Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), StarCloud LLC Estonia, Risk Africa Innovatis, UNICEF, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid. Tech) partnered to digitize books and make them accessible to schoolchildren.
The Opiq platform was commissioned and demonstrated by Her Excellency Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Estonia on Friday, September 10th, 2021, as a result of this partnership and in appreciation of the collaborative initiative between Star Cloud, an Estonian educational technology company, Risk Africa Innovatis, and local publishers led by Kenya Literation Bureau. To expand the reach of digital technology in Kenya, UNICEF and Liquid Intelligent Technologies are mapping and connecting high-speed internet to schools.
The President of Estonia, speaking at the ceremony, reaffirmed her commitment to supporting ICT in Kenyan education so that all students have access to Learning and Teaching Materials (LTMs).
“Although Estonia is a young country, we have concentrated on creating a country where each generation can flourish digitally. A high literacy rate is critical to reaching this goal, therefore we’ve developed a highly competent national teaching workforce and created a learning environment that encourages all children to achieve high-quality learning results. Kenya is now trying to digitize the school curriculum, thanks to the debut of the Opic platform, a technology developed by an Estonian ICT start-up called Star Cloud. This will give both teachers and students access to online education, allowing for the creation of a more equitable educational system “According to President Kersti Kaljulaid.
Antti Rammo, CEO of StarCloud LLC Estonia, expressed his excitement over the goals of the relationship with KLB as well as the interest in the Opiq platform in Kenya.
“Digitized study materials will significantly improve the availability of high-quality study literature and education in general, including the creation of opportunities for distance learning,” Rammo said, adding that broadband internet access is a key component in allowing learners to access interactive digital content on the Opiq platform.
He emphasized the necessity of collaborating with Kenyan publishers, stating that while Opiq is a universal digital platform, the school curriculum is designed specifically for Kenya.
Victor Lomaria, Managing Director of the Kenya Literature Bureau, expressed his gratitude for the collaboration, praising the quality of the product and the speed with which books were converted into ePub3, HLML5, and interactive digital content formats.
“The support KLB received from the StarCloud LLC Estonia and Risk Africa Innovatis Limited consortium when developing interactive digital content for Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) Learning and Teaching Materials (LTMs) for Class Seven (7) and Grade Five demonstrates their technical expertise and commitment to ensuring learners have access to high-quality online materials for academic success. It also contributes to Kenya’s Digital Literacy Initiatives “he stated
According to Ben Roberts, Liquid Intelligent Technologies’ Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, “Such collaborations will undoubtedly be critical to attaining digital education success. Liquid Intelligent Technologies has previously teamed with UNICEF to connect primary schools across the country to high-speed internet, as well as KENIC to provide domains and websites for all of the connected schools. This has given learners and teachers access to approved KLB content on the Opiq platform, as well as the ability to offer critical teacher training remotely.”
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