Author: kyrgyzisoc

Ответы на вопросы о платформе Илимбокс

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

Команда ISOC старается сделать доступными школьные образовательные материалы, используя современные технологии. Несмотря на обилие обучающего контента в интернете, учащимся школ с кыргызским языком обучения сложно найти необходимые данные на родном языке. Для помощи школьникам наша команда начала работать над проектом Илимбокс.

В рамках данного проекта мы создаем онлайн платформу, которая содержит цифровые образовательные материалы: видео уроки, теоретическую информацию, тесты, картинки и др. Все обучающие материалы создаются основываясь на учебном плане рекомендованном МОиН КР.

Почему мы не создаем свой контент, а работаем над контентом Министерства Образования?

Многие узнав, что мы оцифровываем, сжимаем, улучшаем и дополняем имеющиеся учебные материалы МОиН, задают нам этот вопрос. Нам часто рассказывают про недостатки нынешней школьной образовательной системы, про ошибки в учебниках, про сложность “языка”, о том, что за рубежом все давно ушли вперед. И утверждают, что работа, которую мы проделываем, вскоре окажется никому никому не нужной.

Мы согласны, что у нынешней системы образования много недостатков. Но в главный угол приоритетов мы ставим школьников из отдаленных сел, которые в данный момент оказались лишены базовых источников знаний.

Чаще всего в сельских школах есть проблема с нехваткой учебников, не говоря уже о произведениях мировой литературы. То есть, у детей просто нет обычных  печатных книг. Другая проблема — это технические возможности: наличие компьютеров, проводного интернета и прочих инструментов. Все это требует значительных финансовых вложений, как от родителей школьников, так и от государства. И третья, и самая важная проблема, это контент на кыргызском языке. По данным ИСУО 60,1%  составляют школы с кыргызским языком обучения. Но даже при наличии у школьника доступа к скоростному интернету, цифровых образовательных данных на кыргызском языке критически мало, либо они низкого качества, что существенно понижает мотивацию школьника к образованию.

С началом пандемии Covid-19 дети лишились возможности получать знания на прямую от учителей, также как возможность пользоваться школьными библиотеками. Единственный способ получать образование — это использовать онлайн инструменты. Но как было сказано выше, ресурсов недостаточно, а создание новых затрачивает куда больше времени, за которое может вырасти не одно поколение, так и не получив возможности на получение знаний. Именно поэтому мы работаем над улучшением имеющихся ресурсов.

Что можно найти на Илимбокс?

Видео уроки для школьников с 7 по 11 классы, теоретический материал, тесты к каждому уроку, интерактивные задачи, ссылки, карты и многое другое. Мы работаем над основными 12 предметами: Алгебра, Геометрия, Информатика, Физика, Химия, Биология, География, История, Кыргызская литература, Кыргызский, Русский и Английский языки. Весь контент создается на основе учебного плана, делится по четвертям и темам видео уроков.

Видео материалы и изображения загружаемые на сайт сжимаются с использованием умных алгоритмов, благодаря которым, статичная информация не теряет качество. А в результате сжатия, видео уменьшается в размере до 5 раз, что существенно ускоряет скорость загрузки.

Кроме прочего, мы можем оцифровать книги, сделав их масшиносчитываемыми. Такие книги адаптивны для просмотра через разные экраны, в них можно делать поиск по словам, добавлять внутренние и внешние ссылки, их легко редактировать и обновлять без значительных финансовых вложений.

На каком мы сейчас этапе?

На данный момент мы работаем над 8,9 и 10 классами. Также мы набираем учителей практиков для работы над платформой. Учителя должны разработать методы переноса оффлайн уроков на онлайн формат. Разработать закрепляющие тесты в соответствии с установленными стандартами, составить рекомендации по обогащению учебного контента дополнительными образовательными ресурсами и по улучшению доступности учебного материала. Работа предстоит удаленная, поэтому учителей, прошедших интервью, мы будем обучать цифровым навыкам бесплатно.

