Abstract
This research describes the predicted outcomes of a Kenyan Cloud School (KCS), which is a MOOC that contains all courses taught at the secondary school level in Kenya. This MOOC will consist of online, ongoing subjects in both English and Kiswahili. The KCS subjects offer self-testing and peer assessment to maximize scalability, and digital badges to show progress and completion to recognize and validate non-formal learning. The KCS uses the Moodle LMS with responsive web design to increase ubiquitous access from any device. Access is free and open, and the KCS intends to be a contextualized open educational resource for formal secondary institutions to support blended learning and a free source of non-formal education for lifelong learning. The expected outcomes are that this effort will reduce secondary school dropout rates, improve test scores, become a quality resource for blended learning, as well as validate and recognize lifelong learning in Kenya.
Highlights
Kenya, as many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is extremely poor. 76 % of the population is rural, life expectancy is 56 years of age, and a remarkable 67 % live under the poverty line, which means that 2/3 of the population has an income of less than $2/day (World Bank, 2013)
The Kenyan Cloud School is a current work in progress and the first iterations of subjects in Form I and II are scheduled for completion in the late fall of 2013
The word course is part of the acronym, but the intention of this research is to use aspects from formal courses in combination with the content from the Kenyan curriculum textbooks as outlined in the results. This merging of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) types and Open Educational Resources (OER) concepts can provide a sustainable and beneficial solution that can both supplement formal institutions and address graduation rates and social issues in Kenya, while at the same time successfully prosper as standalone courses to provide an avenue for lifelong learning
Summary
As many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is extremely poor. 76 % of the population is rural, life expectancy is 56 years of age, and a remarkable 67 % live under the poverty line, which means that 2/3 of the population has an income of less than $2/day (World Bank, 2013). 76 % of the population is rural, life expectancy is 56 years of age, and a remarkable 67 % live under the poverty line, which means that 2/3 of the population has an income of less than $2/day (World Bank, 2013). Kenya has a population of approximately 40 million habitants. The poorest quintile goes to school on average for 6 years, and the richest quintile goes to school on average for 8 years (World Bank, 2013). Mobile devices are commonplace in developing countries and ubiquitous in Kenya. Kenya has around 29 million mobile subscribers, and mobile penetration is around 75% (Communications Commission of Kenya, 2012). Internet access in Kenya is around 27%, 15% access the Internet via smartphones, and the usage of mobile devices and the Internet is increasing (Kenya ICT Board, 2011)
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