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For my final project for TC105: Mobiles for International Development, I decided to interview Amy Sweeney of GeoPoll, one of the guest speakers of our class. Working on global development issues, I am deeply interested in new opportunities offered by technology, particularly how it allows people living even in the poorest countries to share information through mobile devices. GeoPoll strikes me as one of the most innovative players in this field and for this reason I decided to go back to Amy and ask her to describe GeoPoll’s work in more detail.

Since the interview I have also been amazed to learn that some of my colleagues at the organisation I work for, the OECD, already collaborate with GeoPoll on a ‘data revolution’ project that will contribute to more accessible information on development in the next few years… one more proof that there are no coincidences in life. I am now in touch with them on a regular basis to see how the project will evolve.

Interview with Amy Sweeney, Director of Business Development, GeoPoll

GeoPoll is a mobile survey platform that allows you to carry out mobile surveys in any country in the world except North Korea. Technically GeoPoll is registered as a US small business but it sees itself more as a social enterprise. It is eligible for both grants and contracts by US and international funders alike.

GeoPoll Overview

1. How would you define your added value compared to your competitors? What is your unique approach to mobile surveys?

GeoPoll’s approach is to reach as many people as possible regardless of their income or status. While many mobile surveys require the use of the Internet or web-based applications, we offer the opportunity to take a survey just by using any mobile phone (e.g., feature phones all the way up to smart phones). We aim to reach a greater portion of the ‘bottom billion’ people through simple text or voice messaging. There are other players in our market, particularly local companies, but we are different in that we establish partnerships with mobile network operators. We serve as a platform but also serve as a “sample source”. We have access to more than 150+ million mobile subscribers in Africa alone. We can achieve more reach, scale, and connections with these operators than anyone else.

GeoPoll – How Our Platform Works

2. Who are your primary clients? Do you foresee any major change in their composition?

Roughly half of our business is with the social sector, e.g. international organisations like WFP and USAID, NGOs, etc. The remaining half is with commercial companies and market research groups but this percentage is likely to increase this year due to recent media measurement products produced.

3. Are you planning to collaborate again with the World Bank and the UNDP My World Survey?

The collaboration with the World Bank in 2010 was for the World Development Report focused on community-based consultations on gender-based violence in DR Congo. World Bank’s annual World Development Reports cover a different topic and a different country every year. At the moment there are no plans to collaborate again on a World Development Report in the near future but we are exploring other opportunities with the World Bank. The same goes for the My World Survey.

4. How do you ensure free participation or even incentives for survey takers? And who covers these costs?

GeoPoll connects with mobile network operators’ billing systems allowing mobile subscribers to participate in mobile surveys at no cost (e.g.:. zero-rated or free to respond to). For example, those that do not have airtime credit on their phones can still participate. Each carrier is different but ultimately our agreement with them ensures that the survey comes at no cost to the survey taker, which reduces the economic barrier for participation.

5. Is there such a thing as an average response rate? Does it vary across regions, gender or any other big factor?

Responses to our surveys really depend on the country and the topic in question. We have noticed that the response rate increases over time as survey takers get to know GeoPoll as a reliable service. Once trust has been built people feel more comfortable taking the survey. Also, we have done some testing that shows that response rates tend to increase with incentives. Another approach we have taken which has been widely successful is running panel-based surveys, including measuring TV viewership and radio listenership ratings, in several African countries. In that case, response rates have been astronomically high because users are engaged on a daily basis.

I hope you will find this interview useful. I’m excited to see that Amy Sweeney is coming back as a guest speaker for TechChange’s upcoming Mobiles for International Development course! Also, feel free to connect with me via Twitter (@faridabena) to continue our discussion on mobiles for development.

Interested in mobile data and other ways mobile phones bring understanding to the world? Join our upcoming online course on Mobiles for International Development.

About Amy Sweeney

Amy Sweeney is the director of business development for GeoPoll based in Washington, DC. Prior to joining GeoPoll, Ms. Sweeney spent nearly five years developing and honing her international development experience at Chemonics, where she held the position as new business director in Caucasus and Central Asia RBU. She previously served in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan and worked in Afghanistan and Turkey. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

About Farida Bena

Farida Bena is the Economist / Policy Analyst at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) based in Paris, France. She has more than 15 years of experience working in development, humanitarian aid, and global advocacy across four continents. Before joining OECD, Ms. Bena has worked as the director at the International Rescue Committee Belgium and led the Aid Effectiveness Policy team at Oxfam International. Ms. Bena holds a master’s degree in International Relations from Yale University.

It’s been two years since Chrissy Martin wrote a post on her thoughts on mobile money for development for TechChange’s Mobiles for International Development online course. As Chrissy has focused on mobile money issues since then, so much of it still rings true including the challenges of preventing fraud and best practices for working with telecoms.

