Mavis Computel Limited

At Mavis Computel, we aim to see technology enhanced quality teaching and learning in learners' preferred language where learning can happen anywhere, anytime. 

We use simple technology to: 

• Enhance teaching and learning in the language the learners understand
• Maximize already existing infrastructure thereby minimizing cost, and taking quality learning to where learners are thereby enhancing access, providing equity and minimizing risks especially in conflict regions.

1. Innovation: Continually produce products that make learning easier for all. 
2. Inclusivity: Equal opportunity for all children, including out of school children, those in conflict regions in their local languages
3. Quality: Maintain a high standard of quality in all learning materials 
4. Sustainability: Minimizing cost and maximizing efficiency, make it easy for beneficiaries to own and continue the learning process for the children
5. Partnership: Collaborating with local communities, local and international organizations to bring about positive changes in education. 

As the Chief Technology Officer (CTO)  at Mavis Computel, our team lead is responsible for the development and production of all our flagship products, the Mavis Talking Books and our online web application - the Biamuta. He is involved in the training of the Learning Facilitators to help the learners in their use of the Mavis Talking Books to learn. He also engages with the education stake holders and pays visits to the field to see how the Mavis Talking Books are used. He also heads the Software development team working on our web app - Biamuta. He interfaces with the potential clients to see how the product works and guides the teams in further iterations for the rollout of the product. 

Our company headquarters is located at the heart of where most of the deployments will be done. Our team, led by the dedicated Chief Technology Officer, is uniquely positioned to provide robust support for the LEAP project. The CTO's extensive experience and innovative leadership, coupled with the team's technical prowess, ensure we remain agile and responsive in supporting projects like LEAP without compromising our ongoing commitments.

Over the years, we've continually iterated on our flagship product, the Mavis Talking Books, refining its features and improving its usability to better serve our learners. This ongoing commitment to excellence has allowed us to streamline our training processes, making them adaptable and efficient. The result is an agile implementation process that can be quickly and easily tailored to suit the specific needs of the LEAP project.

Our monitoring and evaluation style means that our coaches can always be on ground to support the LEAP project because it ties in perfectly to the work that we are already doing. It is our priority to make sure that all learners participating in this project will show great signs of improvement. 

In terms of production capacity, we are more than prepared. Our operations are scalable, and we are equipped to handle multiple projects concurrently. Our infrastructure and processes have been designed to easily accommodate increased production demands.

Moreover, our flexible staffing strategy allows us to readily expand our contract staff base to meet the specific needs of the LEAP project. We have a wide network of skilled professionals ready to step in and contribute as required, ensuring that the LEAP project receives the dedicated resources it needs to succeed.

In summary, our strategic location, refined operations, scalable production capacity, and flexible staffing strategy all converge to position us optimally for the effective support of the LEAP project.

The Mavis Talking Books is an innovative, digital education tool providing interactive, localized language learning anytime, anywhere

We are trying to solve the problem of lack of inclusive and equitable quality education in Nigeria. 

According to the UNICEF, 18.5 million Nigerian children are out of school. 

70% of the children in school cannot read and write 

There are shortage of teachers to reach these children. Using the right teacher to student ratio, over 462,500 teachers will be needed and we simply don't have these numbers.  

Most of the people who sign up to be teachers at this level lack the subject matter expertise to effectively train the children. 

To teach the children, using English (which is not their mother tongue) makes it hard for the children to learn. 

In certain parts of the country, children gathered together in a single location are more vulnerable to attack. There have been school kidnappings in a lot of these areas. The insurgency has made it difficult for even the parents to have that much confidence in conventional means of education. 

The conventional brick and mortar approach to addressing these problems has proven to be expensive and limits the access to education. It is a very herculean task at the moment to say that we want to build the number of schools needed to house all these children in the proper teacher to student ratio. 

A lot of the parents in some of these areas don't see the value of education because seeing that the children are not learning anything, it seems like it's a waste of time trying to send their children to school. 

Mavis Computel embraces a unique approach to education, utilizing the Mavis Talking Books to address learning variability in typically developing children aged 2-12. Our solution uses an innovative learning model that values personalized, dynamic, and collaborative learning experiences.

The Mavis Talking Books system consists of two components - the Mavis Pen and the Mavis Books. To access the interactive learning content, the learner simply turns on the Mavis Pen and taps on the text or images in the Mavis Books. This action triggers an audio response in the child's native language, creating a multi-modal and immersive educational journey.

A crucial aspect of our approach lies in our group learning model. We believe that learning is not a solitary journey but a communal experience. Children learn in small, collaborative groups, fostering an environment that encourages communication and collaboration. This model allows for different children at varying learning levels to work together, facilitating peer learning and shared knowledge growth.

