http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/895 2026-05-14T09:39:47Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/912 Creating quick, responsive videos to help students grasp difficult concepts in maths in Kenya Kahenya, Njoroge Paul Mr Paul Kahenya is the Acting Director of the Institute of Open and Distance Learning at Africa Nazarene University in Nairobi, Kenya, and has taught at the university for 14 years. He is responsible for coordinating online learning at the university, which also involves training faculty in how to deliver online teaching and monitoring quality. He also teaches mathematics. Covid-19 brought many challenges, particularly in how to ensure that meaningful learning took place. In response Mr Kahenya began to create a series of videos. “I did it on my own to ensure that my mathematics students [were] trained to understand some of the concepts that they might not just understand by reading notes or a PDF that has been uploaded on to the learning management system,” he says. “I feel that when I create these videos, I try to bridge the social gap between me and my students, when my students hear my voice, and see my face, they kind of create a connection, between us.” The videos are intended to respond to the specific needs and issues that his students have encountered in the course. “What we normally do is, if we meet on a virtual classroom and we realize that there is a certain concept that the students are finding challenging,” he explains, “I take the next step, create a short video, five minutes to 12 minutes.” In the video he tries to explain the particular concept that the students are finding challenging. These are then followed by live chats with students. Videos are uploaded to the universities learning management system, so they become future reference material, as well as being uploaded to YouTube or shared via WhatsApp. This enables other students who did not ask the question to benefit from that video. Mr Kahenya believes that the videos are enhancing students’ understanding and their learning outcomes. Africa Nazarene provides an environment which is particularly encouraging of innovation, he notes. It has what he calls “pro-technology leadership” that believes in empowering faculty to make greater use of digital tools. The university has embedded the use of technology in its strategy and faculty are generally positive about exploring what can be done. Collaborations and networking with other institutions have in turn fostered new ideas. Mr Kahenya believes that they can “achieve more with less by making use of available technology, such as open-source software.” Interview conducted by Dr Augustine Mwangi, University of Nairobi. 2021-04-18T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/911 Basic Mathematics Kahenya, Paul N. The course introduces basic mathematics knowledge and skills that forms a foundation to higher level mathematics. The course covers topics on introduction to set theory: definition of terms and use of Venn diagrams; the Real number system and its properties, absolute value of real numbers and its properties; solving linear system in 2 and 3 unknowns using elimination, substitution and graphical methods, and Cramer’s rule; solving quadratic equations using factorization, completing the square method, quadratic formula and graphical methods, and analytical solutions of quadratic functions. It introduces sequences and series their definitions, types of sequences and series, and the arithmetic and geometric series. The course introduces basic statistics that include definition of terms, measures of central tendency and variations, and finally introduction to probability theory that involve definition of terms and solving problems involving basic probability. Goal: To introduce learners to the basic concepts of mathematics essential for pursuing further mathematical related units at higher levels. Objectives: At the end of the course the learners should be able to: i) Explain basic mathematics concepts. ii) Apply concepts learnt in solving mathematics problems. iii) Demonstrate application of these basics mathematics concepts in real-life problem solving. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/910 Mathematics for Science Kahenya, Njoroge Paul Mathematics for science lays a foundation for mathematical concepts for science and engineering courses. This course is designed to equip science, engineering, and mathematics students with pre-calculus knowledge and skills necessary for pursuing other mathematical courses such as calculus, discrete mathematics, linear algebra among others. The course exposes the students to the concept of conic sections, polar coordinates and their graphs, decomposition of rational functions focusing on the four basic cases. The course will introduce trigonometrical rules for solving triangles, deriving, and verifying trigonometrical identities and formula. The course will cover permutation and combinations and extend the concept to permutation functions. At the end of this course the learner should have attained the following goals: 1) Apply the mathematical concepts learnt in problem-solving and logical skills. 2) Become familiar with basic knowledge in key concepts discussed in mathematics for science. 3) Use the knowledge and skills in solving applied real-life problems. The following are the course's objectives/Intended learning outcomes; i) Convert rectangular coordinates to polar coordinates and vice versa. ii) Solve problems involving conic sections. iii) Decompose rational functions into partial fractions for Cases I to IV. iv) Derive and apply trigonometrical, identities, rules, and formula. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/909 Calculus I Kahenya, Paul N. Calculus I is designed to equip science, engineering, and mathematics students with differential calculus knowledge and skills necessary for application in their diverse fields, and also a prerequisite to integration calculus, numerical methods, probability among other higher level mathematics course. Calculus I deals with differentiation of single real valued functions. It focuses on the limits of functions and continuity of functions. Calculus I introduces the basic techniques of differentiation and key theorems in differential calculus. The course also introduce the learner to the application of differentiation in rates of changes, related changes, kinematics, and optimization. Key Competencies: To enhance learners' competencies in; Calculus knowledge and skills; Critical thinking and analytical skills; Problem solving; Self-management/efficacy; Teamwork; and digital literacy. Course goals: (i) To equip the learners with basic knowledge of differential calculus in particular, definition of terms, the basic rules of differentiation and their application. (ii) To enhance key competencies necessary for future learning in calculus Course Objectives/Intended Learning Outcomes: (i) Explain the concepts of limits and continuity of functions. (ii) Explain and apply fundamental theorems in differential calculus. (iii) Explain and apply the rules of differentiation. