For over five years, Electric Aid has been supporting positive change for future generations in Cambodia, through its partnership with SeeBeyondBorders.
This May, the SeeBeyondBorders Cambodia team were in Dublin as part of the annual ‘Connect to Ireland’ visit, and were delighted to showcase some of the achievements of the Education Technology Project, delivered in partnership with Electric Aid.
The Connect visit brings SeeBeyondBorders staff and other education leaders from Cambodia to Ireland, to meet with Irish educators, policy makers, and supporters, and share their own knowledge and experiences.
The visit to Electric Ireland’s headquarters was an opportunity to celebrate the bond with SeeBeyondBorders, Electric Aid’s strategic partner in the field of education. It was also a chance to reflect on the past year’s achievements and share ambitions for the future.
EdTech in Schools: Technology Aided Teaching and Learning
With the introduction of technology-supported learning, teachers use tablets, portable projectors and a variety of digital resources to build their capacity to deliver quality education through mixed media. With Electric Aid’s support, SeeBeyondBorders provides equipment, training and ongoing support to teachers in 11 schools in rural Battambang province, north-west Cambodia.
Trained and empowered teachers can access a range of online resources, make lesson plans and track progress through the Moodle platform. In the past year, teachers engaged with the technology on 98% of teaching days, in mornings and evenings, showing the value they see in the equipment as an aid for both planning and teaching.
The results of engaging children through blending technology into learning is making a positive impact. The end-of-year maths assessment results suggest promising potential for EdTech in Grade 1-3 education. In schools receiving SeeBeyondBorders support in EdTech and mentoring, 65% of students achieved the maths minimum proficiency level at the end of the academic year, compared to 57% without EdTech support. This demonstrates its potential to improve student achievement.
Engaged, Equipped Teachers, Engaged Students
Sambor Kang, Teaching and Development Coordinator with SeeBeyondBorders, has seen how increasing children’s engagement improves their ability to learn.
“We are really delighted to see how engaged teachers are”, says Sambor, “and how much the children enjoy having a break from the blackboard to learn in a different way. 96% of children said they liked to see when the teacher would use the projector. We know that if a child is enjoying lessons, the information is more likely to be understood and retained.”
Sambor also looks forward to continuing SeeBeyondBorders partnership with Electric Aid by bringing the project to more schools and communities in the coming year.
“We are excited to start the Education Technology programme in two districts in Siem Reap Province; Srei Snam and Kralanh. The support of Electric Aid is enabling us to improve quality of education in even more schools in Cambodia.”
About Connect to Ireland 2024
The two-week programme also aims to build links of solidarity and friendship between Cambodia and Ireland, towards future collaboration and support.
The delegation of SeeBeyondBorders staff and District Governors from Srei Snam and Kralanh in Siem Reap Province met with teachers, principles, education experts, supporters, and with Irish Government Ministers for Education and for Children, Ministers Norma Foley and Roderic O’Gorman.
The visit is reciprocated with the ‘Connect to Cambodia’ visit in the summer, when Irish educators visit Cambodia and learn about the country’s education system.
Learn more about the Cambodia Connect to Ireland Visit 2024 here.
