Together, let's ensure the best ICT solutions reach children with disabilities around the world.
The Grand Challenge
More than 93 million children globally have a disability, and at least 90 percent of those residing in countries with high poverty levels do not attend school. A lack of suitable transportation and infrastructure, inadequate teacher training, insufficient learning support, and a dearth of quality learning resources prevent children with disabilities from attending or fully participating in school, leaving them further behind their peers’ academic and social development. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges and deepened the need for quality Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions to support learning for all children in or out of school.
The Big Idea
The UnrestrICTed Challenge seeks expressions of interest from local and global solvers to scale ICT for education solutions that ensure children with disabilities benefit from language, literacy, and learning support grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at home and at school. Solvers will participate in a collaborative process to co-create forward-thinking ICT for education solutions that demonstrate the highest potential to improve language and literacy for children with disabilities in low-resource contexts.
Prize Partners
The ACR GCD Founding Partners thank the following organizations for their collaboration on this competition.
Developing a framework for integrating accessible ICTs into government guidelines and training instruction, and expanding teacher professional development.
Adding Marathi human-narrated audio capabilities to create accessible, grade-level storybooks that can be listened to on low cost audio devices by children who are blind/low vision
Using innovative technologies for teachers to create and translate print/braille learning materials and for children who are blind/low vision to learn braille.
Mobilizing community members to submit favorite local stories and folktales and distributing the stories, along with comprehension questions, to early grade students and their families via SMS.
Assistive technology that enables educators to easily create and publish Moroccan Sign Language (MSL) supported educational materials for students who are deaf/hard of hearing.
Transforming readers into basal electronic formats with interactive features, including multi-modal presentations that build on children’s oral Khmer language skills
Providing families in Mali with immediate access to community developed print and digital reading resources through mobile technology and local libraries
Fostering parental engagement through use of “Mundo de Libros,” a technology-based tool that matches students with grade level-appropriate Spanish reading materials that align with their abilities
Providing families with a smartphone based mobile app, based on the Marathi dubbed version of Sesame Street, (Galli Galli Sim Sim), to promote mother-tongue literacy skills
Competition
Grant Competition 2014
Winner Status
Winner
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There are no innovators at this time. Please check back later.
ACR GCD Alumni, Little Thinking Minds' grantee journey is one of four detailed Case Studies that demonstrates key learning about thematic priorities for the USAID Meta Evaluation of Grand Challenges
Examining the use of the CLA approach when shifting from supporting innovators/innovations at pilot (or proof of concept) stage to transitioning mature, evidence-based solutions for scale.
The Grand Challenge is concluding 12 years of funding and testing innovative EdTech solutions and approaches to increase reading outcomes for marginalized children in low-resource contexts