The Government of Canada recognizes 9 essential skills for workers to be successful in the workplace. Millions of Canadians are lacking skills in these areas, especially those living on low incomes. There is a clear relationship between low literacy, a lack of essential skills, and experiencing poverty.
Cell-ed is a mobile learning platform that teaches essential skills to low resource populations (i.e. those with low literacy and those living on a low income). What is really unique about this resource is that learners only need access to a phone, not necessarily a smart phone. Learners can engage with this platform via text and phone calls if they do not have data or Wi-Fi to access the app. Cell-ed uses the concept of micro learning to provide short burst of learning on the go. If you have every experienced living in poverty or have worked with individuals experiencing poverty you know that time is an extremely limited resource and that access to Wifi is often a luxury.
More information on Cell-ed:
A very long paper that experimented with Cell-ed. Results showed that learners were able to increase reading scores what usually takes 2-4 years in only 4 months.
Short article on key highlights and features of the Ed-call platform.
I found this really interesting and having worked with many newcomer families, I think they would really enjoy using this so I will definitely be passing along this information to them, thank you! I also think that it could be hugely beneficial for adult learners living in remote areas who cannot access community centers for online learning. The first that came to mind is Good Learning Anywhere, https://goodlearninganywhere.com which focuses on helping Aboriginal adults access learning and completely their high school credits, many of whom who have left school for a variety of reasons and are living in remote areas. They offer great courses and have been building their attendance steadily over the years but access to technology is always a challenge and I’d love to see a partnership with something like Cell-Ed to broaden their reach.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing, Olivia.
I know of another company based in Finland that has been creating something similar, but I think Cell-Ed might be even more accessible with the ability to call in. The Finnish company is called Funzi. You can find them here: https://www.funzi.fi/
Thank you for sharing this! This program might be applicable to what we do at work.
I’m having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around this, though. I’ve worked with many newcomers to Canada and many of them need to understand how to use their phone. I was wondering if Call-Ed helps adult learners be familiar with their phone and the function?
Hi Sarah, from what I understand, Cell-Ed is designed to be used by individuals with low digital literacy skills. On their website, they list the courses they offer and one of the courses is specifically about digital literacy. In addition, learners can get one-on-one coaching with a live person which I think can help bridge the digital literacy skill gap. More info about Cell-ed and digital literacy can be found on their blog here: https://www.cell-ed.com/cell-ed-programs-improve-digital-literacy-for-workers-with-fragmented-digital-knowledge/
Funzi, the Finnish company I mentioned, Sarah, does do a lot of courses to help new immigrants get settled into new cultures. You can find them here: https://www.funzi.fi/