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Discman adapter
Date Posted: August 11, 2018
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Discman and an iPod- the choice is yours.

Discman

Discman

My friend can’t stop laughing at the fact that my choice of a music gadget was a Discman when I had to pick between a Discman and an iPod. How was I to know what an iPod looked like in 2006? Before you start judging me harshly, YouTube was created in 2005, just a year before, so cut me some slack.

I had an awesome Canadian friend who had come to Kenya for an internship. She still is my friend. We clicked instantly. One day she wanted to buy me a gift to appreciate our friendship. Rafiki- as I call her, told me to choose between an iPod- a small thing that you put music in and carry along with you, and a Discman that used CDs. I had seen CDs before. I knew how to use CDs.

Smart people select the familiar, right? Yes, no? Anyways, I considered myself smart then, by gravitating towards the familiar. I was even smarter because I didn’t have electricity back then. I lived in the slum and electricity was a luxury. So, there was no way I could charge my device. Do you still believe I made a dumb choice? I hope you change your line of thought at the end of this short story.

My sleek black gadget stopped working after two weeks, and I had to take it back to Yaya Center for replacement. It was that fancy. Warranty and all, you know? It played music with a bass that would lock all your troubles away. That’s how I developed a taste for mzungu music like “Dancing in the moonlight”.

My Rafiki was generous enough to burn CDs for me from her playlist. Enough to last me a year. My Discman worked just as good as an iPod – at least I had a gadget to carry around.

An opportunity to go to Canada came in 2007. I was elated! Finally this was a chance to meet my friend in her country. Rafiki couldn’t believe our dream of meeting again was coming true. I couldn’t believe it either. I had to pinch myself to believe it.

Canada was fun! Just imagine a girl from the slums of Nairobi traveling alone to Canada. Travelling on an airplane wasn’t such a culture shock, because I had traveled to London earlier that year. That’s a story for another day. I may just tell you of my embarrassing experience in a London washroom. Just maybe!

My Canadian friend bought me a ticket to the city she lived in. Ater finishing the fancy engagement that had taken me from the slums of Nairobi to Quebec, I went to visit my friend and her family. It was an interesting two weeks. I even carried my Discman. How could I forget to carry such an important gadget?

Step down converter

Step down converter. Image source

When we went shopping, in Canada, I bought a heavy step-down converter that weighed almost 5 Kg- like a building brick. It would enable me to connect my Discman to electricity. Electricity that I did not have then. A girl has got to have dreams. I also bought a half Kg adapter which I still have. I am a keeper. I still have the Discman somewhere. Oh! I finally saw what an iPod looked like. I couldn’t believe I picked a heavy Discman over that. Sometimes I wish I picked the iPod, but I wouldn’t be telling this story, would I?

Date Posted: August 20, 2016
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Does good writing exist in the technology age?

Image courtesy

Image courtesy

Technology is bound to continue developing. Nowadays, everything has been digitized including learning. Kenya has not been left out of the technology revolution. What with the introduction of the Digital Literacy program to schools.

This fact prompts many fears, one of them being the extinction of good handwriting. We were having a conversation with friends who happen to be lecturers, about students’ poor handwriting. Some students write in a way that makes it impossible to read what they have put on paper, making it impossible to grade them. Some fail their exams, not because they did not know the answers, but due to their poor writing.

Here are a few tips to teachers when it comes to teaching good hand writing skills to their students.

Timeliness– The earlier good writing habits are instilled the better. Children should be taught how to write right from an early age. This is kindergarten. If you don’t insist on clear writing at this stage, then it would be an uphill task developing the habit at a later stage.

Tight grip– The best way to hold a pen or pencil is to let it rest next to the base of your thumb. Hold it in place with your thumb, and your index and middle fingers. Some people have bad writing because they do not hold their pens correctly.

Try fun writing games– Writing can be fun, for example, your class can have role plays as actors giving their autographs or doctors writing prescriptions. You can get as creative as possible with your class depending on their age. This way, you will develop a habit of good writing.

Tracing Tokens– You may even introduce a reward system for the best or the most improved writing. This will motivate your students to be better writers. The reward system may be as simple as pinning the best written essay on the board for everyone to read. It might even be in form of a pen as a souvenir.

