Only 20 percent of preschool-aged children in Timor-Leste are enrolled in school.1 Most preschools lack basic learning resources, as do many households and teacher training needs are significant.
Currently, educational practices in many classrooms often depend on rote learning, which can disengage students. The lack of interactive and stimulating learning activities do not only detract from children’s educational experiences but also discourage parents from enrolling their children in preschool.
In response to this need, Mary MacKillop Today – in partnership with World Mosaic and generously funded by the by the Noel & Carmel O’Brien Family Foundation (NCOBFF) – have developed an interactive app that is projected onto classroom walls, helping teachers deliver curriculum content in an engaging way to preschool children. The app was developed in consultation with local communities and government departments and was launched through a pilot program in 6 preschools in Liquiçá and Dili. Following the success of the pilot, the project is now set to be rolled out to preschools across Timor-Leste.
The content of the app has been developed in consultation with the Ministry of Education and is in line with the Timor-Leste national curriculum. The app is delivered in Tetun, and it uses designs, animations, activities, and stories from the Timorese culture. We are also developing an accompanying phone app for parents to use at home with their children and reinforce what they learn in class.
Activities
- The training on using the app provides teachers and parents with the necessary skills and resources needed to create engaging and enjoyable learning environments.
Impact
- The app is used daily at each pilot preschool as a core learning and teaching resource, enhancing learning, engagement, enrolment, teacher skills and parent participation.
- Teachers control and operate the app in class, minimising the contact children have on devices.
- Teachers across the six pilot preschools have shared that they enthusiastically use the “Hahu” (Tetun word for Start) Class app for all their classes. There are 16 classes in total, approximately 500 children. Teachers report they generally utilise the app to support their lessons for one hour per 2.5-hour daily session.
- All projectors, screens and teacher tablet devices are operating successfully at the preschools, stored and managed locally with no reported or observed issues.
- All teachers are able to effectively set up and operate the equipment and have expressed being highly appreciative of the app as a teaching and learning resource that is transformational.
Story
Anita uses the EdTech for Early Learning app that is projected onto the classroom wall to make her lessons more interactive through different sounds, letters, pictures, activities, and stories, so her young students can engage more with their lessons.
“I’m so grateful that Mary MacKillop Today chose our small school for this project. With this app, the children in my class can start using technology right at the beginning of their learning journey and it can all be done using pictures and sounds that they know well.”
Footnote
Mary MacKillop Today thanks the Noel and Carmel O’Brien Family Foundation for their essential support—initiating the EdTech for Early Learning project in 2022 and funding our work since 2023. With help from World Mosaic, following stakeholder engagement, product development, and a pilot program, we are now rolling out this high quality and scalable early learning program in Timor-Leste.
1 United Nations: ‘ONE UN, ONE VOICE – Early Childhood Development and Lifelong Learning’, 2023
