Sharether

All About Sharether

Idea

There’s a popular saying: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." That couldn’t be truer for the story behind Sharether. It all began in January 2022 when I was admitted to Foso College of Education to study Performing Arts in Primary Education. But with a deep passion for IT and Mathematics, I set my heart on switching to the Mathematics and ICT program. Despite repeated efforts, I was officially denied the switch. So, I took matters into my own hands. I attended Mathematics and ICT lectures, bought the required books, and even wrote my mid-semester quizzes with the students in that program. Everything seemed fine, until a few weeks before final exams. I was denied an index number, and without it, I couldn’t take my exams. I had to make a tough decision: drop out or return to the course I was originally admitted for. I chose to return.

But coming back to my original program meant I was now way behind. I needed books and learning materials fast to catch up. Unfortunately, getting physical copies mid-semester was difficult. My only option was to find soft copies, PDFs, past questions, and other digital learning resources. That struggle sparked an idea: "What if there was a single website where students could access every resource they needed with ease?" And that was the moment Sharether was born.

Development

Once the idea was conceived, I briefly set it aside to focus on gathering the materials I needed to prepare for exams. By God’s grace, I completed the exams successfully and went home for vacation. That’s when I picked up the idea again. I started researching, planning, and drafting a flowchart for how the site should work. At the time, I already had working knowledge of PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, and some JavaScript. All I needed was determination and consistency.

Developing the platform alone was no easy task. I set up my development environment on a desktop computer and began writing code. I built the structure of the site, styled the interface, and categorized all the courses by level and semester. Day and night, I worked tirelessly. After about two months, the vacation ended, and I returned to campus — but the site wasn’t complete. I didn’t own a laptop, so I saved the project onto a flash drive, hoping to continue on someone else’s machine. Luckily, a friend offered their computer, and I kept going.

On campus, I began talking to classmates to collect course materials and feedback. But due to academic workload, I couldn’t give the project my full attention. Development slowed down until vacation arrived again. Back home, I returned to my desktop and resumed work. After another month or two, Sharether was ready to be deployed. That was the development journey.

Deployment

With the site finally complete, the next challenge was naming it. I initially called it "Foscoshare", a name inspired by my college, but after consultation and reflection, I decided it needed a broader, more inclusive name. That’s when I turned to the site’s motto: "Let’s share and learn together." From that came the name Sharether, a creative blend of Share and together. The name felt right, but now I had to make the platform accessible to others.

With limited funds, I reached out to close friends and siblings to raise money. Within two weeks, I had enough to buy the domain and hosting. On February 7, 2023, Sharether officially went live at sharether.com. I shared the site across all my school’s WhatsApp groups, and Sharether was out in the world. Students could now access course notes, outlines, past questions, and other learning materials anytime, anywhere.

Initially, Sharether only supported courses from Foso College. But soon, students from other colleges began reaching out, asking for their institutions to be included. That was the moment I realized the true potential of the platform, a resource not just for one college, but for many.

As Sharether grew, so did the responsibilities. Managing it alone became overwhelming. But when I reached out for help, others were eager to join. Together, we formed the Sharether Development Team, and that changed everything.

Now & Future

Thanks to the dedication of the development team, Sharether has now expanded to serve all colleges affiliated with UCC. Our mission is to centralize all academic resources in one place and make learning accessible to every student. Files are organized under their respective courses, aligned by program, semester, and level. That structure ensures smooth navigation and easy access to resources.

We’ve noticed that most students visit the site primarily to download files. But Sharether offers much more. Here are some of the additional benefits:

You can:

View a full list of your courses for each semester and level.
Find course codes, credit hours, and know which programs are taking each course with you.
Access teaching aids like the GES New Curriculum, Teacher’s Resource Packs, and the National Teachers’ Standards.

You’ll also find helpful articles on:

How and where to register your courses.
How to check your results.
What GPA and CGPA mean, and how to calculate them.
These and many more there is. Check out the Educative Articles on Sharether.

Today, over 1,475 files have been uploaded for students to support each one in learning. Many people assume students rely on past questions just for repeated content — but that’s not the case. Past questions serve as powerful study tools. They help us assess our understanding, identify weak areas, and understand the academic standards expected of us.

With our interactive learning features currently in development, Sharether is evolving into a dynamic learning companion. Together, we’re making education more engaging and collaborative. Welcome to Sharether — where we share and learn together. Thank you.