Требования к учителям:

Очное обучение
Стаж работы от 7 лет и выше
Положительные рекомендации
Быть жителем Иссык-Кульской области
Иметь личный компьютер
Обладать базовыми цифровыми навыками

Для участия необходимо заполнить форму.

Параллельно мы работаем над улучшением самой платформы и поиском решений для лучшего взаимодействия с разными группами пользователей.

Почему мы работаем над контентом для старших классов?

В основном потому что у них больше возможностей для использования интернета и мобильных устройств. Мы считаем, что в обучении детей младших классов нужна большая осторожность в использовании смартфонов или других инструментов.

Что дальше?

Изучение точных наук потеряло свою актуальность для многих школьников. Причин много, некоторые из которых — это отсутствие лабораторий, сложный язык преподнесения информации и непонимание того, как точные науки могут им пригодиться в будущем.

Очень скоро мы планируем работать над созданием коротких видео экспериментов по Физике и Химии для старших классов на кыргызском языке.

Одна из важных ценностей нашей команды – это поиск единомышленников. Мы открыты для сотрудничества и работы со всеми организациями, проектами и группами для решения проблем в сфере образования, используя современные технологии.

Мы искренне верим, что при правильном подходе, IT решения могут не только дать возможность получать обучение, но и сделать доступным и продуктивным образование в целом.

Автор: Жазгуль Зуридинова
менеджер проектов в ISOC

ilimbox 2.0 team has visited 5 schools

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

To study user interaction, our team collected focus group user stories in December 2020. The focus group consisted of 50 teachers from 5 schools:

  1. Novopokrovsk school-lyceum №2 named after N.S. Baranova
  2. Novopavlovsk innovative educational complex-lyceum №1 named after Ch.Aitmatova
  3. Secondary school №11 of Bishkek
  4. Bishkek boarding school №1 named after A. Kanimetova
  5. Kok-Jar secondary school named after A. Zhumagulova

Survey results:

Rate from 1 to 5 the complexity of registration:
* 10% — put 5 out of 5
* 26,7% — put 4 out of 5
* 30% — put 3 out of 5
* 20% — put 2 out of 5
* 10% — put 1 out of 5

Rate 1 to 5 for the availability of the information provided within the lesson:
– 31% — put 5 out of 5
– 58,6% — put 4 out of 5
– 10% — put 3 out of 5

Can you help your students with registering for ilimbox.kg?
– 83,3% — yes
– 16,7% — no

Examples of suggestions for improvement:
1. Add virtual labs for physics;
2. We teach using the old textbook because there are not enough books, we ask you to provide new textbooks for the 7th grade English;
3. Show test passing times, make tests colored;
4. Enlarge fonts;
5. It would be great to add crosswords.
All the suggestions were moved to Google tables for analysis and study.

Interactive tasks on the Ilimbox platform

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

Our team is constantly learning and trying new and modern online education tools.

To improve the comprehension of lessons and test competencies, it should be possible to interact with the content, therefore, in addition to the gray text, interactive tasks are added to the subjects. This makes the course interesting, and the mastery of the subject as easy as possible. For example, an English course looks like shown in pic 1.

pic 1.

As you can see, the student can test their knowledge right on the lesson page. This helps to better understand the topic of the lesson. At Ilimbox, we try to make the tasks interactive for each lesson. For example, look at the task shown beside. You just pick the required word and put it in its place:

Donations for Zardaly village

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

Residents of the village of Zardaly have been living without electricity for several decades. While for the whole of Kyrgyzstan electricity has become a part of everyday life, Zardaly residents need to charge homemade batteries using solar panels so that there is at least some kind of lighting in the house at night.


Battery from a truck in one of the houses in Zardaly

But there is good news!

This spring, the ISOC team will install the Internet in the village of Zardaly!

Since the village has never had either electricity or a mobile network, or the Internet, local residents do not use smartphones or laptops. For this reason, we collect used technologies as donations:
– smartphones (note: the screen must be unbroken and the device’s wi-fi technology must be working);
– tablets (with wi-fi technology);
– routers for the Internet;
– laptops (preferably with a working battery);
– printer (b&w).

