Microsoft East and Southern Africa yesterday officially unveiled mwalimukenya.org at a KEPSHA event in Mombasa. The portal is a formal communication platform for all Kenyan teachers employed under Teachers Service Commission. Through the portal, TSC with the support of Microsoft will provide all teachers with a digital identity and a formal email address (can also be accessed through the Live.Com).
Some of the features and advantages the teachers would enjoy through the portal are;
- Direct communication with their employer without physically traveling to the headquarters in Nairobi
- Ease of curriculum delivery
- Elimination of the need to carry bulky books
- Ease of planning lessons
- Sharing and storing documents online.
To activate an account, a teacher simply needs to log on to the site, enter their TSC number and will instantly receive their @mwalimukenya.org email address.
The portal was unveiled by Mark Matunga, Regional Education Manager for Microsoft East and Southern Africa at the ongoing Kenya Primary Schools Head teachers Association (KEPSHA) delegates’ conference taking place in Mombasa where more than 15,000 of the 22,000 KEPSHA registered head teachers from schools in Kenya have converged.
Full of praise of the portal, Joseph Karuga, National Chairman KEPSHA said the involvement of Microsoft in linking teachers through technology even makes the work of KEPSHA easier and equip the teachers with a tool which is important beyond thee classroom.
And in line with 2011 conference theme, based on Child Friendly Schools (CFS)initiative, Microsoft introduced to the thousands of teachers who visited its stand at the event the Mouse Mischief application which enables for interaction between the teacher and the students through technology. Students were also shown the cost benefits of using the Windows Multipoint Server 2011. It is a Windows-based solution designed specifically to help educational institutions give every student individual access to PCs by allowing multiple users to simultaneously share one computer, each with an independent Windows experience.
Microsoft also availed the Windows 7 and Office 2010 products at a subsidized cost to the Ministry of education. In addition, through a partnership with Safaricom and the Kenya Institute of Education, teachers across the country stand to benefit from basic ICT training, supply of computers, e-learning accessories and high speed internet connectivity through the Teacher Laptop Program.
Education Minister Sam Ongeri opened the conference and some other attendees included District Education officers, Provincial Directors of Education and TSC officials.
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