SolarSPELL Assessment: Impact of a Solar-Powered Digital Library as a Teaching-Learning Resource on Climate Change

Laura Hosman,Lorena Alemán de la Garza,Marcela Georgina Gómez Zermeño

doi:10.3390/su12166636

Laura Hosman, Lorena Alemán de la Garza + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166636

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Abstract

Inclusive and quality education can provide nations with the tools to solve global problems. However, some barriers prevent equal access to this education. These obstacles include the lack of basic resources such as electricity and internet availability, which prevents appropriate training in the skills necessary for sustainable community development. Therefore, we have responded with the Solar-Powered Educational Learning Library (SolarSPELL) initiative, which offers a solar-powered digital library and provides an internet-like experience through its offline WiFi network. This educational innovation has been implemented in rural schools across the Pacific Islands, including in some of the more remote islands of Fiji, an area strongly affected by climate change. The objective of the study was to understand the impact of SolarSPELL on teaching and learning about climate change in the schools where it was implemented. This research used a case study method in which quantitative tools were applied to understand the characteristics of the schools and the impact of this educational innovation. The results showed that the SolarSPELL library was an impactful pedagogical resource in the schools where it was implemented. It served as support for teachers and motivated the students, promoted the democratization of knowledge in vulnerable areas, and provided appropriate educational resources to generate knowledge about problem-solving actions that can respond to climate change. The importance of this educational innovation lies in presenting strategies and best practices that help improve the quality of education, making it more inclusive and eliminating barriers to the acquisition of knowledge.

Highlights

Education is the foundation for improving people’s lives and achieving sustainable development, so access to inclusive education can provide people with the tools to generate solutions to address the world’s problems [1]
Inclusive education implies that each student should be provided with a quality education according to their abilities, removing barriers to participation in learning situations so that the students and their families belong to the school community [3]
This study presents the results of using the SolarSPELL digital library that provides offline WiFi access to relevant educational content, so that communities without access to the grid or theinternet, can connect and improve the digital skills of their inhabitants [12]

Summary

Introduction

Education is the foundation for improving people’s lives and achieving sustainable development, so access to inclusive education can provide people with the tools to generate solutions to address the world’s problems [1]. Efforts are being made to achieve inclusive education and improve student learning [2]. Inclusive education has not yet been achieved, in reality, so that all students might access the spaces where they can learn and obtain those basic skills that gain them a quality life in a world where no one is left behind for social, individual, or group reasons [4]. Previous studies show that the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools facilitate the construction of more inclusive and quality education, diminishing the gaps among students due to gender, disabilities, and the competencies of their teachers, among others [7,8,9]

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