Love at First Click: A Short Story
Twenty years ago, I was a biology teacher. Today, I’m the CEO of the leading EdTech in Arabic education.
I know what you’re thinking… How? Well, let’s dive in.
It started in the 90’s. I was years into my career as a teacher and I was in love with it. I put a lot of effort into keeping my classes interesting and it honestly paid off. My students were engaged and I knew how to teach them beyond the subject. It was a very fulfilling part of my life that I will always cherish. I see myself back then as almost innocent, unbeknownst to what is yet to come.
A student and I during the end of year water fight.
One day, I was asked to head an environmental research project with a group of students. I jumped at the opportunity. When it came to finalizing the project and showcasing the findings, we were asked to present using this super-new complicated technology no one had really heard about before. My first question was: “What is a Powerpoint?”
Back then, no one really owned a laptop. You couldn’t just use Google every time you needed to know something. So I went to the closest thing I had to Google back then: my students. The tables turned and the teacher became the student. We huddled around a computer in our school library and launched this mystery software. And let me tell you, it was love at first click. Data represented clearly and beautifully through a simple drag and drop! My jaw was on the floor at the possibilities.
Needless to say, I started to use Powerpoint in my own classroom with my students - an instant hit. After Powerpoint, I started to incorporate more and more technology in my teaching. I read all the Wikis, found and shared videos on youtube, learned about Prezi (another jaw-dropping moment for me), discovered virtual labs, and it just kept getting better and better. A new gate for education had suddenly opened up for me and anyone willing to find it.
News traveled and everyone wanted in on these engaging tools that were changing up the way learning happened. So, the principal had an “Aha” moment and promoted me to “Technology Coordinator”.
Looking back at this, I was blessed with a forward thinking principal who believed in me, but most importantly, believed in technology and its never-ending possibilities.
I was growing into the teacher I felt I needed to be and did not know I wanted to be.
Overjoyed, I charged ahead with research, helping all of my colleagues incorporate technology in their teaching. I found a solution for all subjects, except Arabic. There really weren’t any. No platforms, no tools, and no engaging or relevant content. I felt frustrated knowing these teachers, my friends, will not know the comfort of having smart tools to help them.
I did not know what to do. So naturally, I went to a friend. Nisrine Makkouk was a jack of all trades at the school - she taught social studies, human rights and social justice. You can imagine that Nisrine shared my frustration. One thing we also share is our undying refusal to settle for the status quo.
I did not know what to do. So naturally, I went to a friend. Nisrine Makkouk was a jack of all trades at the school - she taught social studies, human rights and social justice. You can imagine that Nisrine shared my frustration.
One thing we also share is our undying refusal to settle for the status quo.
This is Nisrine (left) and a lot of empty chairs in an assembly hall.
That frustration turned into fire, just enough to quit my job, team up with Nisrine, and try to fill the gap. And we did just that. We ruffled up what we had in savings and had the support of our friends to build a prototype. We started by listening to no other than Arabic teachers. We wanted to build something specifically for them, something jaw-dropping.
I wanted Arabic teachers to feel what I felt when I first created a Powerpoint. I wanted to create an Arabic platform to give them what they needed. Kamkalima was created from frustration, fueled by passion, perfected by collaboration.
At the beginning, you asked me “how” when you should have asked me “why”. But that would have made for a very short blog article because the answer is really simple. I love learning. That love for learning transcends my own gratification and hopes it reaches everyone. That is what I want Kamkalima to achieve: love at first click.