In a recent Forbes article, we learned that more than two thirds of Kenyan adults use M-Pesa (a mobile digital currency), accounting for more than 25% of Kenya’s GNP. The ubiquitous use of mobile phones and the growing market for increasingly affordable smartphones will only make mobile money more popular in the developing world. According to ITWeb Africa, mobile money users now outnumber adults with bank accounts in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

While M-Pesa is the most well-known mobile-based financial transfer service, there are more players in the field such as Zoona, an African social enterprise that provides mobile payments and working capital financing to micro & small enterprises. Chrissy works as the Global Partnership Manager at Zoona and we can’t wait to hear more about the cool things that Zoona is doing in Africa.

Get a sneak peek of what to expect from Chrissy’s session on mobile money and Zoona with this video here:

Interested in mobile money and other ways mobile phones are improving lives? Join our upcoming online course on Mobiles for International Development.

About TC105 Guest Speaker, Chrissy Martin

Chrissy Martin is a product manager with several years of experience implementing digital financial solutions in emerging markets. With operational knowledge across multiple sectors, she effectively bridges the gap between the private sector and the development industry. Presently, she serves as the Global Partnership Manager for Zoona, an African social enterprise passionately committed to helping small businesses grow. Before Zoona, she was at the development organization MEDA, expanding rural access to financial services in countries including Zambia, Uganda, and Nicaragua. Previously, Chrissy was based in Haiti, working as the Product Manager for Mobile Financial Services at Digicel. Chrissy holds degrees from The Fletcher School and the University of Virginia.

Featured image photo credit: Zoona Facebook page

Earlier this summer, I was selected to participate in the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship program. The fellowship brings together 25 leaders from North America and Europe to Cambridge University for two weeks to learn about social entrepreneurship, cross-cultural dialogue, and the humanities.

Having left graduate school at the University for Peace eight years ago, it has been a great opportunity to go “back to school” without having to take off a substantial amount of time; two weeks is just enough.

Here are some reflections on the experience, one week into the fellowship:

The interdisciplinary nature of the program is truly unique – it combines lectures and interactive sessions from some of the top professors in the business school and humanities department and includes a cross-cultural dialogue component.
The other fellows are truly amazing and inspiring people who come from all kinds of backgrounds. One started a social business that builds empathy through toys, another is working to improve nutrition in nursery schools across Europe. Read about all the fellows here.
As part of business training component of the program, we’ve been assigned mentors from the Cambridge business school who are extremely sharp and work with us individually to grow our enterprises while keeping our social mission central. The lectures focus on topics like Financial Sustainability from Mixed Income Streams, and Impact Investing in Developing Countries
As part of the business program we’ve also taken field trips to three different social enterprises based in the UK. My group went to a place called the Brigade, an old fire station converted into a restaurant and cooking school for unemployed and marginalized persons.
Through the humanities component, we’ve had lectures on topics like “Varying Concepts of the Jihad”, “Israel-Palestine: The Anatomy of Geopolitics”, “Media and Global Imagination”, and more. We’ve also had the opportunity to visit synagogues and mosques in London as well as attend a shabbat dinner. Read the full program agenda.

Finally, the food has also been amazing. The above picture was taken at our dinner at Magdalene College. It felt just like a scene from Harry Potter! After dinner Tristram Hunt, a member of Parliament, shared his thoughts on education and immigration in the UK.

All in all, similar to my PopTech fellowship experience last year, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some truly brilliant minds who share a passion for creating sustainable businesses with social impact. I’ll be coming home inspired with a number of new ideas to help take TechChange to the next level.

Hamlet (community) health workers in Vietnam learn to interact with mCare (Photo credit: FHI360)

With international development program cycles often having a “project design phase”, how can online learning as a team improve project design?

How do you design a technology program intervention to improve health outcomes?

HIV Challenges and Keeping Up with mHealth

According to the WHO, HIV has claimed 39 million lives so far globally with 1.5 million lives in 2013 alone. At the end of 2013, there were 35 million people living with HIV, with 2.1 million becoming newly infected. With 24.7 million people living with HIV in 2013, Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected region in the world accounting for almost 70% of the global HIV infections.

HIV often gets highlighted as a major problem in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it is also a major public health concern in Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam where the use of needles to inject drugs drives the epidemic. As of 2012, 260,000 (of the 89 million) people in Vietnam are living with HIV, according to UNAIDS Vietnam. As a result, FHI 360 is working with the Government of Vietnam to address the country’s HIV challenges with “effective programs that cost less, are implemented locally, and decrease donor dependence”.

Technology developments in public health change very quickly, especially with the emergence of mHealth – there’s more mHealth programming, new applications, and emerging research.

MHealth is a key strategy for us as these applications can be used to incentivize health-seeking actions, increase the timeliness of data collection, improve patient communications, and document system-client interactions. MHealth can also facilitate workforce development through task shifting, performance support, and human resources management.

According the blog Tech in Asia, “For every 100 Vietnamese people, there’s 145 mobile phones. For a country whose population is just over 90 million, that amounts to more than 130 million mobile phones.” RefWorld.org reported that, as of January 2012, census data indicated there were 119 million mobile users in Vietnam when the population was at 88 million. Given the emergence of the mHealth industry and the large percentage of the Vietnamese population with cell phones, we at FHI 360 need to effectively mobilize this ubiquitous technology for impactful programming that helps individuals in all areas of the country protect their health and well-being.

