Learn Box

Young girls face a number of challenges that limit them to attain quality education. Factors include cultural beliefs, physical disabilities, a general lack of motivation to excel in their studies because of the ‘high-execution low-result’ setting, home bound and limited access to education resources due to financial barriers and/or unforeseen circumstances.

Our solution is an inexpensive collection of services that will supplement quality education in an innovative way and interactive. Enabling young girls to continue learning in the comfort their homes (offline) and motivating them to ‘Aspire to be better’

Several girls especially those in third world countries, who do not have the advantage to access quality education, educational services and/or resources such as good school or public libraries or own textbooks. Many more are unmotivated.

Contributing Factors

• Financial: More the 50% of home "live below the poverty line." This is especially apparent for secondary and tertiary levels. (The Borgen Project). Quality education is an after-thought due to financial barrier.

• Disabilities: 1 per 2000 children, in Malawi are stricken with blindness and less than 10% of these children actually attend conventional schools and actually finish their studies. Deafness and mental health are apparent as well. There is a lack the services that cater to these groups of children. (Childhood Blindness Research Project, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre)

• Conventional Methods: The prominent method learning is in the classroom setup. In said classrooms their students who learn visual, others learn better audible while learn by practical work. However, they are taught the same. Students who do not shrive in the classroom environment will be at a disadvantage. in particular, many girls are motivate to learn; dropping out into early marriages.

The creation of a platform housing a plethora of services.

• Devices: they are an inexpensive Internet of Things (IoT) based project that cater to aspiring students with disabilities, financial instability, lack of motivation and are home bound.
• Games and applications: designed to provide a virtual playground for the attainment of practical skills and concepts while fueling their attention span.
• Online classes: comprise the conventional standard of learning through tutorials.
• Competitions: designed to test themselves and their progress. 

We envision, raising awareness for our physically disabled marginalized community. Girls regardless of their background, should have a better educational footing, bridging the gap between them and their privileged counter parts. If unforeseen circumstances occur, that prevent them from attend schools, girls will have an inexpensive alternative to compensate. Moreover, to inspire the girls and the youth at large that great things can come from home (Malawi) and ‘Aspire to be better’.

The problem we are addressing deal with the less financially privilege household and those whose children have disabilities or home bound youth due various reasons ranging from mental health, teenage pregnancy. The success of our product ensure it is gender inclusive as it assists girls at any educational level (primary, secondary and tertiary) who are at home due to unforeseen circumstances with their studies on a personal level.

 Our Competitors

We have all of competitors, form your typical online classes e.g. Google Class to the free video stream websites such as YouTube. Websites like Udemy and Skill Share which are custom made for learning all sort of skills. Including all other forms of E-Learning.

What makes Learn Box Different?

The mentioned services above are all great, however, there are two major drawbacks:

• Language Barrier: Majority of natives in third countries use English as a 3rd or 4th language. Learn Box services are tailor-made to incorporate native languages for said countries to appeal to our end user on a personal level.

• Financial Barrier: Majority of aspiring students and guardian find it difficult to consisting use these services due to poor and extensive internet connections. In as much as Learn Box will use established learning platforms such as those mentioned above for instance Skill Share and YouTube, we will provide a once off ($35) device, that will include all the resources provided on those platforms. Essentially bring school to the student.

To assure satisfaction and quality of services delivered, the end users will be involved in all development projects as they will be provided with engineering samples to obtain their feedback and maintaining user-based design.

We are not necessarily against established educational institutions but to provide a cheaper alternative for the less fortunate.

The prominent component of our solution is the Learn Box device. An inexpensive Internet of Things project that utilities an Arduino Mega 2560 micro-controller housing a collection of learning resources and services such as interactive games, exams, tutorials, documents.

Core Hardware

• 64 GB Memory
• Bluetooth Communication Technology
• Joystick and Audio Output (for visually impaired)
• GSM technology

Core Software

• Voice Recognition

Supplementary Hardware

• VGA and HDMI for monitor, projector or televisions.
• Wi-Fi Communication Technology

Our solution incorporates mobile and web technologies for those students who are privilege enough to own a mobile phone and/or a personal computer. 

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online. You can tell your board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the micro-controller on the board. To do so you use the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on Processing.

