Following suspension of institution-based learning activities, Equity bank and Mastercard Foundation have teamed up to supply solar powered devices that will support over 14,600 students in the Wings to Fly and Elimu scholarship programs. Most of learning activities shifted to radio, TV and online sources but a good number of Kenyan learners still lack resources or access to services that would ensure continuity in their education.

In response to the current lockdowns imposed in various parts of the country, learning in institutions was untenable, hence most institutions adopted various technologies to offer lessons to learners across the country. Equity bank in partnership with Master card foundation has availed solar powered devices to learners in a bid to ensure they continue accessing lessons currently being aired on Government-owned radio and TV stations. The financial institutions will also provide students with a monthly stipend during this difficult period between June through August to enable access to essential food and personal items.

Following the effects of the corona virus, all learning institutions in the country suspended activities within institutions and instead opted for broadcast channels and digital platforms. Most families in the country experienced difficulty coping with the situation as they can barely meet basic needs and couldn’t afford to acquire necessary hardware for online or broadcast learning.

Scholarship recipients in the Wings to Fly, TVET and Elimu program in partnership with the Government of Kenya, which mostly includes students from poor families, this meant a return to households that could not provide access to learning. EGF moved to support learners by designing a program that would equitably help students and their families to continue their studies at home.

Students received various devices that would aid in their quest to continue learning even while at home such as solar lamps, radios and a mobile charging unit for cell phones.

Google is finally considering bringing one of the most sort after feature – “Explore Maps” to Google photos. If unveiled, the feature will allow Google Photos users to view a Map of the photos and videos taken by their location. Users could only access this feature via a third-party app – “Photo Map for Google Photos” released sometimes last year. This will not be the first time a tech company has made a third-party feature native to its products owing to popularity.

Thanks to some researchers who often tear up application’s code to reveal hidden or upcoming features, we get to see some of the ongoing works on certain apps though it’s not always guaranteed to make a debut to the masses. While these features often end up being released, it’s not uncommon to see a company pull off the feature altogether before release.

According to reliable insights from the Google Photo’s version 4.52 that started rolling out on the Google Play Store, android developer Alessandro Paluzzi spotted a new “Explore Map” feature within the application. It’s a pretty nifty addon that gives users control to group and view photos as per location.

How “Explore Maps” feature in Google Phots work

After you’ve launched the Photos app, followed by switching to “Search” tab, there’s a new widget below the “Places” section that you can either tap on the “Explore Map” option or select the suggested locations underneath to filter photos taken from that particular location.

For those tapping on the feature for the very fast time, you’ll get a prompt with an introduction to the feature. Explore Maps is designed to help you relive the places you’ve been by exploring your photos that have location data, including shared photos you’ve saved. This feature utilizes location data stored in the photos by your camera’s GPS, Google Location History, and detected landmarks within the photos themselves.

These locations may be highlighted by a heatmap to show you areas you’ve frequently taken pictures. While the feature is in full working mode within version 4.52 of the app, it’s yet to be rolled out to the masses and there’s no guarantee that Google actually plans to do so.

Twitter has secretly been testing reaction emojis on people’s timelines which is a substantial upgrade from the current “heart” tweets in public. The feature is more or less like Facebook’s take only it works completely different from the one’s implemented on the rival network. Reaction emojis will give users variations in showing their feelings on public tweets which provides them with a proper response as well on how they actually feel about tweets.

According to app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, wo’s been credited with cracking apps open to discover upcoming or features that are hidden within the application, the social platform has introduced an experimental panel of emojis that lets you choose from different reactions to a tweet.  The panel is located right next to the Retweet and Retweet with Comment buttons.

Even though Facebook has graciously availed a similar feature to its users for a while, Wong discovered twitters’ version isn’t an exact replica. Though we’re still not 100 percent sure the feature will be unveiled as is as the social network could decide to rework it further before mass rollout.

From the images posted by Wong, there could be an option to React with Fleet, its Stories-like tweets that disappear after 24 hours. Twitter has been testing Fleets over the past months and found that it’s been seeing less instances of abuse when the disappearing messages are concerned.