Quality digital education for rural Kenyan students
ARES is a complete K-12 education system designed to operate in rugged environments, without internet or reliable power. It contains an enormous range of educational content and administrative tools.
The benefits of computer based education are widely recognized. Unfortunately, most rural Kenyan schools are without the resources to provide digital literacy training, resulting in a ‘digital literacy gap’ between rural Kenyan students and many of their peers worldwide.
ARES was designed to close the digital literacy gap at very low cost per pupil through the use of open source digital content, inexpensive servers, mesh networks, projectors and laptops.
A better way to to deliver high quality digital education.
High quality material
Carefully curated collection of material for both primary and secondary schools.
Works without an internet connection
Nearly 500GB of digital educational material such as Khan Academy, Wikipedia, and many others.
Designed to work in the setting of unreliable electricity
Battery backup integral to the system.
Extremely low cost per pupil
The server and mesh network system can cover very large areas and hundreds of students.
Demo the ARES system
Demo an online version of ARES. Occasionally this service is offline for maintenance purposes, feel free to contact us if necessary
Offline Server with Mesh Network
ARES is an offline server system which hosts over 350GB of pre-loaded K-12 education content and teaching tools - accessible by any browser located anywhere on the school campus. Now in its fourth major hardware iteration, each system includes the server, 20 to 30 notebooks, multiple projectors, and a campus wide wireless networking system. ARES never requires internet access, is battery based, and is designed for a rugged environment.
A Focus on Kenya
ARES is principally focused on the specific needs of Kenya and East Africa. ARES now includes all of the Kenyan competency-based curriculums for all grades, and 11 years of the KCSE exams. ARES also includes a robust facility for searching for and linking to content to couple with the Kenyan curriculum, as well as tools for tracking and measuring student progress.
The Digital Educational Content
An expanding body of relevant age-appropriate open source digital educational material now totals more than 350 GB. It includes familiar content from Khan Academy, Wikipedia, the Kenyan curriculum, and many others. In addition, there is a facility for teachers to upload their own materials to share on the network, as well as class administration and student testing tools.
Teacher training, maintenance, follow-up
Immediately before or following installation several teachers from each school receive a two-day intensive program, and ongoing technical and education support from our local Kenyan employees and partner organizations. After that ARES support staff that reside in the local area are assigned to visit each school regularly to provide ongoing training and monitor progress.
ARES Digital Literacy Program
The success of the ARES digital literacy program is dependent on a series of components, in particular ongoing training of participants, maintenance of equipment, and monitoring of progress of students.
Impact on student outcomes
Careful assessment of improvement in graduation rates and National Examination scores is ongoing. To date, one-third of secondary schools in Laikipia County have an ARES system, and three quarters of those have introduced Computer Studies as an examinable subject. Improvement in National Examination scores has been demonstrated.
See ARES at work in this short video: ARES Impact!
Our Founding and Early Years
in 2014 the first iteration of ARES was developed based on the RACHEL system from World Possible.
Growth in Laikipia County, Kenya
Between 2014 and 2023, 41 systems were installed in schools in Laikipia county.
Partnering with Established Philanthropic Organizations
In anticipation of a 100 schools expansion project, ARES and our partner Afretech are seeking sponsorship within Kenya and internationally.