The offline internet initiative in education

Introduction

Supported by the Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA) Facility, Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (BSF)’s project leverages offline internet solutions to provide teachers with access to high-quality educational resources. Using Ideas Cube nano-servers and Kajou micro-SD cards, teachers can access videos, digital books, and interactive learning materials in local languages. Additionally, the project introduces an AI-powered pedagogical assistant available offline to guide teachers in best practices and lesson planning.

In the Kédougou region of Senegal, many schools lack reliable internet connectivity, limiting teachers’ ability to access professional development resources, pedagogical materials, and digital tools. The digital divide prevents educators from improving their teaching practices, contributing to poor learning outcomes among students. There is an urgent need to provide alternative solutions to ensure continuous teacher training and resource accessibility.

This project aims to improve teacher training and facilitate access to digital education resources in Kédougou. To achieve this, Ideas Cube offline learning hubs will be deployed in 70 schools, providing teachers with valuable training materials. Additionally, 700 Kajou micro-SD cards will be distributed to support continuous professional development. The project will develop a digital library containing contextualised  training content aligned with national priorities. To further support teachers, an AI-powered assistant will be implemented to assist in lesson delivery and assessment. Education personnel will be trained to ensure the long-term sustainability and scalability of these offline digital solutions.

Objectives

Overall objective: Leveraging AI and offline internet solutions to enhance teachers’ professional development in the Kedougou Academy of Senegal.

Project activities

• 70 schools in the Kedougou Academy already equipped with offline internet kits will be able to use the new contents in their classrooms.
• The distribution of 700 new Kajou cards, allowing continuous training of the teachers.
• A teaching AI assistant is being developed and finetuned.
• Targeted elementary teachers of Kedougou will receive a series of in-person trainings to improve their pedagogical and transversal skills.

(Expected) results

• The accessibility to high-quality educational resources and training materials for teachers in the Kedougou region is enhanced.
• Contextualised and adaptive professional accompaniment is tailored to individual teacher needs and their skill level  is reinforced significantly.

Implementing Partners

Enabel, Bibliothèques Sans Frontières - BSF