For our part, our team guarantees full reporting: photos, videos, acceptance certificates, that is, whatever you deem necessary!

On our last trip, Merim Koichueva donated a smartphone to the residents of the village of Zardaly. When our team visited the school, we decided that the only girl in the elementary school – eight-year-old Ryana – should receive it. She was very happy and grateful for this gift!

If you decide to donate equipment to the village of Zardaly, please fill out the form

For more details, write or call the number: +996 755 330 335, we will be happy to answer all your questions!

The ISOC team would like to thank New-Tek LLC, a domestic solar panel manufacturer, for providing a discount on solar panels!
The project is being applied with collaboration to Taza Koom — Center for Strategic Initiatives.

“Internet and Digital Skills for Remote Community of Zardaly” was provided in part by the USG Alumni Small Grants Program, which is funded by the U.S. Embassy Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic and administered by American Councils for International Education Kyrgyzstan. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily express the views of either U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic or the American Councils for International Education.

ISOC team recruits volunteer trainers to travel to Zardaly village

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc
How did it all start?

The ISOC team visited the most remote villages of our country. Every time we came to another special and insanely beautiful village, we tried to learn as much as possible about the inhabitants: about their living conditions, way of life, views, interests, and stories.


Photo: Children at school in Batken region

We met the residents of the villages of Ortok and Zhaz-Kechuu, who live in walnut forests and protect them from poachers, care for and plant new seedlings of future forests every year. And residents of villages in the Batken region who live on the border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, despite the well-known border problems. They repeatedly face conflicts, go through shootings, but every day they try to look for ways of peaceful coexistence with their neighbors. We also visited the villages of Issyk-Kul, Talas, and Naryn regions. We faced the problems of lack of motivation for children to get an education because the only visible path for them is to work in another country.


Photo: villagers in Jalal-Abad oblast

What do we want?

Therefore, it became our dream to return one day with the Internet to these villages and teach young people to use modern technologies for their own benefit. For example, making money through the Internet, self-study, Internet marketing, tourism and everything else that will help them find alternatives to build a better future.

Finally, this year we are starting to make this dream come true! The first village we plan to return to is Zardaly, the most remote village in our country, without electricity.


Photo: Schoolchildren in a village in Talas region

What is required for this?

Now we are recruiting volunteer trainers for further training.

For several weeks we will discuss the training plan, prepare, learn how to correctly present information in Kyrgyz, and collect the necessary attributes for the training. After that, we plan to leave together and stay in this village Zardaly for 5 days, teaching the villagers all useful and necessary skills applicable via the Internet.

How to join?

The exact departure dates will be announced in the second half of March. If you want to become a part of our movement – fill out the form

We will process all applications and contact you for an invitation to the event!

The project is being applied with collaboration to Taza Koom — Center for Strategic Initiatives.

“Internet and Digital Skills for Remote Community of Zardaly” was provided in part by the USG Alumni Small Grants Program, which is funded by the U.S. Embassy Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic and administered by American Councils for International Education Kyrgyzstan. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily express the views of either U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic or the American Councils for International Education.

We started our work to bring internet to Zardaly village

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc
Good news!

Our team has started work on bringing the Internet to Zardaly village!

Now the first stage of our project has begun. Our engineer Erzhigit Imamov left for a detailed study of the area, after which the equipment will be ordered.

The second stage will be the installation of a metal frame and radio retranslators, which will be installed in the vicinity of Zardala, and through them, the Internet will be carried out to the village.

solar panels for powering Internet radio repeaters
solar panels for powering Internet radio repeaters

The third stage: Accommodation in the village of Zardaly for 5 days, to teach local residents digital skills, ways to make money through the Internet, various ways of learning, and much more!


The ISOC team would like to thank New-Tek LLC, a domestic solar panel manufacturer, for providing a discount on solar panels!
The project is being applied with collaboration to Taza Koom — Center for Strategic Initiatives.