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/908 Operations Research Otieno-Roche, Emily The aim of this course is to introduce students to specialized mathematical techniques that can be used to solve managerial problems. Specifically, its aim is to introduce the mathematical and computational methods required to optimize objectives subject to constraints on potential solutions; to introduce students to the mathematical foundations and algorithmic basis of linear programming and related techniques; to give practice in modelling and to provide stimulus and motivation for the further study of advanced mathematical programming techniques. Be able to learn matrices and their applications; Formulate Linear programming problems; Solve linear LP problems using the simplex method; Formulate and solve transportation and assignment problems; Be able to learn and apply transportation model, assignment model, network model and resource allocation. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/907 Probability and Statistics I Otieno-Roche, Emily The purpose of this course is to introduce learners to probability theory and mathematical statistics that emphasizes the probabilistic foundations required to understand probability theories and statistical theories. Specifically the course will focus on: Introduction to statistics and statistical thinking; fundamental elements of statistical analysis; introduction to the use of computers in statistical analysis; describing and exploring data: distributions of data, measures of location, measures of variation, basic elements of probability; random variables; linear combination of random variables; Bernoulli trials and the binomial distribution, the Poison distribution; the uniform distribution, the exponential distribution and the normal distribution; moments and moment generating functions. Be able to: 1. Understand the meaning and use of statistical terms used in statistics. 2. Present and/or interpret data in tables and charts. 3. Apply descriptive statistical measures to situations. 4. Define the axioms of probability, conditional probability, and Bayes rule; know how to compute classical probability using counting techniques. 5. Apply probability distributions to model different types of processes. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/905 Computer Organization and Architecture Njoroge, Victoria Mukami This course introduces the computer science concepts that lay the foundation for the entire course. The purpose of the course is to introduce to the student the general organization of computers, hardware and software components, digital logic, computer architecture and data communication concepts and the fundamentals of problem-solving and algorithm development using a high-level language. The main aim of the course is to familiarize the students with the concepts used and provide a foundation for computer science. It mainly ensures that the student: i) Understand the general architect of computers and organization: processor, memory, input /output, ii) Identify and understand the working of input, output, processing and storage devices, iii) Understand software and its importance in a system, iv) Understand the fundamentals of data communication and networks and v) Understand the fundamentals of problem-solving using high-level language. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/904 Introduction to Database Technologies Njoroge, Victoria Mukami The course is a first-year course that aims to introduce database concepts to first year students. The course provides an understanding of various database terminologies, types of database and various applications of databases. In addition, normalization, entity relationship diagrams and an introduction to mySQL is done. By the end of the course the students will be able to build a database application for an existing case or business need. This course is fundamental for any Computer Science, Information Technology, or any other Computer related course taken by students. The main aim of the course is to familiarize the concepts used and provide an introduction to database technologies. It ensures that the student is able to i) Design, build and query a relational database, ii) Develop a data model to describe an application's data, iii) Apply normalization to data for effective, stable database design, iv) Build a relational database from the logical database design, and v) Access data in a relational database using simple SQL queries. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/903 Operating Systems Njoroge, Victoria Mukami The course is a second year course that introduces operating system concepts to computing students. The course introduces the basic principles of operating systems and introduces to the students the role of the operating system in controlling and coordinating all the operations of a computer. This course is fundamental for any Computer Science, Information Technology, or any other Computer related course taken by students. By the end of the course, the students will be able to show an understanding of the operations of operating systems. At the end of the course the students are able to i) describe and explain the concepts, structure, and design of operating Systems, ii) describe the impact of operating system design on application system design and performance and iii) demonstrate competency in recognizing and using operating system features. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.anu.ac.ke/handle/123456789/902 Object-Oriented Programming - Java 1 Obuhuma, James Computer programming is one of the knowledge areas in Computer Science and Information Technology degree programs. There are four main computer programming paradigms, namely, imperative/procedural, functional, object oriented and logic. This course focuses on the Object-Oriented Programming paradigm. The main Object-Oriented Programming constructs that will be covered include classes and objects, inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism. The Java programming language will be used to practically demonstrate the Object-Oriented Programming constructs. The course will also explore exception handling and file input output concepts as applied in the Java programming language. As a prerequisite, the learners should have been introduced to Computer Programming using an imperative/procedural programming language. The course aims at introducing learners to the main concepts of Object-Oriented Programming. At the end of the course, the learner should be able to describe the Object-Oriented Programming aspects in comparison to imperative programming aspects already covered; to use the Java programming language to practically demonstrate the Object-Oriented Programming aspects, and to understand the concept of exception handling and file input output as used in the Java programming language. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z