| Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) | |
| Type: | SPV |
| Industry: | Educational |
| Former Name: | IT@School |
| Successors: | --> |
| Founded: | in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India |
| Founders: | --> |
| Hq Location City: | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| Hq Location Country: | India |
| Area Served: | Kerala |
| Owner: | Government of Kerala |
| Parent: | Department of General Education |
Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) is a state owned special purpose company under Department of General Education of the Government of Kerala.[1] [2] It was developed to support ICT enabled education for schools in Kerala. The erstwhile IT@School Project was transformed into KITE for extending its scope of operations in August 2017.[3] [4] KITE was the first SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) company to get funded by KIIFB (Kerala Infrastructure and Investment Fund Board).[5]
IT@School project was established in 2001 and IT campaigns were conducted statewide. Initially, Microsoft had shown interest in the IT@School project, but this was rejected and government went with Free Software.[6] In 2003, IT became a compulsory subject in state school curriculum with IT practical exams. The transition to Free Software was completed in 2006.[7]
In 2017, IT@School project was promoted into a government company named KITE.[8]
See main article: Kite Victers. KITE is the nodal agency for implementing the EDUSAT network, and runs an exclusive channel for education called KITE VICTERS (Versatile ICT Enabled Resource for Students), which is aired from 6am to 11pm. VICTERS offers interactive virtual classrooms that enable the school students as well as the teachers to directly communicate with the subject experts and educationists.[9]
KITE GNU-Linux previously known as IT@School GNU/Linux is a Debian based Linux distribution that was created for the KITE Project (previously IT@School project) to impart ICT education in public schools in the state. The distribution was originally developed by SPACE[15] and is currently being maintained by the internal team at KITE.
IT@School GNU/Linux is a operating system released by Kite (previously IT@School) it is based on Ubuntu 18.04 with free software customized as per the school curriculum prepared by scert . This operating systems powered more than 2,00,000 computers in various schools under the State board of Kerala .[16]
KITU GNU-Linux lite 2020 is a operating system released by KITE on international mother language day. This is a lite version of KITE GNU/Linux 18.04 based on ubuntu 18.04 . This was created in order to install it on older computers with low specifications .It also includes a collection of Malayalam unicode fonts and a dedicated English-Malayalm dictionary[17]
KITE GNU-Linux 20.04 is an operating system released by Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan on behalf of KITE. This version is based on Ubuntu 20.04 . Most of the applications have been updated to their latest version in this version of the OS
This version also featured the inclusion of CAD software Libre CAD instead of expensive AutoCAd
KITE designed a program to support English Language Teaching (ELT) called the E Language Lab. One component of this program was the development of stories in print, audio, video formats and sharing the same with teachers using the Moodle learning management system.Forty stories were developed during the COVID period and during 2022-23, the program was implemented across the state in government and government aided schools.A longitudinal impact study conducted by the Regional Institute of English, South India, and IT for Change, found significant improvement in student English communication skills.
'Little kites' IT Club is an initiative of KITE which features more than 1 lakh student members.
Students are given intense training in areas such as Animation,Cyber Safety,Malayalam Computing,Hardware and Electronics.
Little kites is the largest Student IT Network in India[19] [20]
Some of the free software applications developed or customized by the Project include the following.
The "Service Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala" (SPARK) is a program of Department of Information Technology (DIT) of the state's government for digitizing the service book details of all employees of the state so that the database could be used for the decision makers and to ensure the welfare of the employees.[22]
School Wiki, modelled on Wikipedia, attempts to foster the culture of collaborative learning in Kerala's schools. This collaborative website is completely prepared in Malayalam.
All high schools in the state include their educational contents and other details in their allotted space. Each school would be able to enter details such as basic elementary data, their historical references, statistics, infrastructure details, details of alumni, school websites and blogs, various clubs and forums, class magazines, supporting images and videos. Apart from these contents, analytical language projects such as 'Pradeshika patram' – school newsletter, 'Nadodi Vijnanakoshan' – local encyclopedia and 'Ente Nadu' - 'My Village', which are part of learning Malayalam language, would also be entrusted to all students in Std 8, 9 and 10 respectively, which, under the guidance of language teachers, would be completed and the reports and findings would enrich the knowledge base of School Wiki. By facilitating the students to access and modify all contents in School Wiki, the project also ensures the participation of the general public including school alumni.[23]
The "Total Physical Fitness Programme" software manages fitness details of 30 lakh students are available for further action.[24] [25]
| Title | Category | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National e-governance Awards | Best project | 2005 | |
| e-India Awards | 2008[26] | ||
| World is Open Awards | 2008[27] | ||
| Open Document Format Alliance Awards | 2009[28] | ||
| Kerala state e-governance Awards | 2010 | ||
| Stockholm Challenge Awards | Honorable mention in the education category | 2010[29] | |
| e-India Awards | Best skill development initiatives of the year for ANTS | 2011 | |
| State television Awards | Best Narration, Best Education Program | 2017[30] | |
| Social media for Empowerment Awards South Asia (SM4E) | Special mention | 2017[31] | |
| Digital Technology Sabha Awards | 2018[32] | ||
| World Education Summit Award | Hi-tech school Project | 2018[33] | |
| State Television Awards | Best students programme,Best Anchoring (Edu. programme),Best documentary (General),Best Commentator,Special jury mention (Documentary) | 2018[34] | |
| CIET-AICEAVF | Best video programme in senior secondary division | 2018[35] | |
| State Television Awards | Best students programme | 2019[36] | |
| State Television Awards | Best students programme and Best Anchor | 2020[37] | |
| mBillionth Awards South Asia | Learning and Education | 2021[38] | |
| Social media for Empowerment Awards South Asia (SM4E) | Innovations @Covid19 | 2021[39] | |
| E-Governance champion Award | 2022[40] | ||
| World Education Summit Awards | Platform for online classes | 2022[41] | |
| Digital Technology Sabha Awards | Cloud category in government sector | 2022[42] | |
| CM's Award for innovations in public policy | 2022[43] |