Kusasa live!

The new Kusasa website is now live and features the complete content for Kusasa levels 1 to 3. The material, which is suitable for learners in grades 4 to 6, includes stories, eToys projects and modules that can be loaded in LAMS, an open source learning management system.

All stories can be read online or downloaded for offline reading. Similarly, eToys projects and LAMS modules can be downloaded and installed on your personal computer or school network. 

Many people have been involved in this project and deserve thanks: Mark Shuttleworth for establishing and funding the project; Helen King and Jason Hudson for their guidance and support; Sam Christie for managing the project at The Shuttleworth Foundation; Gareth Rossiter and Marlene Rousseau for their insight and guidance; and, of course, our team of illustrators. 

We were privileged to work with illustrator Luis Tolosana, inkers John Amos and Brendon Thomas, and colourist and effects artist Monique Giannikos. What a terrific team they’ve been!

To the casual observer, the question may well be asked, why all this emphasis on stories and illustration? Isn’t this supposed to be about analytical thinking? It certainly is. Our view is that our stories and illustrations are not just sugar to make the medicine go down but the essential diet required to support a healthy intellectual digestive system. While eToys provides a fabulous learning environment for children, we believe it needs the support of good role models to develop in children the mental attitudes and habits that underpin analytical thinking. The Kusasa stories were designed to provide such role models in the form of the Thunderbolt Kids: Sophie, Tom, Jojo and Farrah. 

Well, the site is up now and the stories and eToys projects can speak for themselves. We hope you enjoy consuming them as much as we enjoyed creating them!

The Brothers Kayton