Digital Learning

Economic instability, food insecurity, natural disasters, and transportation explain the main causes of limited access to education in under served areas globally. Illiterate people in developing countries have much lower income potential. Illiterate people earn 30%-42% less than their literate counterparts and their ability to increase income potential is significantly lower. (World Literacy Foundation, 2022)

Teach the World Foundation aims to avoid this issue overall by expanding the MicroSchools program.

But why should we pursue digital learning in the education sector?

1. Focuses on reaching the most marginalised children.

2. Digital skills and literacy are increasingly vital for young people to succeed in school and beyond.

3. Children are not acquiring basic skills, even when they are attending traditional schools.

In today’s age, we need to meet children where they are. While they pursue education through books, technological devices are an integral part of their day.

A report by UNICEF, post-COVID noted that this is making way for another model;

Entertainment-education (often called edutainment) initiatives and programmes that blend different technologies and formats—balancing learning with fun—can serve as a valuable complement to traditional education. By linking school and home environments, they expand the “toolbox” available to policymakers, teachers, caregivers, and children.

Whether it’s through radio or TV series, video games, or YouTube content, edutainment creates engaging opportunities for learning by meeting children in the spaces they already enjoy. These approaches can support a wide range of skills development—from foundational literacy and numeracy to digital competencies and life skills—while making the process enjoyable and immersive.

There are numerous examples that highlight the effectiveness of this approach, both inside and outside classroom settings. Sesame Street remains one of the most iconic programmes, with extensive research demonstrating its positive influence on school readiness and test scores, particularly among disadvantaged children in the United States.

Similarly, Minecraft has evolved into one of the best-selling video games in history, with around 140 million monthly active players across 22 platforms. Beyond entertainment, its educational version—Minecraft Education Edition—is licensed to more than 35 million students and teachers in 115 countries. It has been harnessed as a learning tool to address issues such as climate change, foster peaceful societies, and promote online safety.

Children who study under this model, display learning outcomes statistically higher than those in traditional schools. At TTWF, we have already begun integrating contextual learning approaches and adaptive methodologies to ensure that education is not only relevant but also responsive to learners’ diverse needs and realities. By tailoring content and methods to the cultural, social, and personal contexts of different groups, and by leveraging adaptive strategies that adjust to individual learning levels and progress, we aim to make learning more meaningful, inclusive, and effective.

Still, more such scalable and culturally grounded initiatives are needed to address the wide spectrum of learners worldwide, as research and evidence consistently highlight the value of contextualised and adaptive approaches in improving learning outcomes and skill acquisition.

No single intervention can equip children with the full set of knowledge and skills required for life. Instead, learning thrives when every part of the ecosystem develops in harmony: infrastructure, electricity, devices and connectivity, supportive national edtech policies, high-quality platforms and content, skilled and well-trained teachers, the active involvement of parents and caregivers, and strong community engagement.

Children’s worlds are interconnected—learning, communicating, and playing flow across school, home, and community spaces. Future learning and edtech strategies must reflect this reality by offering multiple pathways that combine engagement, fun, and educational value. Meeting children where they are, with learning experiences that adapt to their contexts and evolve with them, is essential to unlocking their full potential.

2. Digital education can enrich project-based learning.

3. Digital learning tools are able to improve learning outcomes in a short amount of time, especially for academically weaker students. (UNICEF)

The digital learning sector is expected to be $45.8 billion by 2026 as several digital learning tools become increasingly available.

MicroSchools are an effective tool to educate children in areas where a regular school and teachers are not available. Therefore, it is an inclusive, and adaptive model of education.