1. mStories Mobile Learning Week February 25, 2015
Ayan Kishore & Jacqui Deelstra
Creative Associates International
What is Creative Associates?
T4D
Model program, and implementation in Zambia

2. Problems we identified
Lack of reading materials in local languages
Lack of reading materials outside school
Lower education attainment for girls than boys
Lack of mechanisms to engage communities
Girls are more likely to be kept out of school because of household duties and have lower literacy rates

3. Assets we identified Most adults have basic cell phones
SMS reading materials beginning to show promise
Interest in communities to help in education
Oral tradition of storytelling
VSO Intl. SMS stories provided to teachers saw literacy gains

4. Girls are more likely to be kept out of school because of household duties and have lower literacy rates
mStories provides a way for girls missing days of school to still practice reading at home WE

5. Old Woman Dances, by Kabwe Tembo. An old woman lived in a hut
Old Woman Dances, by Kabwe Tembo. An old woman lived in a hut. She did not have friends. She was sad. One day a band came to the village.
Why was she sad?
One day a band came to the village. The men played drums. The girls sang. The old woman danced. She was happy. Everyone was happy.
Why was everyone happy?
See who published story – hyperlocal. See who
Discussion questions for engagement with parents and other children in and outside school (watercooler)
Test comprehension through the course
Cliffhanger
Poll children if they liked the story

6. Engaging Girls
mStories will cover themes such as girls’ participation and schooling and feature female characters
Community outreach will emphasize the importance of reading and providing technology access for both boys and girls

7. Engaging Women
We created our crowdsourcing mechanism to ensure all citizens can participate regardless of literacy level or technology skills
Our community engagement and training will reinforce the importance of women’s involvement with the project, including submitting stories and listening to children read the stories
This is important given that men have greater rates of mobile phone ownership and women may need to gain access to the technology to participate

8. Fosters a culture of reading by :
Building on the rich tradition of storytelling
Sharing and preservation of traditional stories
Giving children stories that are relevant to their lives
Leading to a digital repository of mother tongue, early grade reading materials that can be reused and repurposed by schools and other NGOs

9. Expected Results
Improved reading scores achieved through:

10. Pilot Details
Funding provided by the All Children Reading Grand Challenge Partners: USAID, Australian Aid, World Vision
Working in Zambia’s Eastern Province
Developing stories in Chinyanja
Working with children who are receiving mother tongue literacy instruction in school and are reached by our Read to Succeed Program
Conducting an impact evaluation to determine the difference in reading scores that can be attributed to the mStories intervention

11. Partnerships for local ownership & scaling
Local Radio stations: BreezeFM
Local Technology hubs: BongoHive
Local Universities: University of Zambia
Libraries: Lubuto Library Project
Local Children’s authors
Mobile network operators

12. Ways to partner and get involved
Share your research and experience related to mobile reading and community engagement
Let us know if this model seems relevant for your country or programs
Connect us to other partners in Zambia
Help us think through scale and sustainability

13. Thank you
Ayan Kishore Senior Associate, Technology for Development Jacqui Deelstra Technology for Development Associate