Kitui County Digital Literacy on the move

Kitui is one of the counties where Digital Literacy Programme (DLP) is 99 per cent achieved in terms of supplying the digital devices to schools, County ICT Coordinator Nicholas Mbaabu has said.
Mbaabu pointed out that 1, 238 schools were mapped to receive gadgets in 2015, out of these schools 1232 have since been installed with laptops, with six schools remaining.
Despite the achievement, the programme continues to face challenges which revolve around change management of having teachers move from the old way of teaching (chalk and board) to the digital form.
Despite the fact that the teachers have been trained severally on ICT integration in teaching and learning, the ICT guru called for more sensitization aimed at all key stakeholders in the education sector in order to have 100% transition to the new way of teaching and learning
‘The Digital Learning Programme provides a framework for identification of approved educational content materials to be digitized and availed in a secure digital platform for learners,’ he said.
Mbaabu disclosed that ideally, the content is independent from the digital platform, reliable, available, accessible, and secure. The expected output of this component is a framework for content establishment and conversion deployment into the digital platform.
Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) has led the digital content team to develop and execute a framework for developing content and converting it into digital platform.
He said that KICD launched online content for classes 1, 2, and 3, which is available upon a simple registration.
“The DLP devices are preloaded with content which includes interactive digital content for classes 1 and 2 in five subjects namely, Kiswahili, English, Mathematics, Science and Social studies,” he disclosed.
Mbaabu said that the teachers’ laptops and server and wireless router are preloaded with the teacher training curricula on ICT integration, teachers training manual on ICT and a resource kit for teachers. KICD has also completed preparing interactive content for visually impaired pupils in the five subjects.
The Digital Learning Programme (DLP) was initiated by the Government of Kenya in 2013.
The programme is targeting learners in all public primary schools and is aimed at integrating the use of digital technologies in learning. The decision is borne out of the vision and context that technology now defines our world and there is need to prepare our young people for today’s realities.
The Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) is the main driver of the programme with the implementing body being ICT Authority. The programme will be executed through a multi stakeholder approach.
He said that the technology and infrastructure considerations necessary in the DLP are teachers’ and learners’ digital devices, projector, DLP content servers (DCS), digital wireless router, power supply for grid or solar power, device storage and charging and special needs specific devices.
Essentially, the technology in use is set up on the basis of common standards throughout the schools, with emphasis laid on content requirements, health and safety measures and environmental friendly equipment.
Overtime, it is expected that local innovators and industries will be used in the assembly of the devices and accessories. To this end, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development have established the Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park Project.
By Yobesh Onwong’a