A Social Online Learning Solution

In 2012, I first participated in TechChange’s 4-week online certificate course called “Mobile Phones for Public Health.” I decided to take the course again in 2013 – this time with numerous colleagues — to share our mHealth programming experiences and to continue to learn from renowned mHealth practitioners around the world.

Like all busy development professionals, it is difficult to find time to cultivate learning during our day-to-day work. The TechChange course was structured and delivered to meet our needs.

Here’s a social graph from Mobile Phones for Public Health showing participant interaction

Cutting-edge, timely, and relevant information

TechChange updated its courses at least once every 3-6 months, based on direct feedback (through crowdsourcing and surveys) from its broad learning community to deliver the most up to date and relevant course content.

Great format for busy working professionals in Vietnam and beyond

Keeping our busy schedules in mind, the course content was designed to be mobile and tablet-friendly, allowing us to learn wherever and whenever fit our schedules. All live events were recorded so that learners could access materials according to their schedules.
For those of us who had difficulty finishing the course in the one-month period, access (and technical support) is available for four months after the end of the course so that we can complete our final project and receive the formal certificate.
The online interface was the most intuitive learner platform we have ever used: An online course map visually illustrated all components of the program, while a calendar highlighted a variety of live discussion events with renowned experts from around the world.
The main facilitator actively participated in all discussion boards; introduced weekly themes (through video, email and platform) and summarized (through print and video) the highlights of each week. He and a facilitation team also provided “office hours” for those who needed extra support (and this support was provided in various time zones).

Interactive learning experience

There was great communication between facilitator and learners. The course required 7-9 hours of effort per week and the 50 or so participants were motivated to actively participate. Learner outcomes were clearly defined and each week’s themes were well-articulated so that we knew what to expect and what was expected from us.
Instead of relying primarily on print materials, sharing video, audio and weekly live events/”chats” allowed learners from various cultural backgrounds to gain knowledge and skills through a variety of channels through interactive learning.
Practical exercises and interactive simulations ensured knowledge application and exchange.
Individuals got to know each other through a variety of “get to know you” activities and collaborative exercises.
TechChange added some fun by integrating game dynamics into the course, awarding points each time a person participated in a discussion or attended an event, with a minimum participation threshold established in order to earn a certificate.

Joining a professional network and community

All learners also became TechChange alumni upon finishing the course. We are now connected through social media with others in mHealth (and offered substantial discounts on upcoming courses).
It’s been great to see other mHealth alumni like Lauren Bailey making strides in the field after joining this course.

Here are some additional comments from two of my colleagues:

“I really enjoyed reading the forums at my own pace. I liked that other participants put so much thought into them.” – Deen Gu

“I like the discussion parts most as they offer me many interesting thoughts and experiences of TechChange’s members on different topics.” -Nguyen Thi Van Anh

As a recent graduate of TechChange’s courses, I can speak to the benefits of participation.

USAID/SMART TA team provides hands-on training to hamlet health worker in Nghe An (Photo credit: FHI360)

Results of mHealth Training with TechChange

Through this mHealth course, my team learned best practices as a group to explore ways to implement mHealth projects. My colleagues learned how mobile technologies are being used in other countries and sectors and thought about ways it could be applied in Vietnam. The individuals who have participated in the TechChange course are now our office mHealth champions and are actively identifying areas of work where mHealth solutions can be applied.

Here are two current mHealth pilots we have launched in Vietnam through the USAID/SMART TA program to address HIV challenges:

1. Fansipan Challenge – uses the metaphor of Fansipan mountain (Vietnam’s highest peak), gamification, and mobile technologies to support people who inject drugs and their intimate partners to test for HIV and be linked to care if they are positive.

Fansipan was created by USAID funded SMART TA project in Vietnam. Learn more about SMART TA here.

Here is a Prezi presentation explaining the Fansipan project in Vietnam called How Mobile Technologies and Gaming are Improving HIV Program

2. mCare – is the first case management application in Vietnam that utilizes mobile technologies to support and track clients across the cascade of HIV outreach, testing, care and treatment services. It also manages performance-based incentives for hamlet health workers who identify potential clients, encourage them to test for HIV, and support them to enroll and be re-engaged in HIV care and treatment and methadone maintenance treatment.

A confirmation message sent from mCare (Photo credit: FHI360)

The Results of the mHealth Pilots So Far

While mCare is in its early stages of deployment and refinement, the Fansipan Challenge has shown a dramatic reduction in programmatic unit costs, combined with significant increases in testing uptake and HIV yield among underserved key populations. Between June – November 2013, 62% of 656 injecting drug users and their intimate partners tested for HIV after a single contact. Approximately 71% of these individuals were first time testers; 17.8% were diagnosed as HIV positive. Comparative expenditure analyses of USAID/SMART TA-supported outreach services show a 50% reduction in costs associated with identifying an HIV positive person. And preliminary data further suggest that HIV positive people identified through Fansipan have higher CD4 levels (average 287.5 cells/mm3) and will thereby have better treatment outcomes than those who initiate treatment when they are severely immuno-compromised.

