenges posed by online learning, but many of the issues they faced were unfamiliar and unrelenting.
Flash forward to this past summer; I traded in my reading assessments and student data tracking for course evaluation reports and user interviews here at TechChange. Having the opportunity to dive deep into adult online education after spending a year trying to teach kids over Microsoft Teams felt like a wonderful break. For nine weeks, I watched TechChange members put so much of their time and effort into creating engaging and productive experiences for their partners and participants; it was truly a joy to spend my time learning from my new teammates.
A few weeks ago, I started my second year of AmeriCorps. This year I am a VISTA member (meaning I’m sponsored by the national AmeriCorps organization) and I am working at Garrison Elementary as a community partners liaison. Already I can tell that the work is very different from my work last year in that I spend much more time on capacity building and community building, and my work is largely in-person (which is both terrifying and exciting after working virtually for over a year). As I begin my work at Garrison, I can already see how my past work at TechChange can help me solve for gaps and discover new opportunities to strengthen elementary school processes, and also help me reflect on my past year spent online teaching.
An Empathetic Approach
The difference between adult and student education planning that most immediately caught my attention was the extremely high level of empathy and research that went into planning TechChange’s online experiences. I was impressed by how much care and inquisitiveness went into identifying participants’ needs over the course of their time with TechChange. As a UX/UI designer, I appreciated the methodologies that go into creating a TechChange course. And to TechChange’s credit, they really emphasize human-centered design. Meaning that team members interview potential participants, work closely with their partners, and consider every aspect of a participant’s virtual needs (which vary greatly from their in-person needs). As the TechChange Summer Fellow, I spent almost all of my time analyzing the successes and challenges (which were few) of TechChange’s virtual synchronous courses. Much of the successes stemmed from participants feeling like TechChange facilitators could anticipate participants’ needs and adapt throughout the course to make participants feel heard.
Although I give DCPS a lot of credit for adapting to virtual teaching amidst a pandemic, I must say that more emphasis could have been placed on observing students prior to the start of virtual teaching, or talking to students and gathering their feedback the way people gather feedback from adults. One of my biggest takeaways from online teaching is that elementary students are people too — they deserve the consideration and respect that we give to adult learners. Their learning needs can and should be met. And the onus to be adaptable and engaging shouldn’t rest with classroom teachers; I believe DCPS has a responsibility to create a support system for students and teachers wherein both parties feel comfortable and heard. Too often the focus for classroom teachers is how to maintain a semblance of order in their classrooms (both online and in-person); I can see now that there were opportunities last year for DC educators to intervene and provide teachers with the tools they needed to increase student engagement and passion for learning so that teachers could have focused on teaching.
To put the problem in product development terms: the students should be the users, and their needs should be well-studied and prioritized. While the implementers of the education experience should be familiar with the students’ needs (and the teachers I’ve met definitely are familiar), many other parties have the responsibility to step in with research-backed strategies to accommodate online learning challenges. Education delivery should be a team effort.
Strengthening Ties with Stakeholders
As the new community partner liaison at Garrison, I spend much of my time listening to community stakeholders; our wonderful principal and assistant principal, the school dean, our head of after school programs, teachers and coaches, non-profit directors, the president of the Parent-Teacher Organization, among many others.
Emma’s Summer Findings
The relationship between TechChange and its partners is vastly different from the way I work with Garrison’s community partners, but there’s a lot to be gained from TechChange’s co-creation approach to designing experiences with their stakeholders. The open-ended nature of brainstorming with a new partner prior to course design provides so much opportunity to create an experience with myriad benefits. As I’ve begun introducing myself to Garrison’s partners (both old and new) I have found the most productive and creatively-minded conversations with partners are the ones where we spend time discussing our goals for our potential partnership. Framing the partnership with such intentionality really drives us to enthusiastically dive into new programs, new goals, and new opportunities for the students. And for my position in particular, I’m always cognizant that these partnerships are usually pro-bono for Garrison, and that many of our partners are donating their time to help our school (students and teachers alike).
Big-Picture Planning
One of the wonderful aspects of my Fellowship was the opportunity to synthesize a large amount of qualitative data all together; by analyzing feedback and user interviews regarding TechChange’s synchronous offerings, I had the chance to interpret insights across different courses (which were each tailored to a different audience and contained different learning objectives). Making those cross-course connections was key to my understanding of the strengths and challenges of TechChange course development as well as my familiarization with participants’ needs and constraints. If I were to have stayed on after my fellowship, I think I could have used my research to pursue even deeper understandings of both participants and the course development process.
Emma Utilized Dedoose to Synthesize a Large Amount of Qualitative Data for TechChange
But in my current capacity, I already hope to use that same kind of thinking to approach challenges within Garrison. One of the issues I want to address is a lack of organization within the after school program; there is an incredible amount of work that goes into planning after school care for students, and much of that work is completed by teachers, corps members from places like City Year, and team members from non-profits like Kid Power. With so many actors involved, coordination has been tricky, especially after a year of minimal in-person programming. As the community partner liaison, I’m in a unique position to approach this challenge by combining the expertise and suggestions from a variety of parties involved. I am already prepared to approach this problem using a tried-and-true design methodology (loosely speaking: research, brainstorm, design, test, iterate) and I am confident that I will be able to support my school better having had experience in design research.
Although I am no longer working in a design capacity, my work in education design research has truly shaped how I approach my work as a member of the DC education community. And while I am no longer teaching virtually or studying virtual teaching, I have learned so much about education and online engagement that I know will help me as I strive to support Garrison students, educators and partners. At the very least, my summer at TechChange has provided me the opportunity to reflect deeply on our roles as education developers/implementers, and for that I am very grateful.
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