The reduction in the cost of smart phones and the proliferation of educational apps present a unique potential opportunity to accelerate educational attainment in rural areas of low and middle income countries, even without relying on the formal educational system.
We conducted a small-scale randomized control trial in which 100 smart phones equipped with ed-tech apps were distributed to randomly selected households of the lowest income categories in Rwanda.
We monitored high rates of usage of the apps, and a month later, found children in treated households displayed significantly higher performance in standardized English and Math tests. Larger-scale evaluations are needed to further test and improve the intervention.