Description
a-ACADEMY is a digital platform designed with children in mind, packed with illustrations, videos and audios that have been created locally to further their education.
a-ACADEMY caters to the growing number of families and schools with access to the internet in East Africa and its offline version is perfect for those without an internet connection.
The creation of such tailored content earned us the endorsement of the Kenyan Ministry of Education. a-ACADEMY is currently being used by 15,000 children.
The challenge
Education remains out of reach for many children in Africa due to multiple challenges like teacher shortage, teacher absenteeism, high teacher turnover or lack of learning materials. Research shows that in Africa only 1 in 3 children are able to access basic education of sound quality.
Our goal
Many African governments realise the potential technology has to bring education to African children, and many have invested in providing equipment such as computers. This technology needs quality digital education content. a-ACADEMY is created to fill this gap and reach those who need it most.
Our strategy
Avallain Foundation works in close collaboration with relevant local authorities such as the Ministry of Education and its different departments, in order to guarantee the highest quality and maximum reach of a-ACADEMY. We liaise closely with schools, other foundations, NGOs and local experts to provide the children with the best possible education and to have a clear understanding of their needs and challenges.
Our impact
After one year a-ACADEMY has already reached more than 15,000 children in East Africa both at school and at home.
As the main donor for the development of a-ACADEMY, Avallain AG requested a Randomised Control Trial to be carried out. This study showed that a-ACADEMY is causing transformations in the slums, that children are learning better and that teachers report that the children are developing more skills at school using a-ACADEMY.
a-ACADEMY is particularly effective with children in underserved schools with poor infrastructure and high teacher turnover. Students in this setting using a-ACADEMY achieved better marks than those not using a-ACADEMY especially in particularly difficult topics.
Next steps
Having developed content for English and Science, Standards 3 to 8 and 6 respectively, to date, we are currently focused on raising funds to develop all of the content for a-ACADEMY. Our aim is to cover the full primary school curriculum from standard 1 to standard 8 including the following subjects: Mathematics, Social Studies, Swahili and the outstanding standards of English and Science.
Additionally, we collaborate with local schools, especially in the slums, to make a-ACADEMY available to as many children as possible and ensure all schools have access to it.
Partners
Testimonials
“Avallain’s a-ACADEMY offers a strong promise of effectiveness through a design that gracefully accommodates technology limitations, supports classroom use, has breadth in coverage aligned with curriculum, and delivers the necessary depth of interaction. The a-ACADEMY is a bright spark of hope for achieving valuable skills in the developing world.”
“A combination of the audio scripts in the audios into a-ACADEMY content is a plus for the sector since it will serve a section of pupils and teachers with certain disabilities.”
“Learning in our schools will never be the same again.”
“The teachers loved the format in which the materials were presented. We shared with teachers from neighbouring schools. a-ACADEMY has transformed our view of e-learning, it is good.”
“The pupils were really enthusiastic about the program and start working on it right away.”
Be part of the solution
If you want to learn more about a-ACADEMY and how to sponsor the development of further content for a-ACADEMY, please contact us. You can make a difference in the education of thousands of children.
