Digital education improves learning, teaching experience in refugee-hosting schools

The Connected Learning project, funded by ProFuturo, is helping change the way teachers teach in refugee-hosting schools in Rwanda – by empowering them with classroom technology, training and coaching. This project also provides students with tablets, digital lesson plans, access to computer labs, and school meals.

Judith Batamuriza, a Congolese refugee, is one of the students at GS Nyabicwamba who have been benefiting from this project since primary four. The 15-year-old refugee student, now in primary six, says using ProFuturo tablets has significantly improved her learning experience.

“When we use it during quizzes, it shows us our mistakes, so we can review them and improve,” she explains. “We’re happy with how we use ProFuturo tools.” Judith adds that the tablets are very helpful; for example, they offer many exercises that students can complete quickly, which helps them build their knowledge.

She notes that the tablets also make learning much quicker and more efficient.

“Before we started using the tablets, we used to rush to write down notes before going home. Sometimes we went home without finishing. The next day, you'd come back and find the board had been wiped. But now with tablets, it's easier and faster for us,” Judith points out.

These learning tools improved learning as well as the teaching experience.

Oliva Yankurije, a teacher in lower primary school at the school, says that the training she got helped her strengthen classroom management and improve lesson planning. With better-structured lesson plans and digital tools to prepare pedagogical materials, she is able to present content more clearly and make it easier for learners to understand, engage, and retain the lessons.

“Those things help us to teach well as teachers, then learners receive what we are teaching more easily,” Oliva says, adding that it has also developed her own confidence in class.

The Connected Learning project, implemented by UNHCR through its partner World Vision International, was launched in Rwanda in 2021. It has since been implemented in 15 refugee-hosting schools across the country. Notably, this project benefits refugee and Rwandan students alike because Rwanda’s inclusive policy framework grants refugees access to public services such as education.