Mission and objectivesUNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF insists that the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress. UNICEF mobilizes political will and material resources to help countries, particularly developing countries, ensure a \"first call for children\" and to build their capacity to form appropriate policies and deliver services for children and their families. UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children – victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, all forms of violence and exploitation, and those with disabilities. UNICEF responds in emergencies to protect the rights of children. In coordination with United Nations partners and humanitarian agencies, UNICEF makes its unique facilities for rapid response available to its partners to relieve the suffering of children and those who provide their care. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. UNICEF aims, through its country programmes, to promote the equal rights of women and girls and to support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. UNICEF works with all its partners towards the attainment of the sustainable human development goals adopted by the world community and the realization of the vision of peace and social progress enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
ContextIn this research, we aim to map existing virtual science laboratories in Kenya as well as quality global open education resource examples to support national scale-up of a pilot initiative which placed virtual science labs in refugee and host community schools in Kakuma and Dadaab. UNICEF will be utilizing lessons from the pilot implementation to inform national scale up in junior schools (domiciled in primary school) and senior secondary schools, particularly those schools which do not have regular access to a physical science lab. While an offline, local model has been utilized for the pilot, UNICEF Kenya is doing a full review of options available on the local (and global OER) market to determine the best fit for cost-effective national scale up, with a model that is available online (uploaded to the Kenya Education Cloud) and offline for areas with poor or limited connectivity. The model should be aligned to the Competency Based Curriculum and available in English language. Other elements to consider are level of interactivity, quality of the content, ease of use, criteria for teacher training, specifications for utilizing the virtual lab at the school level, accessibility for learners with disabilities, gender inclusivity, cost and licensing arrangements. We also seek to collect any research or evidence that may be already available on the model vis a vis learning outcomes and other indicators.
Task DescriptionWe are looking for 1 Online Volunteer, under the guidance of the Digital Learning Consultant and in close collaboration with the Education Specialist and Education Section, who will utilize their experience in implementing, researching, or supporting virtual labs in Kenya and other countries, as well as with open educational resources. The task will include the following responsibilities: - Discuss and determine parameters for the research - Identify and gather sources - Conduct research - Develop a matrix to track the virtual labs elements - Develop a short report on findings The Online Volunteer will have the opportunity to build connections with the UNICEF KCO Education Section and contribute vital research to enable opportunities for improved STEM learning for Kenyan children and young people.
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