These new initiatives rely on mobile technologies and we, like other technical assistance providers in the development sector, need to be constantly learning about mHealth innovations, and emerging knowledge and applications. The TechChange mHealth class was a great investment in having my team become more familiar with mHealth as we introduced our mHealth initiatives.

About Caroline Francis

Caroline Francis is FHI360’s Deputy Country Director in Vietnam and completed TechChange’s Mobile Phones for Public Health course in 2012 and in 2013 when she took the course again with her team in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. She is currently involved in FHI360’s Sustainable Management of the HIV/AIDS Response and Transition to Technical Assistance (SMART TA) project in Vietnam and her areas of expertise include HIV and AIDS prevention and care and Social and behavior change communications. Caroline has previously worked as the Associate Director (HIV Prevention, Mitigation, Strategic Behavioral Communications and M&E) and Deputy Director for FHI 360 Cambodia. She received her M.A. in Anthropology from University of Victoria.

Internet connectivity is increasingly being seen as a human right in our digital world. Today, most of us can’t imagine a world without the Internet, yet only 30% of the world has access to it. Meanwhile, over 85% of the world has cellular coverage and as mobile phones and smartphones become increasingly cheaper, more people are able to access the Internet.

Here are some global initiatives to make the Internet more affordable and accessible to the most remote areas of the world:

1. Facebook’s Internet.org

At the end of August 2013, Mark Zuckerberg introduced Internet.org, a collaborative effort of Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung to bring internet access to the two-thirds of the world that are still offline.

Recently, Facebook launched the Internet.org app to Airtel customers in Zambia. The app provides access to 13 basic services without data charges; some of the free services include MAMA (Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action), AccuWeather, and WRAPP (Women’s Rights App). Serving as a channel to women’s right resources, Internet.org has received praise from Executive Director of UN Women, Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka as she said that, “This technology will empower countless women to make a positive impact on their societies and the world.” While the full benefit of internet.org is yet to unfold, it is definitely a step forward in allowing women access to much needed services.

2. Google’s Project Loon

Google’s Project Loon pilot project in New Zealand

Starting with a pilot project in New Zealand in June 2013, Project Loon is Google’s initiative to provide “balloon-powered internet for everyone.” Loon balloons float on the stratosphere and rise and descend with wind patterns to their desired direction of travel, while special antennas in people’s homes allow them to connect with the Loon network for online access. In 2014, Project Loon aims to continue their effort to make internet access possible for hard to reach areas by establishing a ring of connectivity of multiple loons around the 40th parallel.

3. BRCK

From the makers of Ushahidi, Crowdmap, and the iHub in Kenya, comes BRCK, a $199 connectivity device designed for use in areas with minimal electricity and internet connections. Built to perform in off-the-grid areas, BRCK works with any 3G enabled SIM card in over 140 countries, has a virtual mobile network operator (vMNO) for connectivity without a SIM card, and also has an external GSM antenna port to support connectivity. Designed by the developing world, for the developing world, BRCK claims that “if it works in Africa, it will work anywhere.”

4. Oluvus

With a mission to “get the world online for free,” Kosta Grammatis is following the footsteps of Facebook and Google in the race to provide free internet connectivity. Set to launch later this year, Oluvus plans to provide basic internet services for free in the U.S. and use the profit from additional services purchased by their customers to fund connectivity projects in the developing world. Oluvus’s first project is set to take place in the world largest refugee camp, Dadaab Refugee camp in Kenya.

What’s next for internet expansion?

As tech giants Facebook and Google tackle the global lack of internet access, they are sure to be ahead of the game. While Facebook’s internet.org’s success is too early to tell, Google commemorated a successful 120-day afloat of one of their Loon balloons on 7th August proving they can withstand harsh weather conditions. Google and Facebook are also expanding their internet initiatives considering drones and satellites to deliver the Internet to more people.

Critics have questioned the end goal of the various internet initiatives that are emerging, labeling them as “gateway drugs” to their product among the unreached population. Despite the critique, the pursuit to provide internet access to the world combined with the power of internet connectivity to change people’s lives cannot be denied.

Challenges lie ahead for these internet initiatives as they deal with regulatory issues such as spectrum/net neutrality as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been criticized for trying to regulate. Google’s Loon project may face challenges controlling air traffic for its string of loon balloons and BRCK’s may not withstand all crises while claiming to be crisis-friendly. Those unable to afford computers, laptops, or tablets, are able to leapfrog technology to use mobile phones to access the Internet, making it increasingly empowering in the developing world. The future for internet initiatives looks bright as more businesses and organizations look to reach new customers online by providing internet access worldwide.

Where do you think these internet initiatives are heading? Tweet @techchange or comment below to share your thoughts.

Some 85 percent of the world population has access to Internet nowadays. An increasing number of users venture online with a mobile device – smartphone or tablet – rather than with a PC. About 25 percent of the world population uses social media, while three-quarters of the online population uses one or more social networking sites. Around the world, there are some 1.28 billion Facebook users, with 540 million on YouTube, 187 million on LinkedIn, and 255 million on Twitter. (Source: Brief History of Social Media)

The unprecedented pace of technological advance over the past years, gave millions of people around the world the opportunity to use internet, social media platforms and mobile phones not just to consume information but also to produce it. The increasing sense of empowerment that social media lends its users, regardless of where and who they are, has led to a number of “social media revolutions” credited with toppling governments and totalitarian regimes around the world.