“Internet and Digital Skills for Remote Community of Zardaly” was provided in part by the USG Alumni Small Grants Program, which is funded by the U.S. Embassy Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic and administered by American Councils for International Education Kyrgyzstan. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily express the views of either U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic or the American Councils for International Education.

Ilimbox devices installed in 20 schools without Internet

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

In October 2020, the ISOC team, within the framework of the European Union project “Promoting Inclusive Education in the Kyrgyz Republic”, installed Ilimbox devices in 20 schools without the Internet. The Ilimbox, also known as the Internet in a Box, contains basic educational materials available without an Internet connection.

To speed up the delivery of Ilimbox devices, the ISOC team traveled from Bishkek in 3 different directions: Jalal-Abad oblast (9 schools), Issyk-Kul and Naryn oblasts (7 schools), Osh and Batken oblasts (4 schools).

The first group of villages was located in the Ala-Buka district of the Jalal-Abad region, on the border with Uzbekistan. When visiting these schools, our team came across the expression “dwarf school”: due to the lack of teachers, 1st and 3rd grades are taught in one lesson at the same time.

Entrance to the schoolin Ala-Buka district, Jalal-Abad region

Entrance to the school named after E. Bakiev in Ala-Buka district, Jalal-Abad region

The main problems in the region are constant power outages and lack of roads, which is why children come to school on horseback from mountain villages. The following schools are located in Chatkal and Suzak districts: Chakmak-Suu, s. Achy, s. Markai and S. Ortok. Ortok village was remarkable for us. Most of all, the residents of this village complain about the lack of Kyrgyz television: they cannot watch the news and only show Uzbek channels. Teachers at the local school liked the Ilimbox device, and they especially liked the fact that a large amount of educational material can be found in one resource. They also liked our Android application and the ability to manage content without searching the entire phone.

First and third-grade students in one lesson in a dwarf school
First and third-grade students in one lesson in a dwarf school

In Bazar-Korgon region, we visited a school in the village of Zhaz-Kechuu. The road to the village lies through walnut forests and small passes; in winter, due to snow and the lack of a road, residents can only ride horses to the nearest village. Electricity in this village was carried out only this fall. Therefore, residents of Jaz-Kechuu are just getting used to using computers and printers, watching TV, and using a mobile device not only for communication. Despite low digital skills, local school teachers were actively learning to use Ilimbox. In total, the school has about 70 students.

New electricity meter in the village of Zhaz-Kechuu
New electricity meter in the village of Zhaz-Kechuu

In the Issyk-Kul region, Ilimboks devices were installed in the villages of Eңilchek and Ak-Shyirak. Eңilchek was a developed mining village in the past. Now only about 150 people live here permanently. The local school has 5 classes with about 20 children and 11 teachers. The village has a mobile connection, but there is no Internet, which is why the electronic library was met with great interest: the teachers liked the offline Wikipedia most of all, using which they can find out more useful information, which means they can prepare interesting and informative lessons.

Ak-Shyirak school stidents
Ak-Shyirak school stidents

The second village of the Issyk-Kul region, Ak-Shyirak, is located 5 hours drive from Karakol. Departure to the city is hampered by mudflows and snowfalls. The villagers rarely travel to the city. The number of students is more than 70, children from neighboring villages live in dormitories, warm houses have also been built for teachers from other cities. There is a mobile connection, but no more than 4 people can use it at the same time.

Next, Ilimboks devices were installed in the Nookat region in the villages: Kayyudy and Kichi Alai. Both villages are considered the most remote villages in the Osh region. The village of Kayindy begins with a birch grove and is surrounded by mountains. Nature here is indescribably beautiful. The school has about 30 students, but the village has no Internet, as well as mobile communications. In the village of Kichi Alai, there is a mobile connection, but the mobile Internet does not provide sufficient speed for children to fully watch video lessons.

