Global Digital Library
USABILITY/STATUS: In Use
INNOVATOR: Norad, Global Book Alliance, All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development, Creative Commons, UNESCO
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS: Global
SOLUTION TYPE: Digital Library
Summary
The Global Digital Library (GDL) provides free, high-quality educational resources for anyone, anywhere. The GDL platform offers books in more than 100 languages and early math learning resources in English. The math resources collection includes adaptive learning journeys with game-based, real-time assessments including micro credentials, or badges, to make learning fun!
Usability/Features
- Operating system: Windows, web-based
- Hardware: Computer, tablet, smartphone
- Connectivity: Online
- Accessibility features: Artificial intelligence (AI), text-to-speech, sign language (see AI and Mobile Tech Can Make a Difference! and Sign Languages on the Global Digital Library)
- Accessories needed for use: Headphones, printer
- Other features: Individualized learning, self-paced
- How it supports learning: GDL is home to more than 6,000 books in 100 languages—all of which can be read and translated on web and mobile platforms, downloaded, or printed. The platform also hosts math and learning games that can be integrated into classrooms for extra practice, used in community centers or refugee settings when children do not have access to formal schools or accessed at home via a parent’s phone or shared device. When connected to a projector, just one device is needed to support an entire group of learners.
- Costs: Free to use, requires Internet
- Other cost considerations: Devices, mobile data or Wi-Fi connection
Setting/Context
- Settings: Schools, community centers, refugee camps, homes
- Current Language(s): Global
- Geography (locations): Global
Research
- The DIME Movies and Mobiles study engaged 9,000 Nigerian households with children ages 6 to 9 with film screenings aimed at motivating parents to support their children’s education and reshaping attitudes around gender bias. The activity also included a lottery in which one-third of the participants received smartphones preloaded with access to the GDL and Feed the Monster. During the five-day intervention and one-month follow-up, the children who received the phones and their siblings saw substantially increased literacy and numeracy test scores, leading the World Bank to recommend that similar EdTech interventions should be considered for use in programs and projects addressing literacy, education, and child protection.
Use Cases
- User Involvement and User Testing in Vietnam 2022 video: Shows how the GDL is being used in a primary school in Vietnam in 2022.
- Sung Thi Mai Is a Teacher in Bac Ha, Vietnam video: Illustrates the importance of preserving stories and culture in the Mong language.
- GDL YouTube: Many other case studies are available here.
Related Training Materials, Toolkits, and Resources
Blogs and Reviews
- “All Children Reading Grand Challenge Launches COVID-19-Themed Books in Underserved Languages on the Global Digital Library”
- Asafeer Children's Books in Arabic and English Launched on the Global Digital Library
- “Recent World Bank Study Provides Compelling Evidence that EdTech Has Big Impact on Literacy, Improving Reading Outcomes within Days”