Enhancing ICT Integration in Education at Local Community Schools

Students from Thome Secondary, Endana Secondary,Sweetwaters school in Nanyuki certainly got 2016 off to a great start after the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in collaboration with Afretech, last week commissioned and installed computers to enhance ICT integration in education. Google Chromebooks and  desktop computers were donated to the schools as part of an initiative to enhance the use of ICT in schools around the Conservancy. The Chromebooks donated can be used for 5 hours without charge and this is crucial particularly when blackouts occur during school hours. This will help ensure that learning goes on uninhibited for the students of these schools.These computers come preloaded with the groundbreaking ARES (African Ruggedized Education System) software. ARES is an educational system that allows students to access content from a wide variety of topics like health, programming, music, agriculture, and the sciences among others. The ARES system also contains content similar to local textbooks and this will help parents save on textbook costs while enhancing the students’ access to information in the local school curriculum. All of the content on ARES can be accessed offline and this is essential in the rural areas of the countryside where internet access can be a problem.

Thome in post

Students researching educational information from the new computers.

 

In addition to donating computers,Ol Pejeta, PA-MOJA and Afretech also furnished Thome Secondary, Sweetwaters Primary and Riachu Primary School with books and bookshelves.  This will greatly help the students by providing them with an repository of quality literature. We anticipate that these investments in these schools will help these students improve on their academic perfomance.
This donation to the schools comes just a few months after Ol Pejeta partnered with Rift Valley Adventures, BRCK and the International School of Kenya (ISK) to donate solar powered tablets to Irura Primary School. Technology is increasingly becoming an important educational asset and Ol Pejeta will continue to support schools around the conservancy in utilizing the latest technological innovations for educational purposes. We believe by investing in the education of our children, they will grow to become custodians of wildlife and exemplary champions of progress and development in their communities.