Ilimbox connected to a TV in the village of Kara-Shoro in the Alai district of the Osh region
Ilimbox connected to a TV in the village of Kara-Shoro in the Alai district of the Osh region

In the Kadamjai region, an electronic library was installed in the village of Shoro. The road to this village lies through the Shakhimardan enclave, through which only local residents are allowed. Therefore, the team members had to go through a bypass, which was 3 times longer. This school had a TV with Wi-Fi technology, so we were able to connect the Ilimbox device to the TV and demonstrate another way to use Ilimbox. In sunny weather, you can use the mobile 4G Internet, but in the rain, the network completely disappears.

The final was a school in the village of Zardaly in Batken oblast, which is located in a remote area and is not connected to electricity. Only on foot, the ISOC team walked about 3 hours 12 kilometers along narrow mountain trails. For the students and teachers of the village of Zardaly to use the Ilimbox device, electricity was required, for this, a solar panel, a battery, and a charge controller were purchased. The equipment was transported on donkeys. In some places, the equipment was carried by hand. Until they finally reached the village of Zardaly. The solar panel and Ilimbox were installed at the school, complemented by solar street lights donated by the team to the residents of Zardala. The school has about 11 children, 3 teachers work, including the director.

ISOC Team and Zardaly Villagers Carry Solar Panel Through Narrow Mountain Trails
ISOC Team and Zardaly Villagers Carry Solar Panel Through Narrow Mountain Trails

ilimbox – Educational Platform for Secondary Schools

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

Educational platform for educators and schoolchildren across Kyrgyzstan schools with localized curated content (website platform, mobile apps, devices in schools), meet local educational standards but enriched with updated knowledge. 

We provide children in Kyrgyzstan, their parents, school administrations, teachers, and publishers with access to user friendly, intuitively clear secure educational platforms to be able to obtain distance and online education while being in quarantine, having physical disabilities or constraints:

1) To deploy Moodle open-source solution on ilimbox.kg website and customize it in user-friendly way (mobile);

2) Upload and structure all available learning materials on one platform organized by classes, school curriculum, competencies; 

3) Convert all textbooks from pdf to machine-friendly format so that it would be easy to search required text, read it, increase the font of the text, etc.

4) Provide video conferencing tools on the platform.

Ilimbox’s online education platform will help the Ministry of Education in digital transformation of the education system, adaptation of their standards and curriculum, and open new ways for learning and reaching out to school-age children even in remote areas of the country as well as from underserved and vulnerable communities. Migrant parents could watch the progress of their kids and join remotely to classroom events, for example. Ilimbox plans to continue developing by opening platforms to third-party publishers and development partners (US Embassy, WB, ADB, UNDP, UNICEF, independent) who would like to provide additional learning materials for children. Ilimbox will keep its sustainability by keeping fees from new publishers and authors for covering maintenance and R&D costs.

For more information please follow: https://ilimbox.kg/

IlimBox – Internet in a Box for schools in Kyrgyzstan

Posted on by kyrgyzisoc

“IlimBox” is a digital library for schools and public libraries, containing Wikipedia in Kyrgyz, Russian and English, the Khan Academy electronic library in English, thousands of video lessons, audio and electronic books. All these digital training materials are available offline, in other words, they do not need access to the Internet. Access to Digital Libraries will be via smartphones, tablets, computers and any other personal devices with Wi-Fi technology.

ISOC-Kyrgyz Chapter had installed fifty devices of Ilimbox in understaffed and under-equipped rural schools in the northern provinces of Kyrgyz Republic.  Ilimboxes had been demonstrated in the halls of schools for teachers and students from the 6-10th classes. Public had positively welcomed this initiative and fully supported it in places. Teachers found materials very useful for preparing class materials and assignments, while school children asked to upload additional textbooks and materials that initially were not installed in Orange Pie devices. Based on their user feedback, the team took a pause in Ilimbox distribution for the time of spring recess in schools and had been working with different stakeholders to receive permits for sharing their textbooks and educational materials. The software part had been completely redesigned, user interfaces changed and overall product recognition improved. Starting from the new academic year in September, the team had traveled across the region, made presentations, training sessions, and distributed three fourths of the devices for users. There are about 25 thousand students and teachers who benefited from the installation of fifty devices and the accomplishment of the project.

For more information please follow: https://isoc.kg/ilimbox/