Avanti (Tanzania) Satellite supported e-education
iKnowledge Monitoring and Evaluation Project Phase: using satellite services to support e-education in Tanzania .
Mwandet School. Credit: Avanti.
Project Title
iKnowledge Monitoring and Evaluation Project Phase
Target Country
Primarily Tanzania with a few pilot schools in neighbouring African countries
Project Lead
Avanti Communications
Project Consortium
Camara Tanzania, Discovery Learning Alliance, Infinity Africa, Ace Africa (Majibu) and Jigsaw Consult
International Partners
Camara Tanzania, Discovery Learning Alliance, Infinity Africa, Ace Africa (Majibu), Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF) and Tanzania Education Authority (TEA)
Objectives
The project goal is to demonstrate to in-country stakeholders how satellite services can support e-education in Tanzania with a specific focus on sustainable business models and professional development and support for teachers. The project is built on four main pillars.
- Connect: Firstly Avanti will develop and demonstrate a scalable service that combines internet, mobile access and broadcast as channel delivery of educational content to teachers in schools.
- Deliver: Secondly, we will open the network to content providers from within Tanzania and elsewhere catering for the educational curriculum.
- Train: Thirdly, we will train teachers to maximise the use of the educational content in the classroom.
- Sustain: Finally, we will establish mechanisms to assure the operational sustainability of the service beyond the initial project period by using the infrastructure to generate income through schools.
The main iKnowledge impact expected from the project in the long-term is to improve the quality of teaching and to encourage more qualified teachers to teach in rural areas.
Project summary
The overall aim of the iKnowledge project is to transform the learning environment in schools for children and adults in Tanzania through improved sustainable infrastructure, teacher development and an enhanced use of quality educational content.
Teachers in Tanzanian schools do not have adequate internet access and online resources for teaching, and sufficient training for the benefit of children’s educational outcomes. The project delivers internet access to more than 250 schools across Tanzania and has also setup example schools in other African countries. Selected Academy and Teaching Lab schools are also provided with online educational resources. As part of the sustainability plan, a few selected iKnowledge schools are installed with a Wi-Fi Community Access point to generate revenue to subsidise internet access.
The project has three main delivery outputs:
- To improve ICT literacy of school teachers
- Schools to use internet and content for learning and teaching
- Community using internet access through the hotspots.