The Arab Spring is often heralded as one of history’s biggest social media victories. This wave of protests began in December 2010 and proceeded through 2011 as rulers were forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, and protests broke out in other countries in the region, including in Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Iraq and Jordan, to name just a few. While there was no cohesive campaign or strategy at grassroots level, social media played a crucial role during this time, allowing individuals to organise themselves, communicate and voice their complaints publicly. Many contributed to the virtual protests as well as the physical ones through the use of social media. Combined, these efforts caused governments to take notice.

The Internet and new technologies are increasingly influencing not only the way people respond to and recover from conflicts, but also the way they further engage in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Part of creating communities that can advance peacebuilding is harnessing the power of technology to bring people together, promote conflict management and resolution, and create the public will to change attitudes and behaviours.

New tools for monitoring violence, sustaining dialogue during peace processes, and localising peacebuilding efforts have emerged in recent years as access to mobile phones and internet has increased worldwide. The outreach of these tools goes well beyond the conflict resolution expert circle, enabling people around the globe to share first-hand witness reports of violence, social unrest, human rights infringements, election fraud, political instability, etc. and become agents of change within their own communities. This collaborative approach is known as ‘crowdsourcing’ (i.e. crowd + outsourcing).

In early 2008, in the midst of post-election violence, Kenyans have for the first time used the Ushahidi open-source platform (Ushahidi is the Swahili term for ‘witness’ or ‘testimony’) to collect, visualise and interactively map eyewitness accounts of violence incidents (which would have otherwise remained largely unreported by media, government or police).

The Syria Tracker Crisis Map is another impressive crowdsourcing effort launched shortly after the protests began, in April 2011, to collect citizen reports on human rights violations and casualties. Combining automated data mining and crowdsourced human intelligence, the Syria Tracker provides a continually updated list of eyewitness reports from within Syria, often accompanied by media links; aggregate reports including analysis and visualisations of deaths and atrocities in Syria; as well as a stream of content-filtered media from news, social media (Twitter and Facebook) and official sources. This approach could provide a powerful means to assess the human cost of war in Syria.

CrisisNET is another tool which harnesses ‘big data’ coming from social media to map violence. Their Syria mapping is as accurate as the one BBC did with reporters on the ground.

There are several ways in which today’s social media can be leveraged to prevent and manage conflict. Early warning is critical for early response. Permanent conflict monitoring for real-time awareness can help inform appropriate and timely interventions. Likewise, social media can provide real-time feedback on what works and what doesn’t, thus serving as a complementary channel of information for impact evaluation. Finally, as the Arab Spring mobilisation has clearly shown, social media can facilitate self-organisation for early response. Needless to say, the capacity to self-organise also renders conflict prevention networks more resilient. In other words, social media can be used to power civil resistance in nonviolent movements that seek to end oppression and bloodshed. As one Egyptian activist reported during the revolution, “We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world.” Social media can be similarly leveraged to facilitate a resilient people-centered approach to conflict prevention.

This post originally appeared on Pax Christi International.

About Ramona Kundt

Ramona Kundt is a Brussels-based communications professional working with Pax Christi International, a network of peacebuilding NGOs. Her work is focused on advocacy, campaigning and communications coordination on issues pertaining human rights, human security, disarmament, religion and violent conflict. An alumna of TechChange online courses in Social Media for Social Change and Technology for Conflict Management and Peacebuilding, she is particularly interested in how social media can influence the way people respond to conflicts, and engage in conflict transformation and peacebuilding, for a lasting positive social change. She has volunteered with various humanitarian and development projects in Africa, most recently in the Maai Mahiu Internally Displaced Persons Camp, in Kenya.

Rising Swarthmore College junior, Oscar Chen, just spent his summer and part of his last winter intersession break with the TechChange team in Washington, DC to get professional software programming experience. Complementing his Computer Science major, he worked as a Junior Programmer Intern. Read on to learn about his full-stack developer experience in learning to code in PHP, Python, Django, and more.

1. How did you hear about TechChange?
A combination of luck and choice of school brought me to TechChange. My first stint at TechChange (a one-week “externship” in mid-January of this year) came through a program at Swarthmore that connects students with working alumni, and I was fortunate enough to land at TechChange, where two alums currently work.

2. Why did you choose TechChange to spend your summer?
Put simply: to come back! My time at TechChange in the winter, however short, exposed me to a great deal of what makes TechChange so special as both a company and a place to work. In just one week, I had the opportunity to work closely with both the development and e-learning team to design a course gamification system, and picked up enough of PHP and the WordPress web platform to begin implementing it in the course platform. Along the way, I’d gotten little glimpses of how the teams worked together in the old office, and how nearly everyone seemed genuinely interested in the work their co-workers were doing just five feet away.

