The objective of Kenya’s Ministry of Education (MoE) is to provide quality education and training that prepares learners to competitively thrive within a highly integrated, technology-oriented, and information-based global economy. As a result, technology is being used in educational institutions to support the teaching, learning, and management processes.

Blended learning is an approach to education in which traditional in-person classes are supplemented or supported with technology and learners take advantage of both online and offline resources. Pedagogy is the combination of teaching methods (what instructors do), learning activities (what instructors ask their students to do), and learning assessments (the assignments, projects, or tasks that measure student learning).

From this perspective, for blended learning to succeed, the pedagogical approach must be adapted accordingly for teachers or educators to do so successfully. This means that they need to acquire the necessary teaching skills and use technology-based tools to ensure quality learning outcomes.

In the June 2023 edition of EdTech Mondays Kenya conversation, we explored the current state of blended learning in Kenya with a focus on the CBC from the perspectives of teachers as well as EdTech solution providers who make it all possible. The panel that I moderated included Lucy Wamiru Gichira, a teacher from Kirinyaga County, Jennifer Wanjiru Mureithi, a Curriculum Support Officer (CSO) from Inoi Zone Kirinyaga Central, in Kirinyaga County, and Lucy Maina from IREX.

This a conversation I had with Colin Herbert Howell & Natascha Trivisas from HID, a global leader in trusted identity solutions on their latest innovations in document design, biometric technologies, and secure issuance solutions that are changing the game when it comes to design, security, enrolment, authentication, and verification.

Colin and Natascha were in Nairobi in late May 2023 for the ID4Africa Conference. ID4Africa is a non-governmental organization dedicated to assisting African nations develop and strengthen public and technical systems for identity-related solutions and applications to serve the development and humanitarian action.

Colin is Senior Designer at HID where he designed the award-winning Estonia Passport, won the London Design Gold award for the UK Passport, and leads professional design workshops around the world. He has also spearheaded the design of many African passports as well as government documents. Most notably, he has been involved in the design of the Kenya Shilling banknotes and identity documents including passports for Rwanda, Kenya, and Sierra Leone.

Natascha Trivisas is Global Marketing Communications Director - Citizen ID at HID. She has over 13 years of experience in Marketing Communications, PR, Media, Government Relations, and Product Marketing within the B2B and B2G industry with expertise in identity and biometric solutions. She is focused on seeing the big picture while giving the right amount of attention to the small details and has a passion for design.

During our engaging conversation, I got incredible insights into what HID does from a Citizen ID perspective in Kenya and the rest of Africa as well as the sheer scope and complexity of what is required to make HID's offerings in this area work securely and reliably on a global level. We also got to discuss HID's robust and award-winning document designs with integrated chips that store the holder’s biometric data, color portrait, and HID’s exclusive technologies which combine five methods of security that make documents like passports extremely difficult to reproduce.

What HID does in Africa matters given that from birth to death in any context your identity matters. for a myriad of reasons and use cases. You can't do many things if your identity is not verifiable and authentic. HID is working to ensure that some 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) without any form of official identification as well as African governments will have the tools needed to issue secure, official IDs, drivers licenses, and passports, thus allowing citizens to prove their identities and access essential services like healthcare, education, and finance.

A week ago I met Bede at ARC Ride’s facility in Nairobi to have a conversation and record a podcast on the two significant milestones they have achieved this year. The first is ARC Ride’s impressive footprint of 42 fully operational and automated battery-swapping stations in Nairobi and outlying areas. This is surprising in that ARC Ride has invested massively to ensure that if you so choose to acquire or finance any of their electric bikes you can rest assured that finding a battery swapping station should not be a major hassle.

Even more impressive is that ARC Ride’s battery-swapping stations are fully automated. What this means is that all you need to do is use their mobile app to locate the nearest one where there is a fully charged batter which you can then access with the same and it will automatically open the box where you load the depleted battery and thereafter it will automatically open the box where a fully charged battery is available. This is seriously impressive given that you do not need to interact with a person when doing the whole process of swapping batteries. This is also made possible by the fact that the battery-swapping stations are loaded with IoT (Internet of Things) so that they can be monitored and managed remotely.

The second big development is that after iterating for the last couple of years to come up with a unique and market-appropriate electric bike form that would be appealing and robust as well (aka built for Africa), ARC Ride launched the Corbett, their first available electric bike. The Corbett has an interesting look with bright colors, and stubby or chunky wheels, and also looks like a crossover between a regular motorcycle and a scooter. The Corbett looks quite unique and like nothing else on the road in Kenya if you ask me.

