Abstract:

Education is in the process of a major change and through innovations in technology; pedagogy must improve to cope with the change. ICT integration in education is necessary to improve on access, equity and quality of education. The objectives of Millennium Development Goals of Kenya Vision 2030 and the Kenya government’s ICT policy in education all highlight the need for ICT integration in education. These policy documents all underscore the importance of e-learning, but do not provide details on the implementation framework.

Since the inception of the first high-speed cable 2 years ago, there is little development in terms of local educational digital content in Kenya. Therefore, in response to the taskforce that was formed to assess the leveraging of local talent to spur the growth of visual effects and marriage of ICT, animation, film and music; there is need for a project to develop local digital content for Kenyan schools.

The advent of Free Primary Education has brought with it infrastructural, resource, pedagogical and learning challenges. Apart from the focus on learning to pass exams there is a general consensus that teacher-centred pedagogical methods are the norm. The resulting effect is that children are becoming less interested and engaged with learning. This not only affects their academic achievement but their ability to understand, internalize and apply subject content. The target population are primary schools in Kenya and the project aims to start with developing content for primary school science. The main participants are practicing primary school teachers, pupils and 3D animation developers. The developed content will be used as educational videos in schools and e-content will be uploaded as a resource for m-learning.

The eLimu tablet computer was developed as a response to some of these challenges. It presents a more student-centred approach to learning by using tablet technology. The eLimu platform first and foremost aims to achieve the task of peaking interest in a child and sustaining engagement with learning. This is done by using a combination of static and dynamic content (animations, games, songs, quizzes and practical exercises) in the instructional design frameworks.

The tablet is an assistive technology with the potential to change the way children learn. It will be used as a catalyst to support educational reform as a learning support tool. The aim of the action research study is to evaluate the extent to which the tablet improves student productivity both academically and cognitively. It is not a substitute for the teacher but a tool for extending human capacity to perceive, understand and communicate.

Keywords:

Open, Digital Content, Sharing, Mobile, Ubiquitous.