Tots tapping
tablets to transform teaching
 |
| Standard One students have received tablets from Kenyan government. Photo/ICT Authority |
Now we are
facing a stark challenge of sustainability of such populist tablet project
which as we know it, orgasmed before making out.
By MUSYOKA NGUI
Free tablets are here
after the long wait. Jubilee administration has finally pulled the long shot
that to Cord only reminds them that the manifesto said the Uhuruto promised
free laptops and not free tablets.
Nursery and kindergarten
kids are swiping away, as it were. Standard One kids are now the newest geeks
in town.
What is not clear is if
the requisite infrastructure is in place. Instructively, the tablets are supposed to be
stored in secure warehouses within the school compounds-something that is not
entirely present in a section of the schools.
Education Cabinet Secretary
Dr. Fred Matiang’i has played a critical midwifery role in the digitization
process. He is also the mastermind behind the overhaul of 8-4-4 system that for
three decades was high on theory and low on practical.
Anyway, what the
education mandarins should never forsake is the plight of the Kenyan teacher. The
primary and secondary one whose sole responsibility is to mentor the youth intellectually
and morally. Nothing is as insulting and disrespectful than the elite of this
nation despising teachers who made them who they are both literally and
figuratively yet they cannot bring themselves to increasing their salaries with
50-60 % rate even after courts ruled thrice in the favor of tutors.
The result is demoralized
teaching fraternity, neglected and largely computer illiterate yet they are
supposed to use the tablets to teach when they themselves need Computer Skills 101.
The government chose to
introduce tablets instead of laptops unlike in Rwanda. Now we are facing a
stark challenge of sustainability of such populist tablet project which as we know it, orgasmed before
making out. No matter the model, a tablet cannot stay in the market for more
than a year. What will happen to the obsolete machines? Are we facing yet
another environmental dumping challenge (after polythene papers) of computer spare
parts left lying around without being recycled? Again, these kids might be
affected by computers-the tablets.
INTERNET OF THINGS
While research shows
that the more we get connected the more isolated and detached from reality and
society we get, how will kids cope with being antisocial instead of learning
interpersonal communication skills whey will be busy chatting online with
strangers some of whom may prey on them.
Kids must be protected from
negative internet. They are excitable and the adrenaline of the green dot can
turn anyone even adults to addicts, zombies and lazybones only to succumb to
obesity after sitting around eating as they
troll the internet all day without exercising as earlier generation
children played outdoor, had real fun and visited relatives and friends.
Much will be said about
how technology needs to be embraced but the problem is not the internet but how
we use it.