Take time off tech– Technology is great, but every student must get back to the basics. In this age of texts and Facebook, maybe a little letter writing for fun can remind students of their good writing skills.

All these are good ideas that need the dedication of a teacher or parent. There are other ideas out there. Feel free to share them in the comments section.

This article has been cross published on Eneza Education

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Featured image

Date Posted: July 16, 2016
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Kenyan students make it to Finals of Global Technovation Challenge

Team Snipers, who emerged the best team from Africa in the Technovation Contest. Their mobile app, M-Safiri, is a booking and payment transport solution

Team Snipers, who emerged the best team from Africa in the Technovation Contest. Their mobile app, M-Safiri, is a booking and payment transport solution

Five students from Precious Blood, Riruta in Nairobi are among finalists in a global technology and entrepreneurship competition, Technovation Challenge 2016, that took place this week in San Francisco, California.

The students were presenting their innovation dubbed M-Safiri, a bus booking app during the two day , in which they stood a chance to win Sh1 million (US$10,000) funding to launch their app.

The M-Safiri app was developed through App Challenge, an initiative of Safaricom Women In Technology (WIT). Through the Safaricom Women In Technology (WIT) initiative, students are not only mentored but also introduced to the basics of coding, user-interface design, market research, and entrepreneurship and presentation skills.

The five students, who go by the name Sniper team, came up with M-Safiri to offer a solution to the country’s fast growing transport sector. They have emerged second place in the high school category.

“The M-Safiri app was developed out of a strong urge to solve community problem using modern technology. It is the answer to the difficulties that come with booking a bus or matatu during peak seasons such as the festive seasons, back-to-school or when one is unable to physically go to a bus station to have a seat reserved for them,” the students explain in a brief about the app.

“We are proud of the success that the Sniper Team has achieved through this opportunity to take part in this global platform. The aim of Safaricom WIT is to inspire girls to see themselves not just as users of technology, but as inventors, designers, builders and entrepreneurs who can solve real-world problems through technology,” said Ann Cheboi, a Safaricom WIT member.

Ms Cheboi added that through Safaricom WIT, the girls will work in teams to develop mobile apps, conduct market research, write business plans, and create a “pitch” for funding for these apps that are aimed at solving local community problems.

Each team is supported by an advisor, often a computer instructor from their school and a female role model from the technology industry.

The students were coached by Daisy Ndung’u, a student at Multimedia University and mentored by Anne Cheboi, Josephine Kamanthe and Emily Jematia Bett from Safaricom.

Date Posted: May 25, 2016
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Canon Unveils the PIXMA range of refillable ink tank printers

Canon Printers

In my former life I was a graphic designer. I used to know all the corners of Nairobi CBD that offered cheap printing. Then I discovered a cost effective way of printing. Buy a printer, customize it with Continuous Ink Supply System, buy cheap refill inks and voila! My life had been sorted. Smart, Right?

Not so fast. I bought a printer at 28,000 shillings, a CISS system at 7000 shillings, and had the dealer customize it for me. Even to date when I tell the story, I regret the wasted 35,000 shillings. In short, the machine was damaged within two weeks, and the warranty had been voided by customizing it. Anyway, such is the life of an entrepreneur.

This is why when I heard of the new Canon range of printers with CISS, I was excited.

Canon, has announced the launch of three new printers in the East African region under its newly formed “Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA)” business division. The launched printers– the PIXMA G1400, PIXMA G2400 and PIXMA G3400 – are capable of printing up to 7,000 colour and 6,000 black pages from a single set of ink bottles. Featuring Canon’s brand new genuine Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS), each printer uses refillable ink tanks to offer volume printing that significantly reduces ongoing ink expenditure.

The CCNA division was formed in December 2015, to demonstrate Canon’s commitment to operating closer to its customers and meeting their demands in the rapidly evolving African market. The formation of Canon Central and North Africa will energize Canon’s operations across Africa as the strategy of growing reach and engaging customers is rolled out in all African markets that it geographically covers.

