The journey of eduActiv8 began in December 2011 as a very personal project. My son, at the time, needed some extra support with basic maths and language skills. Inspired by his budding curiosity, I set out to create interactive activities that would make learning fun and accessible for him. What started as a handful of simple Python and Pygame exercises quickly grew into a much larger educational toolkit.
Witnessing the success of those early activities - and seeing how they helped my son blossom into the maths whizz he is today - was incredibly rewarding. This tangible impact gave me the confidence to pursue a deeper understanding of technology, inspiring me to enroll in and successfully complete a degree in Computing and IT. In many ways, eduActiv8 wasn't just a tool for my son's learning; it became a significant part of my own educational journey.
The project has also benefited immensely from the expertise of my wife, Kamila, a Psychology graduate. Her invaluable insights were crucial in shaping eduActiv8 into a truly child-friendly and intuitive platform. Her guidance ensured that the activities were not only effective educational tools but also age-appropriate and genuinely engaging for young learners.
Initially known as pySioGame, eduActiv8 wasn't intended for public release. However, thanks to the encouragement of a friend, I decided to share the first alpha version on SourceForge in April 2012. The response was immediate and heartwarming. Early users eagerly contributed translations, bug reports, suggestions, and invaluable encouragement.
Since then, eduActiv8 has evolved significantly. The interface has been redesigned for better usability, a configuration and user management system was added to track progress, and activity difficulty levels can now be manually adjusted via XML. This collaborative growth led to the software being included in numerous Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and Mageia. Today, eduActiv8 is used in schools (including those with a focus on special educational needs) and homes around the world.
While development may no longer be as rapid as in the early years, eduActiv8 remains a true labour of love. Our future plans include expanding coverage of the maths curriculum and further developing the language and science sections. The journey continues - one update at a time.
Thank you to everyone who has supported eduActiv8 - whether through your valuable feedback, dedicated translations, bug reports, or generous Ko-fi donations. Your support is vital; it helps keep this project alive, evolving, and freely available for learners everywhere.