After a software engineering course in my spring semester, I became interested in the software development process, and how teams use version control and process models. My short stint in the winter wasn’t quite long enough to really delve into TechChange’s processes, and so I wanted first-hand experience working as a full member of the team. In addition, after doing mostly Android app development in the spring, I was eager to try my hand at some full-stack web development, applying both my Python and newfound PHP skills in the live web applications developed by TechChange.

3. What are your interests?
Academically, I’m a computer science major interested in software development and process models. Outside of work, I’m a soccer-loving geek with a passion for food! I also enjoy biking and reading good science fiction novels.

4. How did you use your TechChange internship to explore your interests?
My time at TechChange gave me the chance to dive into web development and learn about the multiple different frameworks the TechChange developers use. Working through TechChange’s version control and software development processes (weekly priorities meetings, gitflow, etc.) allowed me to see first-hand the benefits and pitfalls of working as a team.

DC is a very bike-able city, and so I found myself biking both to work and around the city to pick-up soccer games, intern events, and even food truck festivals! TechChange’s flexible hours definitely gave me freedom to explore, and I wouldn’t have found that at another firm.

5. What did you do at TechChange this summer? What was your role at TechChange?
I was involved in numerous technical projects that the TechChange tech team had in their plans for the summer. The first few weeks of my time at TechChange were spent familiarizing myself with the different apps and architectures that have been developed with Django, and embarking on small bug-fixing projects to get my hands dirty with them. I also aided in testing and updating to new versions of software in use.

Oscar works on an event tracking system for WordPress using TinCan API at his station at TechChange

Later on, as a re-design of the gamification system I implemented in winter, I began work on an event-tracking system for WordPress using the Tin Can API. This became my largest project in the latter half of my internship, and with the creative license to design it however I wanted, I took to it immediately.

6. What did you learn during your time at TechChange?
Many things! I learned that big screen TVs in the office are invaluable during the World Cup. I learned that “Beauty School Valedictorian” is a great band name. I learned that my feet are not built for the wear and tear of working at a standing desk.

On a more serious note, the experience I’ve had in full-stack webapp development and WordPress plugin development has really challenged me. In my projects, I’ve had to go from essentially zero knowledge to implementing new code in numerous languages and frameworks on both front-end and back-end areas. As an example, my last project involved using third-party Javascript libraries, jQuery, and Ajax to develop a new event-tracking system within the WordPress course platform by writing a plugin in PHP. Just a semester ago, my knowledge of these were cursory at best, but now I’ve gained enough proficiency with them to develop on my own. I’ve learned tons about the details of full-stack web development, especially about back-end database querying, API calls, and how servers communicate with each other using HTTP requests. I’ve also learned the merits and details of using practical UNIX tools such as vagrant virtual servers, bash scripting, nginx, gulp… the list goes on.

Throughout the summer, it was evident how much focus was placed on being not just a technical enterprise, but one for social change. Guest experts would cycle through every week, and each project I learned about from talking with people around the office was a part of a larger societal mission – whether it be developing malaria diagnosis training modules for USAID or providing peacebuilding training to international development professionals. It was very exciting to see that our work was ultimately not just profit-driven, but also mission-driven.

7. Did your TechChange experience end up going as you expected?
In one way, yes! I’ve gained a plethora of new skills, and leave with a much-expanded practical knowledge of full-stack web development. But I was also pleasantly surprised by how much larger it seemed – in between my two stints, the company moved its offices to a larger, more central location. There were many new faces I met, but everyone welcomed me back as part of the team. Learning more about everyone’s role on the team through weekly show-and-tells was great, as were the occasional office fun days (full of World Cup viewing, cupcakes, and board games).

The TechChange team takes a break to watch a World Cup game and enjoy some cupcakes

8. Would you come back to work at TechChange one day? Why?
Of course! There are so many exciting projects that TechChange tackles each week, and the people in the office are an intelligent, diverse bunch who are as committed as they are fun to be around. The work TechChange does leaves a real societal impact on both their students and what students do with their knowledge – something very important to me.

9. What advice would you give to future TechChange interns?
Find ways to engage with the people around you in the office: They are all sharp, interesting folks and the office banter is always lively. The projects that everyone works on are all so different, but the way they come together in our weekly show-and-tells is pretty cool to see.

Explore the city around you: Washington DC just topped Forbes’ list of “America’s Coolest Cities” – from my experience here, that has definitely rang true! There are many hidden gems in the area to be discovered; Will recommending me a secret taco joint in the neighborhood comes to mind. Being here during World Cup season has definitely helped – DC is also ranked as the best place in America to watch soccer!

Interested in applying your coding and programming skills for social good? Apply to be a Junior Programmer at TechChange here.

Based on the explosive growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) this year, it might appear that the future of online education consists of passively clicking through videos and quizzes. This model, while highly scalable, is prone to collapse with personalized interaction and are generally taken by employed males in the US (rarely finishing a class). Even the founders of Khan Academy and Coursera admit that MOOCs can’t replace classrooms and have difficulty teaching non-cognitive skills (teamwork, ethics, etc.)