Designed for quality, detail and ease, the PIXMA G1400 is a single function printer, while the PIXMA G2400 and PIXMA G3400 are All-in-One printers offering print, scan and copy functionalities.

Each printer incorporates a durable FINE print head system for high quality prints at fast speeds, as well as technology that stops air penetrating the ink feeding tubes, ensuring reliability and stability when printing in high volumes. For prints with high levels of detail the 2pl, 4800×1200 dpi print engine offers smooth gradations and fine detail, perfect for intricate documents or high-quality photographs. Each
model in the range also prints border-less 4 x 6” photos in as little as 601 seconds.

The new compact refillable ink tank models combine an aesthetic design and ease of use. The four high-yield, front facing ink tanks are immediately visible, making it simple and fast to check ink levels, while the uniquely designed ink bottles make topping up a quick and mess-free task.

The package comes with an extra set of refill inks, meaning that you have 14,000 color copies and 12,000 black copies before thinking of refilling your ink. Now the catch is that the refill inks go for 3000 shillings per bottle. There are 4 bottles of ink. Black, Cyan, Magenta and yellow. You do the math.

This is a small sacrifice considering my experience with a printer that broke down after two weeks of purchase.

Which brings me to the warranty. All their machines come with a one year warranty in case of any malfunction. They also support their products for seven years after manufacture, which means that you can get their spare parts in the market, with

Date Posted: April 16, 2016
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How Tech Industry has improved the Kenyan education system.

BRCK Education Kio Kit

BRCK Education Kio Kit

Photo credits

Featured image

Last month, we went to train a Teens Online Safety Workshop at Kwani? During the World Storytelling Day. I was massively challenged by the level of knowledge of the children. During the introductions, eight-year-olds were already learning code. This makes our school days a far cry, in comparison.

The Kenyan Education system is rapidly evolving to accommodate new technology. During our time, ability to read and write coherently, was a huge accomplishment for an eight-year-old. I don’t want to mention the exact year, for obvious reasons. A lady’s age is her well-kept secret. Moving on swiftly…

According to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the uptake of mobile phones continued to grow during the first quarter of the 2015/16 Financial year spanning July to September 2015. According to the quarterly sector statistics report by (CA), at the end of the quarter, mobile penetration stood at 88.1 per cent with 37.8 million subscribers up from 36.1 million in the previous quarter.

Innovative Solutions

These developments are being reflected on by the approach to modern education. Organizations like Eneza Education are taking advantage of these facts to provide mobile solutions for school children. They have mobile applications that help students learn through the use of mobile phones. Text books can be very expensive, especially for children from resource strained backgrounds. Eneza Education’s solutions give students countrywide the privilege to have a virtual tutor, revision material and quizzes, at an affordable rate.

Akirachix is a non-profit organization that seeks to empower young women by providing programming, coding and IT skills.  Their programs are developed to reach young women at different levels, in Primary, High School and University, those working in technology or aspiring to have a career in technology, making it an effectively wholesome program. They hold holiday Tech boot camps for children and teenagers, to encourage more young women to pursue careers in technology.

Some of these developments arise due to the gaps that exist in the Kenyan education system. One such initiative that integrates Technology with education is e-Limu. A group of young Kenyan technology experts invented a computer tablet with an educational program that has the potential to enhance the learning of school children. The interactive device, a tablet, aims to engage children as a teaching aide with videos, diagrams and quizzes.

ekitabu is yet another Kenyan innovation in the ed-tech field. They target to improve educational achievement, engaging students and teachers through ebooks, content creation, and becoming digital citizens. eKitabu has over 500,000 titles collected from educational publishers worldwide including books in Swahili, Arabic, Kinyarwanda and others approved for national curricula, with a growing list of languages and titles. They aim to lower the cost of books for education and increase access to them, in a sustainable way and at large scale.  They have so far brought digital content to over 650 schools across Sub-Saharan Africa, in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana.

Partnerships

Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO)’s project in Kibera- Africa’s largest urban slum. Among the projects I visited was their community school for girls and I must say that technology plays a big role in their curriculum. At the headmistress’ office, I saw some blue gadgets that looked like tablets. So out of curiosity, I asked Shilpa Guha, their Programs Liaison Fellow, what the gadgets were.