The thing about is even if you do buy a Corbett you will never own the battery. This means that you can only ever pay to use a battery but never own it. At the same time, the only way to charge the battery is to go to anyone of their battery-swapping stations so you can’t actually head home or to work and then charge it using your own source of power. This is clearly going to irk many would-be customers but do bear in mind that the core customer base that ARC Ride is going after for the Corbett is the boda boda riders who would buy it to ferry customers all over Nairobi.

Anyone can purchase the Corbett for Kes. 180,000. However, if you need to finance it as would many boda boda riders then you can do so for Kes. 450 per day over a number of years. In addition, since you never actually own the battery you will never have to worry about the battery losing performance over a period of time. The other thing that is interesting about ARC Ride’s battery swapping rates is that you can pay Kes. 350 a day for unlimited battery swaps or you can pay Kes. 185 for a single swap — the choice is yours. A fully charged battery will get you around 60 km of commute distance with the Corbett.

Another development that ARC Ride is putting in place is that they have signed a good number of well-known and reputable financing companies to help customers acquire the Corbett at competitive rates. The Corbett has impressive acceleration but a modest top speed of 60 km/h but can also carry 200 KG of load. Bede also told me that the Corbett is able to save boda boda riders around 30% on the operating costs of a conventional motorcycle for the same distances, not to mention that it is less prone to breakdowns due to fewer moving parts.

Given that there are over 1.2 million boda bodas in Kenya the potential upside is massive. What needs to happen next week is to get enough people using the Corbett which will inspire others to consider the same.

Since the start of 2023, Edtech Mondays Kenya has explored a range of conversations such as mainstreaming hybrid models of learning, improving foundational literacy and numeracy for young learners, and most recently the role of digital literacy as a crucial component of 21st-century skills.

Throughout our conversations, the lack of ICT infrastructure and connectivity, such as electricity, Internet access, WIFI networks, and mobile networks was a key discussion area on what is needed to make technology-enabled education accessible to all learners in Kenya.

Even though all 47 counties in Kenya have fiber-based connectivity, last-mile links to rural parts of sub-counties remain inadequate. The 2019 census report also showed that rural internet access was 13.7% compared to urban Internet access, which was 42.5% – more than thrice that in rural areas.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that technology-enabled education is possible when schools closed in 2020, many marginalized and rural learners did not benefit due to inadequate ICT infrastructure and connectivity, as well as the high costs for access.

In the May 2023 edition of Edtech Mondays Kenya, we took a deep dive with our panelists into the current state of ICT infrastructure and connectivity in Kenya for education to better understand where we are and what needs to happen to close the digital divide for all learners. Our panelists were Rose Wanjohi, the Principal Programmes Officer at the ICT Authority, Ben Roberts, the Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and Dr. Tim Kelly, the Lead Digital Development Policy Specialist at the World Bank Group.

This is a Twitter Space that was held on the evening of Thursday the 18th of May 2023 by Liquid Intelligent Technologies in Kenya with the topic 'The State of Connectivity In Kenya & Its Effect On SMEs'. The Twitter Space was hosted and moderated by Nixon Kanali of TechTrends Media and featured a panel comprising Fiona Ngaruro, Ben Roberts of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and Moses Kemibaro of Dotsavvy. The Twitter Space was centered on the following;

In the March 2023 edition of EdTech Mondays Kenya, we explored foundational literacy and numeracy: a child’s ability to read basic texts, write clearly and solve basic mathematics problems such as addition and subtraction. We explored how technology can be a key enabler for foundational literacy and numeracy and how hybrid models of learning can improve foundational learning outcomes. 

Foundational literacy and numeracy are essential skills for people to navigate the world around them. However, in a world that is increasingly digitized – where government services, banking, and many jobs require citizens to use digital tools – traditional literacy and numeracy are not enough. Digital literacy is required for people to successfully and safely exist in a digital society. 

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of ICT and Innovation have both emphasized the importance of digital literacy for learners and citizens and are making large investments to ensure all Kenyans have the knowledge and skills to be able to navigate this new digital world. 

Since 2015 the Digital Literacy Programme, the government’s flagship e-learning initiative, has aimed to increase the digital literacy of learners through ICT integration in public schools. Additionally, digital literacy is one of the Competency-based Curriculum’s seven core competencies - signaling its importance to success in both learning and life. 

In the April 2023 edition of EdTech Mondays Kenya, we went deeper into understanding how digital literacy is a crucial component of 21st-century skills for learners of all ages. The panel for the session was as follows:

Brian Kenor: Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Coordinator, Save The Children International

Lilian Kawira Mutegi: Founder, Uptyke Consulting

Moses Kemibaro: Session Moderator

In the February 2023 edition of EdTech Monday Kenya we explored the topic on the mainstreaming of hybrid models of learning as a means of ensuring that all learners in Kenya can be accommodated in a learning environment that can be in-person or virtual. In hybrid learning, educators can teach remote and in-person students at the same time using tools like video conferencing to make this viable and sustainable. Hybrid learning is increasingly being seen as a way of ensuring that all learners can be accommodated in a learning environment that can be in-person or virtual.