Why not? What does it take to create a classroom experience? A typical example might involve a teacher designing a detailed syllabus, arranging class layout and chairs for discussion, distributing engaging reading material before class, providing personalized feedback in real-time to students, coordinating group projects, and grading homework. When that classroom becomes “massive” and is extended to 10,000+ students, then the teacher has to focus on the most scalable portion of the course: Content.

The MOOC as a teaching tool was never meant to replace the classroom; it was meant to replace the lecture with better course materials. And that’s part of the genius for organizations like Coursera and Khan Academy for flipping real-world classrooms. By using prerecorded video content of the one-size-fits-all lecture, tech-savvy teachers can employ technology to humanize the classroom, focusing class time on personal engagement instead of information transfer. Some professors are going even further, using video conferencing tools like Skype to reach out to bring prominent figures such as the Dalai Lama into the university classroom.

But if MOOCs represent just another form of digital course content that tech-savvy educators can use to engage students, then the real question is: What happens when the classroom itself is moved online?

The simple answer is that teachers will lose a great deal of in-person information richness they need to do their jobs, at least in the short term. While different platforms will optimize for alternative methods of content delivery and interactive facilitation (think real-time video lectures versus forum discussions), it’s unlikely that any will be as powerful as an in-person discussion guided by an experienced and knowledgeable educator. Can you imagine any online interaction reflecting the interactive nature of a small classroom?

Credit: Dead Poet’s Society (1989).

But what comes next could also be an improvement. In the same way that the Google Classroom project opened to the public this week to help teachers manage student learning in and out of the classroom, so too can educators apply new tools to the needs of online students. As standards improve with the roll out of the Experience API, student data can even be used to create better content — much like how Netflix is able to create shows around viewer preferences and BuzzFeed invests in engineering to better deliver viral content.

This process puts a great deal of strain on educators to incorporate technology into their lesson plans. And there is little reason why some of the leading subject-matter minds and hands-on facilitators should be forced to learn to program and animate. But as the field starts to reconsider online education as a service, new opportunities open up for educators to choose their content, shape their classroom, and pick their students from anywhere in the world.

But until we stop trying to substitute “lecture” for “teacher,” we can’t have a real conversation about building the tech solutions educators need to do their jobs.

After a study-abroad semester in Spain and a summer at TechChange in Washington D.C., Emily Fruchterman is heading back to William & Mary to finish the final year of her undergraduate career. Before heading to Williamsburg to finish her Biology degree, she looks back on her summer internship at TechChange as an educational technologist.

1. How did you hear about TechChange?

At the start of 2014, summer internships were the last thing on my mind. I was off to spend the semester in Seville, Spain, and any thought relating to life-after-study-abroad was a painful reminder that my time in paradise wouldn’t last forever.

When my final exams forced me to face reality, I wasn’t quite sure where to start my search (the ocean between me and potential employers seemed pretty daunting). A friend referred me to internships.com, where I found out about TechChange.

2. Why did you choose TechChange to spend the summer between your junior and senior years?

TechChange piqued my interest with its goal of using the power of technology to advance social change. The broad range of courses that demonstrate the utility of technology to a very international audience showed me that this was more than a cursory commitment. Contributing to an organization with such goals seemed like a worthwhile way to spend the summer.

On a personal level, TechChange seemed like a great complement to many of my previous experiences at nonprofits and NGOs doing research while giving me new exposure to a startup culture. TechChange’s upcoming projects also aligned well with my interest in public health, plus the networking opportunities afforded by spending a summer in DC seemed too good to pass up.

3. What are your interests?

While I’m generally interested in the field of development, my passions really lie with public health. I’d really like to work for organizations (like TechChange) that have projects relating to the various aspects of health and healthcare – although my dream is to work for an organization that coordinates healthcare responses and works to improve health outcomes on an international basis. I’m also an avid coffee drinker, science fiction fan, and aspiring flamenco dancer (my time in Spain might have influenced this last one).

Emily goes over how to create an online course with the TechGirls on TechGirls Job Shadow Day

4. How did you use your TechChange internship to explore your interests?

Fortunately for me, TechChange had several different public health related courses this summer. I was able to engage with a course on Malaria, for use in Nigeria and Uganda, as well as take on a large part of a facilitated course on HIV for clinical and non-clinical care providers. Both of these have been extremely valuable experiences, as I’ve not only learned a great deal about both illnesses, but also looked at how to structure health-related interventions and training programs.

5. What did you do at TechChange this summer? What was your role at TechChange?

The instructional design team was finishing up a self-paced course on Malaria when I arrived in June. I was not only able to help with edits and testing, but built a few interactive elements. I got more experience building out lessons, writing storyboards, and coming up with engaging lessons while working on other instructional design projects.

I got my first taste of the facilitated platform as a teaching assistant (TA) for a course on Social Media for Social Change, during which I familiarized myself with WordPress and the structure/pacing of a four-week course. This came in super handy, as a couple weeks later I started to manage content development and build out the four modules for the course on HIV treatment. I also helped write several blog posts relating to projects, participated in meetings with clients, and taught the TechGirls from Tunisia and the Palestinian Territories how to create online courses.