Apparently, Worldreader donated some e-readers to SHOFCO’s school. Worldreader provides e-readers to ensure distribution of literacy materials to produce digital citizens. The E-Readers have several books installed, including some of the curriculum texts. Well, this could just be the next bright solution for school going children. I’m saying this considering the bulk of textbooks that children carry daily to and from school. Some of those children as young as in class four carry very heavy bags full of text books daily.

“Tech plays a huge role in the curriculum we provide. Last week we sent some girls to Akirachix Tech and Arts kids camp”, says Shilpa. I am of the impression that partnerships between the educational sector and innovators, play a big role in incorporating Tech in education.

On my way home, I see children carrying backpacks with solar panels. I then remember the lady behind the innovation, Salima Visram, a young Kenyan who sought to solve the problem of lack of electricity for school going children’s night studying. Her innovation was among the many that were exhibited during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) held in Kenya last year. This solution is holistic because it addresses the academic, health and environmental components of children living in rural areas and urban slums that lack electricity.

Nairobi’s Innovation Hubs

This article will not have served its purpose without mention of Nairobi’s technology incubation hubs. According to this article on the African Business Magazine, Nairobi has become the tech hub of Africa, a niche that could be worth more than a billion dollars in the next few years.

One of these hubs is the iHub, which is located just a few miles from the Nairobi’s CBD. Most of these Kenyan Tech startups have been developed from this shared work-space that hosts innovators and entrepreneurs.

All these efforts to incorporate Technology in education are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG number 4 which states that by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. Article 4.7 a further states that by 2030, the goal is to build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.

Cyber Safety

Which brings me to the final point, Cyber security. As with every new development, there exists a downside. The use of some Technology in Education obviously exposes children to cyber bullying, identity theft and dangers of meeting strangers online who have bad intentions. This is why programs like BeTheCop by Communications Authority were developed. (CA) developed a booklet that has guidelines on child online protection. It can be used by any parent or guardian trying to communicate to children on online safety.

The Bloggers Association of Kenya also holds Teens Online workshops- these are online safety workshops to educate teenagers and parents. This is the reason why last month we were training children at Kwani?

Date Posted: March 15, 2016
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Aga Khan Academy Mombasa Nurturing young scientists

Imaan Vaiani presenting her project during the exhibitions. Photo: Aga Khan Academy Mombasa.

Imaan Vaiani presenting her project during the exhibitions. Photos: Aga Khan Academy Mombasa.

Aga Khan Academy Mombasa is driving innovation at a key stage in students’ learning, with its own Personal Projects Exhibition. This exhibition has seen 16-year-olds design classroom holograms and home-made mosquito repellents this year.

The school, held its first Personal Project Exhibition for students in 2011, since then, the exhibition has been encouraging students to apply classroom knowledge in addressing social problems. The young innovators get a period of seven to eight months – starting in June – to come up with an idea, conduct research and develop it into an outcome or a product with the guidance of a supervisor.

During this year’s Personal Project Exhibition by the Academy, Alimohammed Jaffer , 16, designed a scientific hologram to aid in presentations, and is currently in the process of coming up with a prototype.

The hologram is designed to aid in education by creating three-dimensional images, compared to a projector that creates two-dimensional images. Alimohammed hopes that the virtual images the hologram will create will help students understand concepts better through visualization. “I wanted to come up with something that will help students better understand subjects that have a practical aspect to them where they do not have the resources of a fully furnished lab,” he said.

He sought the help of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association, which also produces holograms and it agreed to help him create the prototype, which cost £1,500 (Sh210,000).

Another student, Imaan Vaiani designed an eco-friendly and affordable mosquito repellent. The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) states that six per cent of childhood deaths in Africa are due to malaria. The highest numbers are registered in poor communities that cannot afford preventive measures against mosquito bites like buying treated mosquito nets and repellants.

She used affordable products like petroleum jelly and coconut oil to form bases for five different types of repellents. She then used neem oil, citronella, lemon grass, eucalyptus and rose ceranium to make the repellents. She has applied for certification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards, and plans on selling 50grams of her repellants for Sh55 compared to other repellants sold at Sh80 and higher.

