Digital Learning
Rural schools are poorly resourced - digital learning can help to close the gap.
In a context where there is no electricity, water or internet, having access to technology is hugely empowering.
Lyra works in partnership with Shule Direct, Camara Education Tanzania, and Apps and Girls, to supply digital offline learning in rural secondary schools, enhancing and broadening the availability of education to improve learning for rural students. This enables students and teachers to access high quality, relevant, offline content, tools and resources that compliment and work hand-in-hand with the Tanzanian curriculum already being taught in the schools.
Since 2017, we’ve installed four computer labs and 130 tablets across seven rural schools, and supported pupils and teachers with a digital learning mentor. Having never seen a computer before, students have now logged in over 50,000 times to the Shule Direct application in 2019.
“I’m really pleased that the teachers are loving the programme more and more. It was hard in the beginning when teachers didn’t understand how to use them. Now teachers say the students are answering exam questions much better because of the tablets. They love the new software Shule Direct, because it is closely linked to the Tanzanian curriculum.”
Coding Clubs: Enhancing digital skills to build confidence and critical thinking
Lyra runs Coding Clubs to develop students’ digital skills and support the creation of future ‘tech-preneurs’. The clubs:
Provide a training and mentorship coding program for nine months to build basic computer skills, design thinking, idea generation and coding skills.
Support each student to generate an idea where digital technology can be used to solve an identified problem in their community.
Select three girls and one teacher from each school, to take part in the annual tech girls entrepreneurship summit in Dar es Salaam, where their selected coding projects compete with others from across East Africa.
Miriam Kipemba, Mazombe Secondary School
“My mother died when I was 3 years and then I lived with my father until my aunty took us four years ago.
In my family there are two children (me and my young brother).
I joined hostel on 22nd January 2018 when I was in form one. Because of my family living conditions, I requested my aunty to send me to hostel as many challenges occurs during going and coming back from school, especially pregnancy and long walking
When I study in Rachel I understand better and it is difficult to forget because I get other extra materials that helps me to gain higher knowledge.
I want to study hard so that I will achieve my dreams and help my father and my young brother because my family is poor. I want to be the solution to my family and the whole community."