In the framework of CBS, the
Young Innovator Award 2016 recognizes inspirational young people between the age of 18 and 30 whose technological innovations contribute to education and learning. Below are some brief descriptions of the participating innovations.
CBS participants were invited to vote for the best innovation, taking into account the following criteria:
- Which one do you think is the most innovative tech initiative?
- Which one has a greater impact on education and learning?
- Which (expected) results do you find most interesting?
Winner
The CBS Young Innovator Award was conferred to
Duncan Mochama, business development manager of BRCK.
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BRCK Kio Kit
A holistic education technology solution that turns every classroom into a digital classroom. Our vision is to enable millions of children in schools across emerging markets to access to digital educational tools for better learning. The Kio Kit is a simple and elegant solution made up of 40 kio tablets, a BRCK, wireless tablet charging to reduce breakage, and a hardened, water-resistant, lockable case. There is a single plug used to charge the kit and one button to power on the entire system.
BRCK - The BRCK is an award-winning, ruggedized WiFi router that has onboard battery and storage so it can seamlessly serve up to 50 devices with interactive locally hosted educational content when there is no or intermittent power and connectivity.
KIO TABLET - Our simple and easy to use Kio tablets offer a lighter technology footprint with an intuitive interface designed for children. The tablet can run multimedia content, has enough battery to manage the intermittent power in rural areas and ruggedized to reduce breakage. Kio tablets are locked to prevent theft and ensure digital child safety. |
Participating innovations
 | Nativo Digital
In developed nations, 8/10 children are digital native. However, in developing nations such as Africa or Latin America, data shows we only reach 1/10. By 2020, there will be a 1.5-million deficit in the USA alone and it has been proven that technology development is at the core of a nation's capacity to be sustainable and innovative. By 2030, over 50% of our jobs are nonexistent. Technology has shaped all industries and software has eaten the world and yet, there are little initiatives developing technical skills for our children in emerging nations. nativo.digital is a web and mobile platform focused on building STEM skills for children in emerging markets. We teach children and teenagers how to code leveraging the power of play, gamification and eLearning. Students can play for free and keep track of their progress with our artificial and deep learning technologies. |
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iAugmentor
I = Personalized; Augment = Increase/Enhance; Mentor = Guide.
The idea behind iAugmentor is to provide a personalized mentor to individuals to augment their skill sets. iAugmentor is a pioneering technology enabled learning platform, bringing together Technology, Human intervention and a Whole gamut of learning activities under one roof with the intention of making learning more effective, intimate and accountable. iAugmentor is continuously assessing the learner’s progress and suggesting a learning road map accordingly. The assessment based learning tool is a Personalized and Adaptive medium that intuitively suggests a learning roadmap to an individual as per the learning tendencies, learning competencies and learning proclivities of the individual, constantly tracking progress as well.
The company offers well‐researched learning material with a variety of learning modes such as video lectures, cartoons, games, quizzes, animations, peer to peer learning, and simulated role plays. In association with IIT Kanpur, iAugmentor is implementing cutting edge technologies on its platform such as Facial and Voice Analysis, Big Data Analysis, Artificial Intelligence, and Augmented Reality. |
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L:ara is aiming at making basic education accessible to the children who need it the most by developing a high quality, scalable learning app, to be run on simple Android smartphones and tablets. Early literacy and early math skills are in focus, as well as assuring that the content is relevant and adapted to the target group. The app will be open source, allowing it to be continuously improved, extended and translated by any individual or organization with the passion and skills to add value to the project. We are working through partnerships, and believe that with this approach we can together make the biggest impact in educating children worldwide. As a first step we are targeting children in eastern and central Africa, with the first version of the app in English and Swahili. L:ara is a non-profit organization and the app will always be free for the children who need it. |
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Easyprep
Easyprep is an internet based educational platform seeking to provide well researched educational content to high school students. It is designed to cater for both academic and social needs of a student. There are three main sections, namely academics, social and multimedia. The academics section contains various modules focused on providing learning materials to students. The materials include lesson notes for various subjects, sample questions on the notes, past papers (KCSE) and actual tests (CATs). Questions presented under any module have detailed explanations provided to enable the student have a better understanding. Progress tracking tools (graphs and charts) have also been implemented to enable students monitor their progress. The social section is made up of interactive modules which have been integrated with educational tools e.g. scientific symbols, to encourage educational discussions while socializing. The multimedia section contains games designed with a purpose of challenging students to improve on basic skills such as typing, widening their vocabulary, etc. Overall, Easyprep gives students access to structured educational content while allowing them to connect and socialize with friends, thereby ensuring that they would not need to exit the platform to visit other websites for social interactions and entertainment. |
