Welcome to the latest edition of our blog series about the companies and people who are using eduMe's microlearning platform. This time we're hearing from SHEVA and Tigo Guatemala.
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Name: Luis Rodriguez Soto
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Job title: Executive Director of SHEVA
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Company: SHEVA and Tigo Guatemala
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Project: Conectadas (Connected)
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Location: Guatemala
Tell us a little about CONECTADAS
We empower young women in Central America by training them on how to access a universe of information through technology.
Topics include an introduction to the Internet, how to use their smartphones, and how to surf the web to learn about key subjects like self-esteem, health, nutrition and family planning.
We believe that when young women have information and learn, they are able to make the right choices that will influence the rest of their lives, their family and their community.
SHEVA works in partnership with Tigo Guatemala to design and implement strategies to increase access to information, and bring the proportion of women in their Mobile Internet customer base in Guatemala from 46% to 50% by 2020. The GSMA's Mobile Internet Skills Training Toolkit has been an invaluable foundation for the skills and knowledge in our courses, as well as shaping the tone and friendly style of workshops.
“Women are a fundamental pillar for the development of societies. This type of initiative allows us to empower them and put technological tools at their disposal, in order to help them and their families have a better future.” - Melanie Reimers, Director of Corporate Responsibility, Tigo Guatemala
What's your role?
I’m the Executive Director of SHEVA and work closely with the team delivering the training in the field.
I focus on making sure the young women have a great experience and come away filled with knowledge and skills to succeed.
I also work closely with the Ministry of Education, government groups, departments in Guatemala, as well as ethnic groups, to choose the best locations for workshops. This takes into consideration a number of different elements and I look at lots of data, including internet and mobile access, to make sure we’re maximising our effectiveness and reach.
Tell us more about your training
We offer training for different tools depending on the groups which fall into three main categories...
Education
Our largest focus is elementary schools.
Beginner courses for Lower Grades; Instagram, Photoshop, internet safety & cost. Advanced course for Upper Grades; LinkedIn, creating a resume, job seeking.
Entrepreneurship
Converting Women in handcrafts and art design from small groups to associations who work with NGOs and the government.
Courses covering; Beginner and Advanced Introduction to Smartphones, WhatsApp for business, Duolingo for working Internationally, as well as Canva and YouTube to help innovate products.
Professional Growth
Working with Universities, in particular, those studying Social Science.
Courses covering; Google Drive, Google Forms, Google Trends, Moocs (free online courses).
For our initial courses, we took inspiration from GSMA Connect Society MISTT toolkit, it was really helpful content to get us started!
Education Workshop 2019 using eduMe
What are the challenges you're addressing through eduMe?
We needed a convenient, easily accessible way for the young women to access information between the face to face workshops, as well as afterwards to remind them how to put their skills into practice.
As we set homework in between the workshops it was also essential we had access to data and reports in real time to ensure we could monitor course completions.
The young women we work with are often from a background where there is little technology at home, which means no access to laptops or computers, with mobile being the only way to access the internet. This is often the first time the young women are using smartphones so we really needed a platform that was mobile-first and easy to use for them.
Plus we’re improving mobile skills it was a no brainer to choose a mobile-first platform like eduMe!
What’s your favourite course?
We’re always responding to what the young women want so we’re constantly adding more courses to make them relevant and engaging. The most recent course we added was Digital Photography which includes how to take good pictures for Instagram or Facebook accounts. It’s such an important way for millennials to get exposure for themselves and their businesses, it’s also the most popular course with our learners, they love it!
How is eduMe helping you to achieve your goals?
We continuously review and add to our training program so we need a platform that’s easy and quick to build new courses and lessons on.
Micro-learning works really well for us, we didn’t want long, time-consuming courses so the bite-sized lessons which are 1 or 2 minutes long work perfectly, the young women can do them on the move when it’s convenient for them. The quizzes are an ideal way to make sure knowledge is retained as well as making the courses fun and engaging!
As a high proportion of our learners are millennials, we also wanted a fun and engaging way to deliver the online training. In a recent survey 100% of respondents said they’d recommend eduMe to a friend which shows how relatable it is!
What’s your favourite feature in eduMe?
I love the Messages, we use these to encourage women and girls to complete courses as well as sharing stories and profiles of aspirational women. The visual element really engages the women and girls, and seeing the accomplishments of other women is really inspiring. Being able to schedule them in advance means I know they’ll be delivered at key points through the training schedule even if I am away.
What’s your favourite success story?
Months after the workshop was given, a young lady called Belén shared how the new tools taught her to improve learning methods with children. On YouTube, she has created playlists, sourced teaching material and found videos to bring the subjects being taught in class to life. Similarly, she uses Canva to create colourful presentations to develop creative skills in children and also to make certificates or diplomas to motivate her students when passing a school challenge.
Where can people find out more about you?
Visit our website www.sheva.com or email info@sheva.com, or feel free to contact me directly lr@sheva.com.
And finally, what's been the most rewarding moment for you?
There’s been a lot! The most rewarding moments are when it clicks with the young women and you see the shine in their eyes. It’s so gratifying when you hear them talk about the power the training has given to change their lives, the impact for their professional life, and how it gives them the ability to communicate with their families.
And if you want to try for free, eduMe's mobile-first, microlearning platform, just click the button below.
