About a month ago, Microsoft held the Pan African Innovative teachers forum at the Aga Khan academy in Mombasa, Kenya which saw several projects vying for top African awards. Next month will see Microsoft hold the same forum , this time round in a global scale which will see winners from various regions in the world meeting in Cape Town , South Africa. Microsoft annually hosts the forums and are part of its global education program that seeks to implement ICT in education. CIO East Africa looks at some of the presentations that made it to the continental finals from the nationals.
A project that stole most of the limelight, and one of the winners of the awards up for grabs was one featuring visually impaired students from Uganda. Presented by Elizabeth Rwabu from Iganga Secondary School in Uganda, the project helps visually impaired students learn using normal PCs, with the assistance of Microsoft Narrator. The students also improvise the arrow keys as a replacement for the mouse and use of the Windows magnifier utility for those who are able to see slightly.
 
Rwabu says that Supernova Dolphin is a better adapted software for visually impaired computer users, though the rural Uganda school is not in a position to afford the software at the cost of US$ 500 a piece.