Furthermore, our content extends beyond language learning to include other vital subjects like numeracy, basic science, basic technology, and social studies. All subjects are presented in the child's native language first, easing the transition into English comprehension. This dual-language approach respects each child's pace, ensuring they grasp the concept in their language before introducing English terms.

The group learning model also allows for individual progression, as children can interact with the Mavis Talking Books at their pace, even within the group setting. This flexible model accommodates learning variability, as it respects each child's individual learning journey.

Interactive elements like read-aloud sections, comprehension exercises, stories, and games keep children actively engaged and make learning an enjoyable process. Our rhymes and storybooks extend the joy of learning beyond academic subjects, nurturing creativity, curiosity, and a love for learning among children.

In essence, the Mavis Talking Books and our group learning model provide a comprehensive, interactive, and learner-centered approach to education. Our system respects learning variability and champions the unique educational journey of every child while fostering a sense of community and collaborative learning. This is how we strive to provide inclusive, equitable, and quality education for children in Nigeria.

Mavis Computel has actively engaged in various forms of research to establish the effectiveness of our solution, the Mavis Talking Books. Our research efforts have included feasibility studies, implementation studies, and design research, aimed at assessing the desirability, feasibility, and impact of our product.

Our engagement with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been instrumental in our research efforts. In the initial stage, we conducted feasibility studies with the IRC, which provided valuable insights into the desirability and feasibility of our product. The outcomes of these studies showed positive potential, leading to a broader implementation of our solution.

In the implementation phase, we are currently conducting design and implementation research. This involves baseline and endline tests to assess learning progress, along with surveys targeted at the Learning Facilitators, parents, and children. The surveys aim to capture the learning experience, the ease of implementing our product, and its impact on the learning environment at home.

In addition to our work with the IRC, we have been involved in other deployments using a control-treatment setup, which included regular interviews to assess progress and impact. However, in these situations, our product was not the only tool used in the intervention, making it challenging to isolate the effects attributable to our solution alone.

In summary, our research efforts have consistently focused on establishing the effectiveness of the Mavis Talking Books in real-world settings. Although it can be challenging to attribute success solely to our intervention, the positive feedback and significant learning improvements observed during our research studies affirm the effectiveness and potential of our solution in addressing educational challenges in Nigeria.

The various research studies conducted by Mavis Computel have revealed critical insights about our solution, the Mavis Talking Books, significantly informing our work moving forward.

The initial feasibility studies with the International Rescue Committee validated the desirability and feasibility of our product. They showed that our approach was both innovative and culturally appropriate, able to engage children effectively and provide learning in a language they understand. The feasibility study was crucial in shaping our product development, confirming that we were on the right track and encouraging us to refine and expand our offerings. 

These studies and research threw more light also on the strength of our learning materials, leading us to employ better ways of producing our Talking Books, making them more durable.  

The feedback from the Learning Facilitators and our visits to the centers also helped us to better shape the nature of the training for the Learning Facilitators and the fact that refresher trainings needed to be done, seeing that when the Learning Facilitators start using the Mavis Talking Books in the classrooms, they have new experiences that need to be addressed. 

The research and studies have also helped us to develop supplementary materials for the use of the Mavis Talking Books such as workbooks for the learners, logbooks for the learning facilitators and simple webapps that help the learning facilitators learn more on how to facilitate lessons in the language they understand. 

Deployments using a control-treatment setup have shown that our solution works effectively in tandem with other educational tools. While it is challenging to isolate the effects of our intervention, these studies have emphasized the need for integrated, holistic approaches to education. They have encouraged us to explore partnerships and synergies with other educational tools and methods.

Moving forward, these research findings continually inform our work. They help us understand what works, where we need improvements, and how we can better cater to our learners' needs. They underscore the importance of engaging with stakeholders – learners, educators, and parents – to ensure our solution remains effective and relevant.

We are committed to ongoing research as a critical component of our work, as it allows us to measure impact, assess our progress, and continually refine our product and approach. It ensures that our efforts stay aligned with our mission: providing inclusive, equitable, and quality education to children in Nigeria.

While Mavis Computel has conducted feasibility studies and is currently involved in design and implementation studies, we acknowledge the need to further strengthen the evidence base of our solution, the Mavis Talking Books, in a number of critical areas.

Firstly, we aim to conduct an independent implementation study focusing on community deployment. This is a slightly different use case from our previous studies. In community settings, where the socio-economic and educational landscape can be very diverse, it is crucial to understand how effectively the Mavis Talking Books integrate and perform. This study will provide additional evidence on the versatility and adaptability of our solution.

