BRCK Education, a local technology firm based in Nairobi, has launched a tablet that will be running web-based content and locally cached videos. The tablet, branded BRCK-Kio, is one component of a game-changing portable kit made up of 40 ruggedized BRCK Kio tablets.
It comes with BRCK, which is an internet connectivity device made for low infrastructure environments; wireless charging to reduce breakage, and a hardened, waterproof, lockable case for added security. The kit and everything inside it is ruggedized to be both dust and water resistant.
The easy to use, custom-made tablet is designed for use by Standard 1 pupils in harsh environments across rural Kenya where electricity is unreliable. It can be used for 8 hours without power and is rugged enough to allow for occasional drops and spills.
Speaking at the official launch the BRCK Education and the unveiling of the BRCK-Kio and the BRCK-Kio kit, the division’s President Nivi Mukherjee said: “Kio is a breakthrough solution that can run multimedia content and offers a lighter technology footprint with an intuitive interface designed for children. Through it, we are offering limitless opportunities to children who will be exposed to educational information and knowledge that is beyond the four classroom walls.”
Ms Mukherjee said the BRCK-Kio will transform the role of the teacher from an instructor to a facilitator. “We expect that this will have a powerful impact on the way education is delivered not only in Kenya but across Africa and other emerging markets,” she said.
The BRCK Kio Kit provides a “digital classroom in a box” model that connects any school within range of a mobile phone tower to the internet, as well as provides locally hosted content to the Kio tablets within each kit. “We wanted to take a holistic approach to education, hence the design of an easy to use digital solution that is uniquely tailored for the African environment,” BRCK CEO Erik Hersman said.
BRCK Education has entered into partnership with several international and local organisations such as Kenyatta University, Pearson, Intel- Education and e-Limu, Know-Zone, e-Kitabu in an effort to refine the experience of accessing digital content. The BRCK Kio tablet and BRCK kit are currently manufactured abroad but there are plans to move the assembly and manufacturing operations to Kenya in order to make more cost effective tablets.
The BRCK Kio Kits are available for pre-order while general availability will begin in January 2016. BRCK Education has also signed an agreement with Chase Bank that will see it provide credit facilities to schools that are keen on leveraging technology as an equaliser in achieving academic excellence.
NEXT READ: UNIVERSITIES BATTLE FOR LAPTOPS TENDER
Leave a comment