Since the Kenyan government introduced free primary school education two years ago, the resulting influx of kids has meant that resources are spread as thinly as ever. Classrooms are over crowded, no proper infrastructure is provided and outdated books are being used.
However, a new experiment is being introduced for the children of these schools. Fifty-four 11-year-old students will be taught to use technology to deliver education across the continent.
In the Eduvision pilot project, instead of textbooks, customised Pocket PCs, referred to as e-slates, which contain all the information (textual, visual and audio) that would be in a textbook will be used. These e-slates are wi-fi enabled and are run on licence-free open source software.
These pocket PCs were chosen in place of desktops because they are more portable, so the children can take them home at night, and also because they were cheaper, making them cost-effective alternatives to traditional methods of learning.
Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren says "Our system is something that we hope will be sustainable, and the money that students use towards textbooks could be used to buy e-slates instead, which can last more than a year, thereby reducing the cost of education."
However, there certain drawbacks which hinders the growth of this technology initiative. One such impediment is the lack of electric power in most of our schools, and since the machine needs constant recharging for it to be effectively used this would affect the users as well as the teachers.
Moreover, Kenya's Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology believes the project is unrealistic in terms of its vision. He opined that the project is rather big leap for schools, students and communities that don't even know what a desktop computer is, as well as what one can use computers for.
More
|
