https://ittrainingkenya.com/Static archivehttps://ittrainingkenya.com/re-inventing-the-wheel/https://ittrainingkenya.com/re-inventing-the-wheel/Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:26:59 +0000I bet you have heard about Udacity.com . Have you not? Udacity is an amazing, amazing organisation. Basically, they offer some of the highest quality computer science courses that I have ever seen! For free. As others have noted , the effect Udacity and similar ventures will probably be felt most in Africa. This is the equivalent of having the best universities "donated" to Africa. But there is a problem. Looking at Kenya, a very small proportion of the society will be touched by Udacity. Why? Because we do not have the infrastructure that enables people to take online courses easily. Many parts of Kenya do not have electricity, let alone the Internet. Would it not be a great shame if our Kenyan brothers had no access to what could be a life-changing opportunity? This is too sad to fathom and we hope to change it! We're going to offer Udacity courses - there I said it! Fortunately Udacity offers a creative commons licence that allows you to use their material in any way (apart from commercially) as long as you credit them. This allows us to do this: we're planning to set up little computer centres huko mashinani . At these centres, people will be able to access these great courses and reap their benefits. We are passionate about opening up IT Training in Kenya and making it accessible to everyone. One way to do it would be to set up a conventional college and hire many teachers. But why re-invent the wheel?https://ittrainingkenya.com/how-technology-is-changing-it-training/https://ittrainingkenya.com/how-technology-is-changing-it-training/Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:41:34 +0000In the beginning it was in the classroom where IT education was given. On the blackboard or the whiteboard, the tutor used to explain the lessons. At the end of the lesson, the students were allowed to go to the computer lab and use what they learnt in the classroom with the help of an instructor. However, this scenario has only changed a little despite lots of new technologies being available for the teachers. But with the advent of the internet, distant education facilities on IT have improved in a big way. There are also facilities for self studies through the internet. Very often, teachers reach their students over the internet. In order to learn IT for your day-to-day use, there are ample opportunities provided by the internet. Lots of tutorials are there in the internet and also there are lots of forums dealing with different subjects. There are articles to read on various subjects that could be used for acquiring IT skills. Even for serious students, internet comes in handy as they are able to scoop information on any subject by visiting the internet. In class rooms also, you have the possibility of using simple technologies such as overhead projectors that could be directly connected to computers. They save time for teachers as it is not necessary to print slides for overhead projectors the way they did before projectors arrived. Teachers also could use computers to write their notes these days. For serious IT training, still it is the class room and the computer lab that are being used extensively. However, text books are not necessary most often as the e-books are available at cheaper rates. As almost all students these days have their own laptops or e-book readers, e-books could be used practically. These are just a few ways technology is being used for IT education.