2021 Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) virtual conference
In April we were glad to be part of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) conference held virtually from 25th April focusing on Social Responsibility within Changing Contexts. eKitabu participated in two sessions addressing gaps in inclusive education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing in sub-Saharan Africa. The first of these presentations focused on the work we are doing in the Language Before Literacy team with colleagues at Royal Kentalis, Deaf Child Worldwide, and Juarez & Associates with whom we have been working for the past three years toward inclusion of learners who are deaf or hard of hearing in language acquisition and literacy. In the second session, we presented with the All Children Reading (USAID, World Vision and the Australian Government) team focusing on EdTech tools, resources, and assessments to support reading and language skills for children with disabilities in and out of school. Josh Josa of USAID led the discussion with eKitabu, Benetech, and School-to-School International. We were glad to join the presentations, and we were grateful to be part of the thoughtful and thorough preparation that went into them.
About Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
CIES is the largest and oldest of 47 comparative and international education societies around the world. More than 3,000 individual members — researchers, analysts, practitioners, and students — represent over 1,000 universities, research institutes, government departments, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral agencies across the globe. CIES seeks to contribute to an understanding of education through encouragement and promotion of comparative education and related areas of inquiry and activity.
eKitabu at CIES
At the 65th annual CIES conference, which took place virtually on 25-29 April 2021, eKitabu presented on Digital Story Time innovation a 30-minute sign language video episodes broadcast across Kenyan TV, YouTube, and ekitabu.com/TV designed to help all children continue their learning while schools were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the video episodes eKitabu’s Studio KSL Director, Georgine Auma, introduces each episode, which features a series of three Kenyan Sign Language storybooks, along with English or Kiswahili audio narration and captions, followed by comprehension questions and vocabulary lessons. Each episode includes a tie-in to interactive online learning resources.