The exhibition is a culminating experience in the Academy’s International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme where students are encouraged to provide solutions to social and economic problems.

“These projects are anchored on specific global contexts such as scientific and technical innovation, globalization and sustainability, identities and relationships among others, and they provide opportunities for creative and truly personal demonstrations of learning for the students,” said David Ochieng’ Vice Principal of the Middle Years Programme.

Science and innovation have been proven to play a key role in Africa’s development agenda, yet these areas continue to suffer from acute skills gaps in Kenya. The 2015 Global Innovation Index ranking Kenya at position 92 out of 141 countries.

Challenges in science education in Kenya have contributed to this skills shortage across many fields including engineering, medicine, food sciences and agricultural sciences.

Against the backdrop of these shortages, the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa is creating an enabling environment to nurture sciences among its students. They are doing this through participation in the annual Golden Climate International Environmental Project Olympiad. The Olympiad is one of the largest science competitions that attract the participation of primary and secondary schools. Students get various awards, including monetary awards and recognition for their work.

In 2015, Aga Khan Academy Mombasa won the top school title at the Olympiad, with four of its students receiving awards in the environment, agriculture, engineering, and environmental design categories.

The Golden Climate International Environmental Project Olympiad and the Personal Project Exhibition serve as great platforms to give students the opportunity to interact with other innovators and attain experiences that contribute to student learning, retention and overall school success.

Date Posted: February 2, 2016
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Intel’s ‘My Digital Journey’ to Empower Women and Girls in Kenya

Photo: @IntelEastAfrica

Photo: @IntelEastAfrica

Intel Corporation launched an online learning platform – Intel® She Will Connect – My Digital Journey – aimed at providing an opportunity for women to learn, connect and share online.

Intel Corporation’s Vice President, Director of Corporate Affairs, and President Intel Foundation Ms. Rosalind Hudnell presided over the event in Nairobi. She said that My Digital Journey provides an opportunity for women and girls in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to learn about the internet. They will also benefit from the wealth of information available that will contribute towards achieving their goals and provide access to opportunities.

“This learning platform provides women and girls with a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and access additional resources that support learning in a safe environment,” she said. “Gaining access to the Internet enables women and girls to improve their self-esteem and expression, expand their social and political participation, gain new skills that enable them to obtain formal education, become entrepreneurs, or secure employment, and in addition get access to information and new connections within their communities and beyond,” explained Ms. Hudnell.

My Digital Journey is a web-based application with gaming mechanics, where women are empowered to learn individually or in a facilitated environment, and with the support of a peer network. It uses case scenarios relevant to women in the form of challenges, which gives them the opportunity to practice solutions before moving on to the next level.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dk_ZWpqS0]

The platform is a new addition to the Intel® She Will Connect program, which aims to bridge the technology-gender gap, to teach young women how to leverage the internet and technology to pursue their goals. Intel® She Will Connect was introduced as a direct response to findings of the Women and the Web Report, which examined women’s access to and use of the Internet in low and middle income countries. The Report found that, on average, there are nearly 25% fewer women than men are online in developing countries. This represents 200 million fewer women than men online today. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the size of the gap is 43%, the largest across all the regions in the study.

Learners on My Digital Journey will receive a digital completion certificate after successfully completing three quests. Each quest comprises 3-6 missions. The first mission may take a learner 15-45 minutes depending on reading speed and the thought put into responding to challenges.

Speaking also at the launch event, UN Women Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Simone Ellis Oluoch-Olunya, noted that Unlocking gender equality, will unlock the growth potential of the continent. “Grounded in the vision of equality, UN Women believes that technology can be a game-changer for women and girls,” Ms. Oluoch- Olunya said. “Enhancing women’s economic empowerment is one of the five priority areas of UN Women’s work, therefore this initiative is one of many UN Women is undertaking to advance women’s economic empowerment and support women, particularly from a technology perspective,” she added.

The Intel® She Will Connect program aims to reduce the Internet gender gap around the world, through an innovative combination of digital literacy training, an online peer network, and gender-relevant content. The program has been rolled out in sub-Saharan Africa, where the gap is the greatest, with initial pilots in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.