READVERTISEMENT: ICT INTEGRATION IN ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR PRIMARY AND JUNIOUR SCHOOL 75 views0 applications

Finn Church Aid (FCA) is the second-largest Finnish development cooperation organization and an important provider of humanitarian assistance with operations in 13 countries across the globe. FCA supports three thematic areas: Right to quality education, right to livelihood and Right to Peace.

FCA has vast experience in implementation of Education in Kenya having supported education interventions in ASAL counties of Turkana (Kakuma Refugee Camp), Garissa (Dadaab Refugee Camp), Tana River, Samburu among other counties. The organization has received funding support from UNHCR, UNICEF, MFA, WUSC and BPRM to implement education interventions in Refugee camps and other ASAL counties. The education interventions have focused on access, retention and quality education for boys and girls in primary and secondary schools.

FCA is currently partnering with UNICEF in implementing Digital Literacy Program (DLP) titled ‘Last Mile Connectivity in Schools (LMCS)’ targeting four counties of Marsabit, Samburu, West Pokot and Tana River. The target counties in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) in Kenya are among the poorest in the country. Samburu has a poverty rate of 71.9%, Tana River 66.7%, Marsabit 66.1%, and West Pokot 60.1% against the national rate of 45.9% (Kenya Poverty Report, 2022). Access to education in these regions remains a significant challenge. For instance, NER for Marsabit is 38.9%, West Pokot 86.4%, Tana River 48.1%, and Samburu 44%, against a national average of 78.1% (MOE Basic Education Statistical Booklet, 2020). In these counties, access to digital devices and internet connectivity is limited impacting the effectiveness of digital learning, therefore highlighting the urgent need for investment in ICT infrastructure.

Background And Rationale of The Assignment

The Government of Kenya (GoK) is actively promoting a digital economy to drive economic growth. Kenya Digital Economy Blueprint and the Kenya National Digital Master Plan to enhance digital infrastructure. The ICT in Education or Digital Learning Programmes (DLP) in Kenya has made significant strides in recent past, focusing on integrating digital technologies into public primary schools. The aim is to prepare young teachers and learners for a technology-driven world by enhancing their digital literacy skills with the aim of improving learning outcomes.

The Kenyan government has been actively supporting the DLP, ensuring that digital devices and resources are available in public primary schools since it first distributed over one million devices to primary schools in Kenya. DLP emphasizes the importance of digital literacy, aiming to equip students with the necessary skills to navigate the digital landscape effectively while ensuring that teachers are well equipped with adequate skills to support the learners utilizing enhanced teaching and learning pedagogical methodologies.

There is a focus on personalized learning tools that adapt to individual learners’ needs, optimizing their learning experiences and outcomes. Efforts are being made to ensure that digital learning is accessible to all students, especially those in rural and marginalized communities for enhanced equity and inclusion. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to bridge the digital divide and ensure that all students have equal opportunities to benefit from digital education

In light of the above, FCA in partnership with UNICEF Kenya is currently implementing Last Mile Connectivity in Schools (LMCS) in 4 counties of Marsabit, Tana River, Samburu and West Pokot. The project aims to improve access to inclusive, quality digitally enabled education for better learning outcomes and skills building for all children and adolescents in 4 counties. To support integration of ICT in education in the targeted counties, FCA is looking for a consultancy that will design, develop or customize ICT enhanced assessment tools that will support school-based assessment (SBA), track learners’ progress and offers real-time reporting to parents and teachers. The project is being implemented in 244 schools across the 4 counties.

Objective of the consultancy.

• To design, develop or customize an enhanced ICT assessment tool (app) that will improve school-based assessment (administer assessments, track student progress, and offer real-time reporting to parents and teachers) in 244 schools. This will be a one-off installation hence we shall require perpetual user licenses. The tool should posses both offline and online functionality.

Consultants’ Role (Tasks to be performed)

• Develop, design and customize CBE aligned ICT enhanced assessment tool (app)that will improve school-based assessment, track learners progress and offer real-time reporting to parents and teachers
• To Sensitize FCA project staff on installation and operationalization of the software.
• Develop simple to use user guide in printed format; this will help guide teachers and project staff on operationalization of the assessment tool.
• Any other relevant technical support and advice to FCA team regarding the specs for the software/tool (capacity of the software, the OS etc) that would prove valuable in installation in the devices.

FCA Role:

• FCA will install the offline software/ app/tool in the 1220 tablets (5 tablets per school) in all the 244 schools across all the 4 counties Marsabit, Tana River, Samburu and West Pokot.
• FCA will pay the consultancy fees upon completion of the exercise, provision of a user tool Guide and sensitization of project staff on software operationalization.

Skills and qualifications required

Educational Qualifications

• Degree(s) in one or more of the following areas:
  • Education / Educational Technology
  • Instructional Design
  • Computer Science / Software Engineering
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education
• A master’s degree in EdTech or a related field will be added advantage.

Pedagogical and Assessment Knowledge

• Understanding of:
  • CBE and Curriculum standards and learning outcomes (e.g., Common Core competencies, Bloom’s Taxonomy Framework).
  • Formative and summative assessments.
  • Assessment design: rubrics, performance tasks, portfolios.
  • Inclusive education: tools for students with special needs.

Technical and Software Development Skills

• Programming languages (for app development):
  • JavaScript, Python, Java, Swift, Kotlin, etc.
• App & Web Development Frameworks:
  • React, Flutter, Angular, or similar.
• Database management:
  • SQL, Firebase, or MongoDB.
• Backend development:
  • Node.js, Django, Flask, etc.
• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) Integration:
  • Experience with systems like Moodle, Google Classroom, or Canvas.

Data and Analytics Skills

• Educational data analysis: understanding how to track learning progress.
• Skills in using tools like:
  • Google Data Studio, Tableau, Excel, or Power BI.
  • Learning analytics dashboards.
• Basic knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Machine Learning (ML) is a bonus for adaptive assessments.

Soft and Professional Skills

• Communication and collaboration with educators, designers, and developers.
• Project management: Agile/Scrum methodology.
• Problem-solving and user feedback integration.
• Digital literacy and familiarity with classroom technologies.