6. What did you learn during your time at TechChange?

The first big thing I learned was how to use Articulate Storyline. This eLearning program might look like a fancier version of PowerPoint, but it has it’s tricks and idiosyncrasies. It was very cool to learn how to create interactions, design variables, and troubleshoot glitches to develop quality modules. This was super useful, as it helped me think about learning in a much more user-centered way.

I also learned to be much more comfortable in front of the camera – while I still had my fair share of outtakes, it became a lot easier to speak to a blinking red light instead of an audience. I learned how to manage time during interviews, ask the right kinds of questions, and (most importantly) what to do with my face when I wasn’t the one talking.

My tech skills also improved – my co workers tried to show me some coding basics (parts of which I picked up on better than others), I increased my audio editing abilities, became super familiar with WordPress, created several graphics, and set-up and took down AV equipment.

I also improved my communication skills by working closely with various members of the team on different projects and writing emails/participating in phone calls with clients.

Emily in the recording studio at TechChange before recording a live session for a course

7. Did your TechChange experience end up going as you expected?

In some ways – based on my impressions of TechChange from their website and my interview, I’d expected to find a group of young and tech savvy individuals interested in promoting social change.

I hadn’t expected how much support they’d give me for pursuing my own ideas from the get-go. I think it was my second or third day here that I suggested an interaction be added to a part of a self-paced course to a member of the instructional design team. The response I received – “great, want to build it?” – really surprised me. I’d barely started learning the program, was still figuring out where I fit in, and yet was already being offered the chance to work on the product. This “great, want to build it?” philosophy was present throughout my internship here – I had a lot of flexibility and opportunity to build off of assigned tasks.

8. Would you come back to work at TechChange one day? Why?

Yes, and without a second thought. TechChange has to be one of the best work environments I’ve ever encountered; it’s fun and collaborative, the work is engaging, and the company is small enough that everyone can play a variety of roles. You might be hired as an educational technologist, but you’ll have the chance to do a little bit of graphics editing, write blog posts, sit in on business development meetings, teach a course, and have your voice featured in animations.

More importantly, this work has real value. The courses developed by TechChange are used by different organizations around the world to train staff members and health providers, as resources to newly-formed NGOs, and to put the spotlight on the role technology can play in the developing world. TechChange collaborates with organizations that work for real, sustainable change, and TechChange alumni go on to do incredible work. Being a part of this team has been a wonderful experience.

9. What advice would you give to future TechChange interns?

Take initiative! This is an awesome opportunity to grow your skill set – make use of that. If something needs to be done, volunteer to do it. Even if it’s not something you’ve done before, the team will support you and make sure you learn how to do it well. The TechChange team is also super supportive – if there’s something you want to learn about (even if it’s not directly related to your job), they’re more than happy to help.

TechChange Graphic Designer Rachel Roth explains to TechGirls Ghada and Nataly how to draw characters using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Yesterday, TechChange hosted a job shadow day with Nataly Ayyad and Ghada Missaoui, two incredibly talented young ladies participating in this year’s TechGirls program with the U.S. State Department. This selective exchange program encourages Middle Eastern and North African teenage girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. Within the next few weeks, they are travelling throughout the U.S. for their first time to visit technology companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Instagram.

Nataly and Ghada, hailing from the Palestinian Territories and Tunisia respectively, were selected to participate in this program and spent the day at the TechChange headquarters to learn what it’s like to work at an international edtech social enterprise. Nataly hopes to go into web design and believes that technological skills can be empowering to underprivileged people, especially women. She looks forward to sharing her new skills with them. Ghada is very passionate about astronomy and one day hopes to pursue studies in astrophysics. She has built her own website called “Go Girls Engineering” using Adobe Muse to showcase engineering role models for young students.

TechGirl Ghada shows Oscar Chen her website, Go Girls Engineering, she created using Adobe Muse. They discuss the pros and cons of using design tools like Muse as opposed to coding by hand with WordPress.

Throughout the day, Nataly and Ghada met with different members of the TechChange team to learn about digital animation, graphic design, digital photography, web design and programming, interactive infographics, data visualization, search engine optimization (SEO), customer relationship management (CRM) software such as SalesForce, instructional design for eLearning with Articulate Storyline, and more.

Upon arriving to TechChange, the TechGirls were eager to know when we would show them how we do our animation videos.

Creative Director Alon Askarov explains how he uses Adobe Edge Animate and After Effects to create TechChange animations.

“My favorite part of my day at TechChange was definitely learning about the animation process!” said Nataly.

Education Technologist intern, Emily Fruchterman, shows the TechGirls the online learning courses that TechChange developed with the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center to scale HIV prevention.

Charlie Weems demonstrates how to change aperture settings on a DSLR camera.

Cathie Chen shows the TechGirls how to create a hotspot on Articulate Storyline.

Eric Bihl and Emily Fruchterman do a hands-on session to show how to create triggers and slide layers on Articulate Storyline.

“Everything I learned at TechChange was very interesting, from learning about animations, digital photography, eLearning software, to understanding the diversity of online courses available,” commented Ghada.

Thanks for joining us, TechGirls!

See a summary of last year’s TechGirls Job Shadow day at TechChange here and click here to learn more about the TechGirls program.