Over the years Arduino has been the brain of thousands of projects, from everyday objects to complex scientific instruments. A worldwide community of makers - students, hobbyists, artists, programmers, and professionals - has gathered around this open-source platform, their contributions have added up to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great help to novices and experts alike.

https://www.arduino.cc/en/guid...

Assumptions

The girls are willing to have determination.
Learn Box staff and partners are impact-driven

Process
Learn Box Device Production
Establish relationships with organizations.
Build supporting community
Financial Resources
Human Capital
Information and feedback from the community

Preconditions
Political/civic space to operate.
Learn Box communities are will to participate
Partnerships are assisting to facilitate positive change.

Outputs
Skills and knowledge
Discovered passions and ambitions for girls.

Long Term Outcomes
Awareness for the disabled people within communities.
Increase literacy rate for girls and woman
Increase digital literacy rates
Quality education for girls and women.

Currently

We recently deploy a beta version of one of a series of upcoming simple applications early June 2020 called ‘Enumerate Beta’, that anyone can use and give us feedback and work hand in hand in development. So far a total of 17 people are working with us create a beneficial app.

In One Year

This time next we aim to reach 1000 people locally. This being our first year of operation we are dedicating this time to field testing on the services that people want and need. Establishing niche market.

In Five Year

2 million people locally and 10 million globally.

Next Year Goals

• Improving an already existing Learn Box prototype device.
• Raise awareness for those with disabilities and assist their education.
• Have online classes for IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) and MSCE (he Malawi School Certificate of Education) on Skill Share and YouTube.
• Register as a company.

Five Year Goals

• 2 million subscribers for YouTube and Skill Share channels.
• Mass production of the Learn Box device
• Incorporate Machine Learning in the Learn Box to personalize education services.

Our milestones include.

• Starting capital
• Operating Expenses
• Technology Awareness
• Competent Linguists
• Optimization of technology to promote lower prices
• Human capital
• Partnership and relationships

• Talent recruitment to overcome human capital
• Merchandise sales and fund raising to generate capital for operating expenses
• User-based design to raise technology awareness and attract potential partners.

Learn Box solution team current consists of 2 people.

Martin kululanga: Bachelor in Chemical Engineering with Honors

Chisomo Mbale: Diplomas in Biomedical Engineering and Graphic Design

We have 5 years of offline software development, 3 years of electrical and electronics repair and manufacturing and 3 years of educational game development.

We live in the country and society and personally know people with these challenges and have experience some of these challenges ourselves. Our solution will provide an inexpensive alternative to address a majority of the education challenges if operating locally.

For a financial sustainable future, we want ensure multiple income revenue streams.

Donations – For venture capital and operations.

The primary sources of our planned income stems from the donation for our community. To achievements this while first build a social following. Angel investors and donors from or outside the community will be will to financial support when the educational products and services are quality driven and are beneficial to the end-user. To ensure this, before any product launch we involve the community to beta test the product and give us first hand feedback. Current one is going right now on Enumerate Beta.

Adverts

Educational base ads will be incorporated in the games and applications to supplement to the revenue. Ads-free versions of the games and applications will be available for a small fee (>$2).

Sales

• Sales on the portable Learn Box device that houses the applications and services
• Sales of print on demand products
• Online Lessons

Subscriptions

Applying for a low subscription fee of $2 - $5 a month enables

• Early links releases to the apps and education games.
• Discounts to all paid services.
• Credited as a benefactor to all Learn Box’s product launches and impact to the community.

• Build familiarity with potential future partners.
• Exposure for an opportunity to receive grants to further progress our vision.
• Establish a learn box community by attracting talent to form development and human relations teams.

Build Africa

There mission is to educate to end poverty buy constructing academic facilities in rural areas. Working with them will allow us to promote computer literacy, a new angle of learning and with our user-based design system the children will have an opportunity to contribute to their own success from an early stage.

CAMFED

They catalyze the power of vulnerable girls and young women to create a future they imagine. With our vision of bringing education to home by use of our devices and several services, they will be able to overcome the pressures of child marriages and girl exclusion from education imposed by several cultures and unexpected occurrences.

We are providing the opportunity for them to continue with learning and better themselves when unforeseen circumstances occur.

With out user-based design, they will be apart of the product development which will further expose them to technology and engineering principals.