Secondly, we want to explore the direct impact of our solution through a research design that involves distinct treatment and control groups. While our current studies are showing promising results, having a study design where the only variable is the use of the Mavis Talking Books will allow us to attribute the outcomes more accurately to our intervention. This will significantly strengthen our evidence base and provide clearer insights into the effectiveness of our product.

Lastly, we see a pressing need to conduct an effectiveness study that assesses the cost-effectiveness of a scaled-up deployment of our solution. As we plan for growth and expansion, understanding the cost implications and potential return on investment at scale is critical. This will not only inform our strategic planning but will also give potential partners, funders, and stakeholders a clearer picture of the economic benefits of our solution.

In summary, we are committed to a more rigorous, and diverse research agenda to robustly ascertain the effectiveness of our solution. By covering these additional aspects of our work, we can ensure that we're continuously learning, improving, and providing the best possible service to our learners, while solidifying the evidence base for the effectiveness of the Mavis Talking Books.

1. What is the optimal number of children who can effectively learn using a single Mavis Talking Book, while ensuring a meaningful and engaging learning experience for each child?

2. Is the Mavis Talking Book more effective when used in Non-Formal Learning Centers, where children learn in a structured setting, or in homes, where parents can assist their children with learning, guided by the language of instruction familiar to the parents? 

3. How effective is using the Mavis Talking Books in achieving differentiated learning and accelerated education

Some of our desired outputs from the formative and summative research include: 

• Optimal Usage Strategy - Recommendations based on research findings about the optimal number of children who can effectively utilize a single Mavis Talking Book for maximum learning impact.
• Best use case scenario - A guidance document, rooted in comparative research findings, outlining best practices for implementing Mavis Talking Books in Non-Formal Learning Centers versus homes, aiming at maximizing learning effectiveness in different contexts.
• Differentiated Learning and Acceleration Strategy: A comprehensive strategy, informed by evidence from research, offering approaches on how to effectively use the Mavis Talking Books for achieving differentiated learning and accelerated education.
• Future Research and Implementation Strategy: A strategic plan drawing on the reflections and lessons from the LEAP project, outlining future research directions and plans for further improving and scaling the implementation of the Mavis Talking Books based on evidence gathered.

Post LEAP project, Mavis Computel intends to diligently utilize the research outputs to drive impactful changes and enhancements in our product and implementation strategies. Here's how we plan to do this:

1. Informing Future Projects: The research findings and recommendations will serve as a robust evidence base that will inform the design of future projects, ensuring they are impactful, effective, and learner-centric. We will integrate the strategies and guidelines into our project design process.

2. Building an Impact Assessment Framework: The research outcomes will be instrumental in creating a robust impact assessment framework. This framework will enable us to effectively measure the success of our interventions and iterate on our strategies based on data-driven insights.

3. Strengthening Partnerships: Armed with concrete evidence of our solution's effectiveness, we will engage with state governments, international organizations, and education implementation partners. We will present our research-backed strategies and recommendations to these potential partners, demonstrating the value and impact of our solution and seeking collaborations to execute education programs across Nigeria and in other developing countries.

4. Guiding Product Development: The insights from the research will guide our product development, helping us to further refine the Mavis Talking Books to better cater to differentiated learning and accelerated education needs.

5. Scaling Effectively: The research findings will also inform our scaling strategies, allowing us to replicate our interventions more effectively in various contexts, maximizing learning outcomes for more learners.

Short-Term Outcomes:

For our organization:

1. Enhanced understanding of the optimal use of Mavis Talking Books in different educational settings.
2. Development of a robust evidence-based impact assessment framework.
3. Strengthened credibility and capacity to engage with potential partners and stakeholders, based on the research-backed effectiveness of our solution.

For our solution:

1. Detailed guidelines for implementing Mavis Talking Books in varied contexts.
2. Evidence-backed strategies for achieving differentiated learning and accelerated education using our solution.
3. Improved product design and approach based on the insights gained from the research.

Long-Term Outcomes:

For our organization:

1. Increased capacity to design and implement impactful projects using evidence-based strategies.
2. Strengthened partnerships with state governments, international organizations, and education implementation partners, leading to widespread deployment of our solution.
3. Growth and expansion into new regions and developing countries, driven by the proven effectiveness of our solution.

For our solution:

1. Wider acceptance and integration of the Mavis Talking Books in both non-formal learning centers and homes, resulting in greater reach and impact.
2. Improved learning outcomes for learners in literacy, Numeracy, Basic Science and Technology, Social Studies and other subjects 
3. Continued evolution and improvement of our solution, based on ongoing research and feedback from the field, ensuring it remains relevant and effective in meeting the learning needs of the future.