Goal: Worldreader will have the resources to replicate, enhance, and sustain its digital reading programs such as the Ghana District Scale project.
Background: 82 percent of the world’s learners are not in school because of COVID-19. To address this urgent need, Worldreader accelerated the release of its new app for school-age children, BookSmart, which features more than a thousand free children’s books. In addition, Worldreader offered a new selection of ebooks to Opera Mini users, which is a popular browser in Africa due to its ability to reduce web page sizes and save up to 90% of mobile data.
Partner: Worldreader is a global nonprofit championing digital reading in underserved communities to create a world where everyone can be a reader. They feature an extensive selection of approximately 35,000 digital books, stories, and teaching materials in 52 languages to use for free. Their easy-to-use mobile app is designed to work on the most basic internet-enabled phone, using minimal data and loading times. Over the past 10 years, Worldreader has assisted 13.4 million readers in 47 countries.
Project: A Team4Tech volunteer team of 11 NetApp employees accelerated Worldreader’s impact on learners worldwide by supporting their Ghana District Scale program in Kwaebibirem, Ghana. The team:
- Created video production guides, scripts, and storyboards to support the increase of teacher confidence as well as research for chatbot technology
- Drafted a digital reading policy to pitch to other districts across Ghana
- Created a full-fledged, comprehensive financial sustainability model
- Researched 16 data evaluation & monitoring tools and recommended the top three for moving forward
Impact: Worldreader is now able to better support one of the biggest challenges in implementing tech-based educational programs: addressing the beneficiaries’ digital literacy levels. This project reached 700 teachers across 52 – 90 schools, impacting approximately 45,000 learners.