Introducing Kolibri: The Android App Release
Drum roll, please… Kolibri: The Android App Release is here! This significant update — the last on our ‘new era’ series — gives Kolibri a whole new look, some robust new features, and an Android App! Can we hear a woot, woot?
We couldn’t be more thrilled to announce this new version of Kolibri. Especially designed to give more autonomy to learners, coaches and administrators, this release brings some important new features to streamline learning, and improve resource discovery and management. Additionally, we are opening up our Kolibri Android App for public testing, enabled by new resource syncing and independent learner workflows. Here’s a closer look at what’s new:
A New Look!
Kolibri’s look has been updated as part of the recently announced Learning Equality’s brand refresh. The new Kolibri brand brings a more vibrant color palette, a revamped logo, and fun graphic elements to make learning in Kolibri a more engaging experience. Our new brands can be experienced across all our product ecosystem and communication channels. We hope you like it!
Seamless Syncing and User Setup
Robust Syncing of User Data and Resources:
The Android App Release builds on earlier work to introduce a highly reliable system for syncing user data and resources. This ensures that learners can access their progress and materials across different devices without any hassle, fostering a more fluid learning experience.
Quick Learner / Independent Learner Setup:
Getting started on Kolibri is now easier than ever. Our new onboarding experience allows users to join a facility effortlessly or quickly set up as independent learners with our rapid “on my own setup” option. This streamlined process means learners spend less time setting up and more time engaging with educational content.
Data Transfer for Independent Learners:
Independent learners can now transfer their existing data and learning progress to a learning facility. This feature is particularly beneficial for learners who begin their journey independently and later join a structured learning environment, ensuring a smooth transition without losing their progress.
Enhanced Resource Discovery
Automatic Transfer of Assigned Resources:
Assigned lessons and quizzes are now automatically transferred to learner devices for when they are being taken away from the central server. This allows coaches to dynamically manage and distribute content without needing an administrator to import all materials beforehand, making the coaching / instruction process seamless, and optimizing the limited storage space on learner devices.
Browsing the Public Kolibri Library and Local Kolibri Libraries:
Both administrators and independent learners can now view other Kolibri libraries on their local network and browse resources without importing them. If connected to the internet, superadmins and independent learners can also access Learning Equality’s public Kolibri Library hosted on Kolibri Studio. This feature broadens the scope of accessible educational content and facilitates easy resource discovery.
Downloading Resources for Offline Access:
Learners can download resources from other Kolibri libraries to their device for offline viewing. This ensures that even when they are no longer on the same network, learners have continuous access to the materials they need.
Administrator Support
PIN Protection for Learner Devices
To prevent learners from inadvertently making changes, administrators can now add a PIN on learner-only devices. This allows administrators easy access to the Device page while keeping the device’s settings secure.
Scheduled Syncing and Log Management
Administrators can schedule the syncing of facility data to other Kolibri servers or Kolibri Data Portal, on a recurring basis at custom intervals. Additionally, when exporting log files, they can select the date range for the logs, providing more control and flexibility in managing data.
Practice Quizzes: Preparing Learners for Success
New Practice Quiz Feature
This release introduces practice quizzes, enabling learners to prepare for assessments independently. Learners can take these quizzes multiple times, view their scores, and retry as needed. Practice quizzes are available as a resource through the Library or can be assigned as part of a lesson, ensuring that learners have ample opportunity to practice and improve before formal assessments.
New Quiz Features
Updates to our quizzes provide coaches more flexibility in creating quizzes by swapping out questions or removing questions to create the quiz they want. Coaches choose resources from which questions are selected. They can then review individual questions, and replace or remove individual questions, customising the quiz to learner needs. Coaches can also divide the quiz into sections of up to 25 questions each, allowing for longer quizzes.
The Kolibri Android App
With this release, we are also excited to open up public testing for the much anticipated Kolibri Android App. The App is intricately integrated with our new resource syncing and independent learner workflows, offering a cohesive and enhanced mobile learning experience. This open test track serves to gather valuable feedback to help improve the product and ensure it meets needs. So we invite you to download the Kolibri Android App, explore its features, and share your inputs with us. The results of this testing phase will inform the final iterations before we release the Kolibri Android App publicly on the Play Store.
Our Thanks
We’re fortunate for the ongoing support from our community towards the development of this functionality in terms of providing their knowledge, experiences, development skills, and financial support.
As always, we have immense gratitude for our community contributors, and for this particular release, we thank the support of Vodafone Foundation and Endless Network, who directly contributed to the development of some of the core functionality.
Kolibri: The Android App Release is a significant step forward in making quality education more accessible and manageable for learners and facilitators in low-resource, low-connectivity environments. We are thrilled for you to experience our new brand and these new features and look forward to your feedback. Happy learning!
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join Us
There are many ways you can help make quality educational materials and digital tools accessible by everyone:
- If you speak more than one language and are interested in translating Kolibri into your language, email us at i18nteam@learningequality.org.
- See a bug? Don’t hesitate to file an issue on Github or send us feedback via the Community Forum.
- Already using Kolibri? Share your story with us via the Community Forum or send us an email at info@learningequality.org.
You can also watch #KolibriFly on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Theads, and LinkedIn, and stay in the loop with Learning Equality by subscribing to our newsletter.
