Blog

<p>Tyler Cinnamon is a American programmer and entrepreneur. He started TechLit Africa with Nelly Cheboi in 2018 to disrupt poverty with used IT devices.</p>

Founder & COO

Reports and Insights from Rural Africa | How We Teach Computer Classes in Primary Schools to Unlock Global Opportunity in Rural Africa

Blog - Effective Digital Skills at Scale

Our Blog

<p>Irene teaches the introductory lessons to graphic design. She explains how students can use Inkscape to create vector graphics.</p>

Specialist Educator

<p>Inkscape vectors have been among the specialties that we teach students. Designing using Inkscape has been interesting to many students. Ekai, a grade 3 student at Barrina Primary school has been doing great design and coming up with new ideas every time. It has been an interesting activity to him and he kept saying that he will be a designer.</p>

Self-Efficacy Development with Grade 3 Student | Ekai Can Become a Designer | Graphic Design Class Teaches Digital Skills with Inkscape Vector Editor

<p>Ekai, a grade 3 student at Barrina Primary school has been doing great design and coming up with new ideas everytime. It has been an interesting activity to him and he kept saying that he will be a designer.</p>

Ekai - Grade 3 - Will Be A Designer

Barina Primary

<p>Nelly Cheboi is a celebrated social entrepreneur, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/nelly-cheboi/?sh=179de9a85764" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forbes 30 under 30</a> honoree, and<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/14/world/education-technology-recycling-kenya-poverty-cnnheroes/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> CNN Hero</a>. After growing up in rural Kenya and lifting her family out of poverty, she focused on her community.</p>

CEO | CNN Hero | Forbes Under 30

<p>Every Thursday, we all gather around on Zoom to share stories from the classroom. Every educator writes a story to share from their week about student achievement.</p>

Classroom Stories | TechLit Africa

Stories From The Classroom

Inkscape

Graphic Design

<h2>Intrinsic Motivation Is Best</h2><p>Giving students ideas and also asking them to get their own ideas is ideal. This week I was introducing primary school students to Inkscape at Mogotio Primary school, and found an example of a student that came with his own idea.</p><h2>Motivated To Practice Digital Skills</h2><p>A Grade 6 student in Mogotio Primary school called Nibeyo came in with his own idea written on a paper. It was a sketch of a person.</p><h2>Learning To Learn (Failure Is The Beginning)</h2><p>The first 5 minutes he kept on trying to design what he had drawn on a paper on Inkscape. It all seemed complicated for him, he the decided that he will draw a truck. That is what he then did the entire class.</p>

Mogotio Primary Grade 6 Student Intrinsically Motivated to Create Digital Art Fails and Recovers By Creating Something Else

<p>I am always looking for students who come to class with their own ideas of what to create. This week, a Grade 6 student in Mogotio Primary school wanted to create his drawing in Inkscape, and had to overcome failure.</p>

Overcoming Failure in Computer Class

<p>Lucy is our internet skills and touchtyping specialist.</p>

<h2>Digital Literacy Required</h2><p>Last week, a fourth grader named Fortune in Mogotio Primary school, was struggling to open his Social account because he did not know how to spell his name. I wrote his name down on a piece of paper and placed it on his desk so that he could refer to it while typing. I returned to Mogotio this week to review their Internet Skills introduction. Fortune has really improved.</p><h2>Breakthrough Skills</h2><p>Now, Fortune he can even log into his account on his own. Today, he really amazed me as he drew six different designs on Inkscape vectors and saved all of them successfully during their lessons. Teaching them how to save their work has been a hard task, especially for Grade 4, but Fortune has really motivated the students.</p>

Grade 4 Student in Mogotio Primary School Overcomes Literacy Challenges to Become Leader in Digital Literacy Class

<p>Fortune, a student at Mogotio Primary has overcome literacy challenges and is motivating his entire class now. While most students struggle to save their work into their local, offline internet account, Fortune is saving many Inkscape designs every class.</p>

Digital Literacy in Mogotio Primary

Mogotio Primary

Social

Internet Security

<p>Denis is our school lead educator in Mogotio Primary School.</p>

School Lead Educator

<h2>Pre-Primary Students Learning Computer Skills</h2><p>As the school lead at Mogotio Primary school, I feel responsible for every class in the school. That's why, when I was introduced to pre-primary (PP2) class, I wanted to begin teaching them computer skills.</p><blockquote>GCompris is a program for kids learning computer basics like mouse movement.</blockquote><p>So last week, I introduced PP2 to mouse movement on GCompris, a program for kids learning computer basics like mouse movement. In GCompris, they start by learning how to drag the mouse around the screen and then how to single and double click.</p><h2>Last Week's Champion: Kimutai</h2><blockquote>Kimutai is a PP2 student who taught his class mouse movement!</blockquote><p>During my class on mouse movement for PP2, I had one child by the name Kimutai, who made me very happy. He learned how to double click quickly, so I had him show others in his class how to open GCompris and how to double-click. Yes, even PP2 kids can lead each other! I promised the team in Mogotio Hub to get more leaders like Kimutai.</p><h2>This Week's Campions: Vivian, Mary, Kevin, Ibrahim and Chebet</h2><blockquote>I am so proud watching students teach each other computer skills.</blockquote><p>This week, I found leaders! Their names are Vivian, Mary, Kevin, Ibrahim and Chebet. They impressed me with their teaching skills. Seeing them teach each other made me proud of my work. I am so happy knowing that in the future all children will be empowered by computer skills and teaching.</p>

