How do we close the social gap in access to education technology in Kenya? This is a question that Childrise foundation through Child Fund Kenya is working hard to answer by taking a bold step to reach to the less fortunate communities in Tharaka Nithi county, Kenya. In partnership with Infoney solutions Limited and other partners, Childrise foundation has put a smile on the faces of teachers and students by providing technology inside the classroom.

Childfund Kenya staff and teachers keenly following the training conducted by Infoney solutions Limited trainers

Infoney Solutions Limited takes such high pride in the project owing to the fact that one of the goals of Kenya’s Vision 2030 education pillar is to establish a computer supply program to equip students with modern information technology skills. Secondly, today, the global economy is heavily based on technology, with aspects of artificial intelligence that allow robots and computers to take on tasks that humans once carried out, such as heavy document review. There is also digital automation that has contributed to loss of jobs in banks and call centers hence demanding for a more tech savvy workforce. Moreover, access to technology and extensive internet connectivity has realized steady growth of the economy through technologies such as M-pesa, uber, widespread mobile loan apps and many more. Therefore, the need to have technology in every village cannot be overemphasized.

With learners’ devices, teachers’ laptops, charging cabinet and a network set inside a fabricated forty-foot container, Infoney solutions limited provided the classroom management software and the much-needed training to the teachers to ensure proper implementation of the project. From the onset, we found that teachers faced a wide range of challenges when it came to integrating technology into their classrooms and with hardware, electricity and connectivity sorted, software from Infoney solutions filled in the gap in bringing a digital class to live.

Infoney solutions Limited Managing director Jonah Wanjohi training teachers on creating automated assessments using the classroom management software at Kamarandi Primary School in Tharaka Nithi county

The classroom management software provided by Infoney solutions limited is poised to empower the teachers and give them control of the digital classroom. Some of the amazing benefits at the disposal of the teachers at Kamarandi primary school include:

Easy administration of automated assessments: The software allows teachers to create assessments and administer to the students through their devices. The best part of this technology is that the assessments will be automatically marked and the teacher can review each student’s work in real time.

Effectively control and monitor the digital class: With this software, teachers are confident and in control of their classroom. This is what teachers often feel is missing when moving to a digital environment. Teachers are now able to monitor and control every tablet in the classroom, freeze the tablet or even shut it down at the end of the lesson. Students can raise hands or even chat the teacher directly.

On demand filtering of content and web access: Teachers are no longer worried that students might access either irrelevant or harmful content. The software enables the teachers to either whitelist what students can access or blacklist anything that students are not allowed to access.

Inbuilt interactive white board for enhanced demonstrations: There is no doubt that an interactive whiteboard has progressively become a tool for collaboration, improving student learning outcomes and enhancing demonstrations especially in science subjects. The software provides a whiteboard that teachers and students can use collectively during a lesson.

Easy sharing of wide range of digital learning materials: Teachers are able to share videos, PDF, Microsoft word, web links and many other types of materials with the students. Students are also able to submit work done to the teachers through the same software.

With this partnership, Kamarandi primary school can now weather the storm in meeting the demands for enhanced teaching and learning using an array of devices even during the times of pandemics such as the COVID-19. These achievements may change the education content delivery system not just in this school but also in the country for some years to come with learners utilizing and appreciating the value of digital devices they have in their hands like mobile phone, smart phones, laptops, tablets and others. For institutions, the whole process of learning and teaching though tedious, will drastically change to incorporate new inventions and innovations which will assist in offering quality, relevant and competitive education. This goes a long way in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for all in low-income regions in the country.