Error message

  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementBase::execute($args = [], $options = []) should either be compatible with PDOStatement::execute(?array $params = null): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2244 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::key() should either be compatible with Iterator::key(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::valid() should either be compatible with Iterator::valid(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home2/renealte/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).

Happy New Year! [2021-01-01]

Happy New Year from Reneal!  It’s always exciting to follow the arrival of the New Year in the Philippines, then Tanzania, and then finally here in the US.  In Tanzania, students finished the school year in early December.  As soon as the school year starts in January, Reneal Team Tanzania will be making their beginning-of-the-year visits to each computer lab to make sure everything is running well.  Reneal’s youngest batch of high school scholars will begin Form 4 in January, their final year at Mwandet Secondary School.  And Reneal’s original group of scholars will be resuming their first year of advanced education in January. 

Neal has been putting the finishing touches on a major upgrade for the Reneal MacBook systems installed at four schools in Arusha District.  The upgrade includes additional educational content, some bug fixes, and a new process for using the Epoptes classroom management software.  Epoptes allows the teacher to observe the screen of each student, and the teacher can also share their screen with all students.  It is particularly useful in Tanzania because most schools do not have a video projector.  However, since the MacBooks have such high resolution compared to the usual Reneal system, Neal needed to add a couple of small programs to readjust the screen resolution of both the server and workstations before using Epoptes.  We shot a video of this new process as well as providing notes, so teachers can easily and effectively use Epoptes in the MacBook labs.  Reneal Technicians Robert Nyangaka and Erick Mneney will be installing the upgrades at each school with a Reneal MacBook lab.

Neal also took advantage of the Black Friday sales to start buying server parts.  He’s put together four servers already for the 2021 projects!  They still need testing and software loading, but they are almost ready to go.  To say that we are excited for 2021 is an understatement!  More news soon, but it appears that Reneal has an opportunity to partner with an organization in 2021 that will allow significant expansion in Arusha Region and perhaps beyond.  I’ve been working closely with Tanzania Country Director David Nyangaka to draft some plans for this effort.  As great as 2020 has been for Reneal in Tanzania, 2021 looks even more promising!

[Photo: Neal building a server]