Lead Educator Denis Marega Finds Student Teacher To Lead Computer Classes When Pre-Primary Students Started Learning Computer Basics

<p>As the school lead at Mogotio Primary school, I feel responsible for every class in the school. That's why, when I was introduced to pre-primary (PP2) class, I wanted to begin teaching them computer skills.</p><p>Last week, I was surprised to find a student teacher in PP2. This week, I found 5 more!</p>

PP2 Students Lead Computer Class

<p>Irene Pepit is our school lead educator for Zawadi Yetu in Mogotio, Kenya.</p>

<h2>Struggling With New Skills</h2><p>Bowen, a grade 4 student had a problem with Inkscape vector editor this week. He was not able to use some of the shape tools and didn't know how to colour them. He was just saying “<strong>Mi sielewi.</strong>" <em>(I really don't understand.)</em></p><h2>Examples of Success</h2><p>Other students were telling Irene, a girl in their class: "<strong>we saw your photo in a phone making shapes changing colours.</strong>" We shared a story about Irene on TechLit's Facebook page last week, so all the students had seen her on their parents' phones. Irene was so happy hearing that her photo was in the phone.</p><h2>Overcoming Challenges</h2><p>So Bowen said i want also my photo to be in the phone. So he really focused on it struggled with it, asked Irene to show her how it is done. He was shown everything and made different shapes with different colours. Bowen, after completing, was just saying "<strong>take a picture of me! I want also to be in the phone.</strong>"</p>

Zawadi Yetu Grade 4 Student Bowen Struggled In Computer Class. After Seeing Classmate Succeeding, Worked Harder And Overcame His Challenges

<p>This week, a Grade 4 student named Bowen was struggling in class. But when he saw how one of his classmates was achieving in the same area, he decided to work harder and overcame his challenges.</p>

Grade 4 Student Overcomes Challenges

Zawadi Yetu

<p>Stanley is a community developer by profession, and a freelance writer on the side. At Techlit Africa, Stanley has been a school lead educator for many schools, including Logiri Primary and Barrina Primary in and around Mogotio, Kenya.</p>

<h2>Kid Teaches Adult Touch-Typing</h2><p>Allan, a Grade 4 kid at Logiri primary, taught his class teacher on how to arrange her fingers on the keyboard in order to type correctly and faster. I learned kids and adult and in terms of computer literacy.</p><h2>Kids vs. Adults</h2><p>Well, kids clearly have better imagination than adults while adults are more disciplined and have more technique.</p><h2>Supporting Creativity</h2><p>This mean that kids would be more creative and work well with colourful designs. It's good to encourage kids to express themselves and develop their ideas.</p>

Children Are More Creative Than Adults, but Lack Discipline and Technique | Educators Should Promote Creativity, Play and Experimentation

<p>This week, a Grade 4 kid at Logiri primary school taught his class teacher how to touch-type. We can learn a lot about how kids should learn and how we can teach them better.</p>

Kid Teaches Adult Touch-Typing

Logiri Primary

QWERTY

Touch-Typing

<p>Irene Jebungei is our school lead educator in Chepyuan Primary School.</p>

<h2>Graphic Design Class at Chepyuan Primary</h2><p>At Chepyuan Primary, we haven't had any specialty classes yet, because the electrical line feeding the school has been broken for many weeks. Finally, this week, we have Irene Sheey coming to teach Graphic Design with a graphics editor called Inkscape.</p><h2>Class Seven's Favorite Specialty</h2><p>Max is a class seven student. He surprised the class today during Inkscape class.</p><p>When Sheey, their Inkscape teacher, was not around, he was the life of the class.</p><p>He has liked vectors since the first day, because he can make shapes with beautiful different colors.</p><h2>Learning To Learn / Self-Teaching</h2><p>Max was able to draw the coloured shapes and upload for the rest of the school to see.</p><p>Then he figured out (by himself) that he can also draw not only shapes, but also coloured houses.</p><p>He drew a very nice house and coloured it. He was very amazing.</p><h2>Leading His Class</h2><p>Now Max has become a teacher in his class, teaching other students how to draw and make different hings in Inkscape.</p>

Class 7 Student Self-Teaching With Inkscape And Become Class Leader During First Specialty Classes In Chepyuan Primary School

<p>We finally had a specialty educator visit this week. Max, a Class 7 student at Chepyuan Primary found his favorite specialty in Graphic Design. He even taught himself how to draw coloured houses and became a leader in his class.</p>

Learning to Learn with Inkscape

Chepyuan Primary

<h2>Improving Inkscape Classes</h2><p>To make my Inkscape classes better, I've been giving kids options on what they can design. As I was doing intro at Dreams Hills Academy, I gave several options, one of them being a house.</p><h2>Joyline from Dreams Hills Primary</h2><p>There was a grade 2 student Joyline. From the very 1st minute, of their class after I had done the intro, she was trying and struggling to make a house. She kept asking me questions. "How can I make a house?" "How can I paint different parts with different colors?"</p><h2>Enabling Creativity</h2><p>I showed Joyline how to use the fill bucket, which most kids found too difficult. At first,</p><p>she make a sketch of a flower. As she was drawing, it seems she got another idea about how to make her work nice. She deleted everything and designed a house and it's surrounding.</p>

Student Happily Creates Art with Inkscape in TechLit Africa Design Class at Dreams Hills Primary | Learning Basics Enabled Creativity 

<p>A Grade 2 student from Dreams Hills Primary school wanted to make a house in Inkscape this week. I showed her how to use the fill tool and she worked happily for the rest of class. </p>

Blog - Latest Posts