During last month’s episode, we established that hybrid models of learning in Kenya can give learners an opportunity to better understand educational content outside the traditional classroom experience and also offer a way of learning that does not require them always be in a classroom. In addition, it also allows parents and caregivers of young learners to play a more engaged role in their education leading to better participation and understanding. We also learned from last month’s episode that educators need to be trained and equipped to deliver hybrid learning models effectively and efficiently whilst adopting new teaching techniques and educational technologies.

In the March 2023 edition, we will look to go further in understanding how hybrid learning models can be used to improve foundational literacy and numeracy among young learners in Kenya. Foundation literacy and numeracy are broadly defined as a child’s ability to read basic texts and solve basic mathematics problems such as addition and subtraction. It also enables children to become independent and engaged readers and writers who can transition from 'learning to read' to 'reading to learn' and from 'learning to write ' to 'writing for academic success and pleasure'.

In Kenya, when it comes to foundational literacy and numeracy, a learning assessment by a non-governmental organization called Uwezo in 2021 showed that 60 percent of grade four learners could not read a grade three appropriate text. In 2014 one out of every 10 Kenyan children completed primary school without having fully mastered class two skills, the report showed. These basic skills are necessary for children to understand and engage with the material they are taught in school and to acquire technical and higher-order skills as they progress in their studies. Lost learning that takes root in the earliest years of children’s lives fails to narrow in the following years.

Hybrid learning models can help close the gaps for young learners in Kenya, where foundational literacy and numeracy is concerned. Moreover, the need for foundational literacy and numeracy skills has acquired greater prominence in our increasingly complex and rapidly changing digital-first world, where individuals continuously need to expand their knowledge and learn new skills to keep up with the pace of change. Our conversation will explore how the uptake of technology-driven education or EdTech in the form of hybrid models of learning can increase the quality of education at foundational levels for literacy and numeracy. Our panelists for the session were:

Christine Akello - ICT in Education trainer, Global E Schools and Communities Initiative

Abdinoor Alimahdi - Founder, M-Lugha

Anne Kibara - Teacher, Ng’undu Primary and Junior Secondary School

Session Moderator - Moses Kemibaro

Hybrid learning Involves the combination of in-person learning and remote learning and is not necessarily taught in a traditional classroom. It is increasingly being seen as a way of ensuring that all learners can be accommodated in a learning environment that can be in-person or virtual.

Almost 1.13 million children of primary school age (6 to 13 years old) were out of school in Kenya, according to an Out-of-School Children Initiative study conducted in Kenya in 2020. The situation was worsened due to the impact of COVID-19 related school closures, followed by drought in many of the focus counties. As a result, the pandemic became a key catalyst in the adoption of hybrid learning in Kenya. This transition was largely enabled by the proliferation of affordable and capable smartphones as well as other consumer electronics such as radios and televisions to receive educational programming.

EdTech has proven it can make hybrid learning more accessible and inclusive for learners at all levels in Kenya but at the same time its adoption and sustenance require a myriad of factors to be aligned in a way that makes it practical and successful. Key considerations such as access to technology infrastructure and human resources are some of the aspects that play a key role in the enablement of hybrid learning at scale.

Going forward, what are some of the key considerations for educational systems in Kenya to ensure that hybrid learning can be adopted more effectively and ensure its resilience and longevity for learners across all spectrums, geographies, and socioeconomic statuses in the country? What are some of the barriers to making this possible and at the same time what are the key enablers that can ensure its viability in the long term? What sort of fundamental changes need to be made to make hybrid learning accessible to learners in Kenya at scale?

In this conversation, we explored the challenges and opportunities of hybrid learning for learners in Kenya, and what this means for today and in the future. Our panelists were Wanjiku Gathoni, Regional Manager of Impact and Evaluation at Worldreader, Danielle Ochieng’, Education & Research Consultant at Ubongo, and James Kamau Gitiro, HP Idea Fellow, Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and Teacher at Manyatta Primary School in Laikipia County.

In case you missed it, this is a radio interview I had with 98.4 Capital FM's June Gachui and Martin Kariuki on their show, The Jam, this past week on Wednesday the 9th of February 2023. The conversation we had was quite different from what I expected in that we went a lot deeper, and, wider on the topics we covered. 

For me, in some respects, it was probably the first time I shared some personal details about myself in the media like the early days of my entrepreneurship journey at Dotsavvy, the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur for over two decades, my love of Arsenal football club, as well as the way afrobeats music seems to have become an obsession from me after doing lots of trips to West Africa in the past and eating far too much jollof rice!