MUSANZE-based Sonrise School has introduced a digital library in which Nooks, a hand-held digital reader, will make it possible to access books in digital content and it will cover the education curriculum and books in world libraries.

The state of the art application will support the ‘21st century classroom’ in which 300 computers will, this week, be availed to the new school computer centre,.

Some of the Nooks were yesterday distributed to the school for trial, while over 400 more handsets with a computer memory to store books, will be distributed over the next six months.

Ten computer-linked projectors and four electric smart boards will also be introduced to facilitate, teaching and learning at the school. 

Bishop Laurent Mbanda, of Shyira Diocese, who is also the chairman of the Board of Governors, said that the equipment will take technology at the school to another level.

"It will enable students to learn and carry out research which will ensure high quality education provided here,” Mbanda said.

The equipment was provided by Rwanda Leadership Foundation, an organisation headed by Gaylord Layton, a renowned computer icon.

‘It’s an integrated system through which students will acquire skills, develop the reading culture, and access books which they would not otherwise get in any local libraries,” said Mbanda

Sonrise School has over 1,200 students, half of them orphaned students and survivors of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

At the school, computer classes are taught right from Primary Two, up to Senior Six.

Layton, who has been involved in supporting ICT at the school, said that they target to make Sonrise one of the best information technology schools in Africa that would transfer computer knowledge to other nearby schools.

"Hard-copy books are phasing out, books which have not been digitalised will be scanned and availed on the Nooks, and these will increase access to information,” Layton noted.

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