Amy Ogan

Most learners worldwide are multilingual, yet implementing multilingual education remains challenging in practice. EdTech offers an opportunity to bridge this gap and expand access for linguistically diverse learners. We conducted a quasi-experiment in Uganda with 2,931 participants enrolled in a non-formal radio- and mobile-based engineering course, where learners self-selected instruction in Leb Lango (a local language), English, or a Hybrid option combining both languages. The Leb Lango version of the course was used disproportionately by learners from rural areas, those with less formal education, and those with lower prior knowledge, broadening participation among disadvantaged learners. Moreover, the availability of Leb Lango instruction was associated with higher active participation, even among learners who registered for English instruction. Although Leb Lango learners began with lower performance, they demonstrated faster learning gains and achieved comparable final examination outcomes to English and Hybrid learners. These results suggest that providing local language options to learners is an effective way to make EdTech more accessible.

ICTD research has often faced challenges in transferring findings across different projects or general HCI due to its specificity to local communities. Theory-driven research, such as aspirations, can bridge work across communities. However, designing technology for emerging theories like aspirations is inherently complex. This study employs a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology to explore designing digital tools for teacher aspirations in rural Côte d’Ivoire. First, we interviewed teachers and found the important role of digital literacy in their aspirations. Then, we conducted four focus groups with 16 teachers to understand their weekly planning practices and challenges. We found that teachers rely on collaboration to help set goals and classroom activities, but this collaboration was inconsistent and often inaccessible. Based on this context, we designed a prototype in Google Forms to scaffold planning for teachers and evaluated it through four additional teacher focus groups. Completing a DBR iterative cycle, we reflect on design principles to further develop similar technological supports for teachers in low-infrastructure contexts. The study contributes by demonstrating the value of DBR in designing for teacher aspirations and highlighting the importance of digital literacy, collaboration, and goal-setting in achieving teacher aspirations.