TECHIE

Shelmith Mumbi (red sweater) and Martina Amoth (striped shirt) explaining about the platform.

EnhAnCInG EdUCATIOn ThROUGh dIGITAL LEARnInG

Two social entrepreneurs are providing education content for digital learning in slums through their application dubbed, a-Academy

Two social entrepreneurs, Shelmith Mumbi and Martina Amoth have created an educational platform to solve education challenges encountered by children from the informal sectors. The entrepreneurs are addressing the global need for children in underdeveloped parts of Sub-Saharan Africa to access digital education to leverage them with the rest of their counterparts in more developed areas. Learners from lowcost and non formal primary schools are faced with challenges such as shortage of teachers, inadequate learning materials and teacher absenteeism which disrupt learning, placing them at a disadvantaged position.

The enterprising duo came up with an online digital platform, a-Academy, designed to make learning interesting and interactive for pupils and teachers. a-ACADEMY is an innovative educational platform that makes learning exciting and effective. The highly interactive educational content was developed in close collaboration between African educators, international curriculum editors and instructional designers.A-Academy provides educational content enriched with illustrations such as video, audio, and crossword puzzles to learners in informal settlements and slums. The platform is a product of Avallain Limited,a social enterprise whose expertise is in education technology and digital publishing.

“We want every pupil especially in the slums of Mathare and Kibera to have a good education just like any other child schooling in any other school. We understand that one way of doing this is through facilitating learning through technology,” says Amoth who is the founder and chief executive officer of a-Academy, which falls under Avallain Limited. A 2016 education report by the World Bank says that children who have gone through digital learning and acquired Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills have a better chance of securing international jobs unlike those without any of those skills. The report adds that early exposure to technology skills creates a more sophisticated individual in the labour force, able to manage information systems and thus contribute to poverty reduction around the globe.

The two social entrepreneurs through the platform would want to minimize the digital divide in network infrastructure in schools based in marginalized areas. Both Mumbi and Amoth are of the opinion that pupils from poor homes also deserve quality education that will shape their future to compete equally in the opportunities available.

a-Academy is perfectly suited for primary schools, primary school children and any other project or person that is interested in qualitative and engaging educational content. Parents and children can freely explore the unique and captivating content from the comfort of their own homes, ultimately boosting students’ selfstudy techniques and improving their performances in the classroom.

It also empowers teachers and schools to offer their students engaging interactive lessons within a classroom setting.

Kenya as part of Sub Saharan Africa is incorporating digital learning in its school programs. The government of Kenya has rolled out the laptop project to primary schools countrywide in a move that is geared to equip pupils with basic computer skills. For the education system to be fully operational, tech savvy entrepreneurs have been challenged to digitize the primary school syllabus in a way that it is user friendly, objective and easy to grasp.

a-Academy plays a crucial role in this area. The platform operates both online and offline offering a diverse approach that enables pupils to study. Either by one logging into and signing up using the social media platform or by installing the content into the computer, pupils can study at their own convenience. The education platform can be accessed using tablets, laptops and desktop computers. For schools without internet access, a compact disk is inserted into the computer and the system is installed. The other option is to access it online through the Availlain website with the address http:www.a-academy.info/. Primary school pupils can sign up for automatic access via their social networks .The a-Academy platform interface is interactive and easy to navigate. Its content which has been developed according to the Kenya curriculum has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education. Which has given it the go ahead to be used in both public and private schools.

The educational platform was created with participation from Kenyan teachers and an outsourced team of global editors to create value information that pupils from all over the globe can relate with. The teachers also get their lesson plans organized for them according to the school terms including a clear objective focusing on the topic study of every topic to be covered.

The duo has currently enrolled over 200 primary schools in the Kenyan informal settlements. Hundreds of pupils from one of the largest informal settlements, Mathare, can have access to technology that incorporates learning.

Amoth and Mumbi have also set aside some of their finances to purchase a number of laptops which are being distributed in schools in Mathare. primary schools in Science and English subjects. However, its founders lack adequate funds to continuously develop more content for the other subjects. The content development takes a lot of dedication from the Kenyan educationalists in collaboration with international editors to ensure that the end product meets the highest international standards.

They are not relenting however as they hope that the education investors will partner with them financially to enable them achieve their dream of educating the Sub Saharan continent through technology.

How they did it

In coming up with the content, the entrepreneurs had to work with the teachers according to their available schedules, explaining why it took time to complete the project. The project required nationwide participation of teachers to bring forth content that can be used in a wider demography within the country. It was then taken through the ministry of education to be bench marked with other content.

The impact

Since a-Academy platform was rolled out in Mathare schools a few months ago, teachers have recorded an increased level of participation from the pupils.

Currently, a-ACADEMY is fully established in multiple schools in Kenya.

According to Amoth, a-Academy has 27 different interactive sessions, is userfriendly and can be operated on cluster basis with a projector or television. During the project pilot, pupils were fascinated by the activities that the a-Academy platform offered and thus boosted their performance in the term papers. Dormant children in the classroom indicated an interest of learning through technological activities in their class groups. The teachers felt that they had a livelier class after the introduction of digital learning. The duo felt encouraged by the positive feedback from both the teachers and the pupils.

Future goals

The two enterpreneurs are looking beyond their challenges and achievements; they still believe that there are some steps to be covered to reach their great goal. They would like to engage the parents in the process of learning by creating a learning management system that involves the teachers, learners and their parents and by developing activities that involve these three main stakeholders in the learning system so that technology extends beyond the walls of the classrooms.

They would like to be the most recognized platform amidst competition from other developers. Their platform seeks to be innovative and engaging used inside and outside classrooms. They would also continue monitoring the content for improvements according to learning trends to keep up with the ever developing technology and learning trends.

So far, they have donated their content to be used freely by anyone signed up into their platform, among their plans is to widen its access by developing all the subjects for the primary and Early Childhood Development (ECD).Pupils from all classes are to be accustomed to early technological skills right from the time they step into the classroom. Teachers are also set to receive vocational training to equip them with skills and knowledge to effectively incorporate the technology into their classrooms. The trainings will also keep them up to date with the relevant skills in a space where information is gradually developed and being processed. The training will boost their experiences as teachers to a more developed individual able to fit in the complex nature that technology and information brings forth.

ABoUT THE innovATors

shelmith Mumbi

• She is the managing director of Avallain Limited and is heavily involved in managing and executing the company’s projects in East Africa. • She hails from a medical background but discovered her passion in unlocking the potential of students and the youth using technology. • She is pursuing a degree in international business administration at the United States International University.

Martina Amoth

• She holds the position of the director of education at Avallain Limited. • She has a wealth of experience working with education specialists both in East Africa and the United States of America. • She has had a successful teaching career, having taught in some of the renowned high schools in the country. • She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D), in International and Comparative Education.