Yodigo
Illiteracy is an unsolved, often hidden problem: in Canada, 42% of the population cannot read and follow medication instructions. Yodigo is a radical new open source, video-based web application for delivering literacy extremely fast. Yodigo is based on the concept of conditional cash transfers (“CCTâ€), a recent strategy used by governments and NGOs in community projects. Yodigo delivers literacy cheaper and quicker not only because its interactive, video-based approach has high entertainment value, but also because it:
- offers immediate incentives, cash or reward, directly to students;
- tracks each student’s performance and rewards, giving funders per-student performance metrics and audit trail;
- requires minimal investment in teacher training and no special client software to install;
For educators, Yodigo offers a way to motivate students in overcrowded and under-funded classrooms. For disenfranchised youth and adults worldwide, Yodigo makes the benefits of becoming literate tangible immediately. For governments and funders, Yodigo provides a practical way to quantify return on investment and dramatically boost literacy rates.
Yodigo lessons (delivered online or via CD/DVD) are comprised of video clips of native speakers talking, followed by the temporary display of the text of the spoken sentence. When Yodigo users master typing each sentence, they receive points which can be “cashed inâ€, after confirmation by a teacher, for a culturally appropriate reward (book, gift certificates, pre-loaded IPODs) or actual cash. 
Yodigo’s incentive-based literacy promotion model addresses the typical funding model problem whereby money is transferred to bureaucracies, and often does not directly benefit children and communities. Yodigo’s XML-based reporting tool tracks learners’ achievements, allowing funders to measure every dollar they spend against a specific child who has acquired the ability to write actual sentences.
A prototype of Yodigo, undergoing trials in South America can be found at http://www.yodigo.tv.
Yodigo is a functional application developed with limited funding from UNESCO, and volunteer design and management resources. Yodigo was developed by Web Networks, a unique non-profit social enterprise created in Canada in 1987, a pioneering Internet application provider, and a founding member of the Association for Progressive Communications. Web Networks has developed an existing sustainable business supporting multilingual communities online.
The next steps for Yodigo—field testing, application release, and then marketing and general deployment—will be funded by grants from government and foundations, and from contributions from literacy NGOs and educational institutions.
The market for Yodigo is huge. Governments and NGOs devote billions worldwide to promote and deliver literacy in schools and community. However, many people in both affluent and developing countries are failed by traditional literacy programs, especially women and indigenous peoples. Yodigo’s personal approach, its support for varied rates of learning, and its ability to scale without requiring substantial additional investment, will make it a compelling target for government and foundation funders.
As an open source application, Yodigo’s subsequent sustainability model will be service-based: once deployed, customers will pay managed hosting and monthly technical support fees, and new clients will pay consulting, set-up, and customization fees.
Most testers of the Yodigo system have found it fun and are excited about its potential. There is still a legitimate wariness around the hype of new Internet technologies. We have identified the following potential challenges:
1. Skepticism from literacy “experts†invested in current methodologies;
2. Fear that CCT incentives are “bad†in learning environments;
3. We launch an unsuccessful fundraising effort;
4. Quality control over lesson content creation is not managed well;
5. Open source development introduces branches, not collaboration;
6. Field tests are not implemented or evaluated well due to language/cultural barriers.
We are asking Netsquared to fund Steps 1 -6 below.
Tasks (Costs)
- Identify pilot project locations using Web Networks community contacts and APC members; train participants in Yodigo use, utiliziing completed documentation (In-kind contribution);
- Provide honorarium for lesson content creation at pilot locations ($1,000 x 3);
- Fund partners to deliver Yodigo pilots ($3,000);
- Evaluate pilot experiences, and draft application upgrade requirements (In-kind contribution);
- Application upgrades ($3,000);
- Develop and issue fundraising applications based on pilot experiences (In-kind contribution)
- Year 1 Yodigo deployment (Staff and marketing costs, estimated at $90,000).
- Pilot project sites in schools, community centres, and telecentres identified;
- Lesson content for pilots created;
- Student use Yodigo through complete lesson cycle;
- Evaluation completed, application requirements documented;
- Application upgrades completed;
- Funding for public release secured;
- Broad deployment internationally.
Following successful Internet technology projects supporting multilingual communities, including indigenous populations with endangered languages in the Arctic and Central America, Web Networks, a Canadian-based non-profit and one of the world’s Internet application providers, has developed a new web based application, “Yodigoâ€, that delivers literacy training fast.
Initial piloting of the application in support of Mayan languages in Guatemala were promising:
This project will run Yodigo pilots in community-based groups internationally, leveraging Web Networks’ relationships with members of the Association for Progressive Communications. Following the pilots and their evaluations, Yodigo will be deployed globally in schools, telecentres, and community centres with funding from governments, foundations, and sponsors.
42% of Canadians are illiterate!
I find it very hard to believe your statistic that 42% of the Canadian population cannot read. Please include your source for this information.
literacy rate in Canada
Yea, I was surprised too--I heard it at a workshop led by Angus McAllister, "a veteran researcher with over 15 years experience in conducting market intelligence and public affairs research in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America" who owns his own market research firm based in Vancouver, McAllister Opinion Research. The workshop was presented by the Sustainability Network in Toronto. The actual reference is included in this PDF of the presentation: http://sustain.web.ca/Events/powerpoint/WhatMakesMessagesPotent.pdf. More about the event is here: http://sustain.web.ca/Events/Breakfasts/03242007.htm.
how to read...
First, I re-read the quote: "42% of the population cannot read and follow medication instructions" is not quite as bold as "42% cannot read".
Then I looked at Angus' presentation, where he makes the claim "42% of Canadians are fucntionally iltelirate".
Which still could use some further backing to count as a reference, even though I don't doubt Angus' figure :-)