The project is part of All Children Reading - A Grand Challenge for Development innovation competition by World Vision, USAID and Australian Aid. The purpose of the project is to pilot mobile teacher training service for better literacy instruction in Zambian languages.

Team

The aim of the CAPOLSA project is to establish a strong literacy centre with international visibility and impact, specifically in African countries facing similar challenges to Zambia. The literacy training approach is based on the Grapho Learning Initiative and the innovative and efficient digital-based learning game, GraphoGame that has been developed based on scientific studies led by Professor Heikki Lyytinen.  THe project was funded by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the HEI ICI programme. Project Award Number: HEI ICI‐2010‐P1‐000153

Team

Professor Heikki Lyytinen, Professor Robert Serpell, Head of Planning & Development Päivi Fadjukoff

The ongoing CAPOLSA Phase II project completes the capacity building in CAPOLSA Phase I and needed for reaching the final goal of the ongoing action to help as many children as possible in Sub-Sahara Africa to learn the basic skills, and be able to have appropriate reading skills to acquire functional literacy by being offered appropriate reading material. Together with the training of coordinators for distribution of literacy support throughout Zambia and its neighbouring countries, the project builds skills and networks to overcome the complete lack of reading material which children who have just learned to read have to have. 1. The Capolsa Centre works as a national help centre in Zambia for the tens of thousands of first grade teachers who will be using small tablet computers that Grapholearn Initiative for optimal learning results as well as the learning-game based reading practicing environments (Graphogame). It also serves as the whole Sub-Saharan resource centre in order to extend the reach of their expertise eventually to all the countries in Sub-Sahara area.

Team

Prof. Lyytinen´s research team has developed a science-based, digital learning game to help children to learn to read. The game is based on our 20 years of scientific work in Jyväskylä longitudinal research on dyslexia. The Grapho Learning International Development project aims to co-create a sustainable model to deliver GraphoGame service to new countries. In Africa the research group has long term cooperation with many Higher Education Institutions. Current activities are focused in Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia. In Latin America the aim is to deliver new GraphoGame versions in Chile, Peru, Brazil and Mexico.

Team

Prof. Heikki Lyytinen, Prof. Ulla Richardson, Head of Project Management Mikko Pitkänen, Project Planning Officer Isa Niukkala