[Arabic]

Inspired by the Xbox Kinect, a motion sensor by Microsoft developed for the Xbox 360 and redesigned for the upcoming Xbox 1, Palestinian entrepreneur Mohammed Ferwana decided to rethink classroom presentations, redeploying the Kinect to sense teacher movements.

He developed a computer application that uses Kinect to help university professors and school teachers to more easily present their slideshows, merely sliding their hand across the air to switch between slides. Taking his idea a step further, Ferwana founded EduActive, which is currently being incubated by Palestinian incubator PICTI. EduActive hasn’t yet released the app as the project is still in development, but he’s confident it will have a positive effect on education in Gaza.

The company is expected to launch the app within the next two months and will look to market it at local university exhibitions and school functions. Check out the video interview above for a demo of the app and a chat with Ferwana.

Editor’s note: The project, like some of PICTI’s other incubated companies, is still in the idea stage. But it is interesting to see how Gaza’s tech entrepreneurs are using existing technology to meet local educational needs. The challenge for EduActive will be meeting market demand and securing local and regional schools interested in adopting the app and using the Kinect in the classroom.