Slashdot Mirror
Linux Handhelds in African Schools
blastard writes "Seems some students will be getting to use their Linux handhelds in school without getting into trouble. BBCNews has a story on fifth-graders in Kenya who will be using "E-slates" from EduVision. The EduVision site is available in German, English and Swahili."
I would imagine that buying the textbooks, shipping the textbooks, and keeping the textbooks up to date would be a lot more expensive in the long run than by simply buying inexpensive computers for the kids.
I imagine you imagine wrongly. No handheld is going to get that cheap anytime soon, and textbooks need "updates" far less frequently than hardware needs repairing or replacing.
The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
--Henry Kissinger
This seems like a thoroughly good idea. It would enable the schools to have up to date textbooks without the need to buy a new set of books every time the author decides to release an update. Enterprising students should also find something in there to peak their interest - I know I would have loved to have one of these babies when I was that age !
There will be no 'geek-students' to help the teacher, after the Company man leaves.
I dont think you should underestimate children in any part of the world.
Give computers to a group of school kids in Dallas, Tokyo, Africa or anywhere and one or two curious of them will understand the in and outs of them in notime.
Those are awfully small screens.
i)Does EduVision also have a company selling myopia-correction glasses?
ii)I find it annoying enough when you have to keep flicking pages in a book, especially when studying. The pages of the eSlate will only allow a small amount of info to be visible at once. Perhaps they will use a hypertext format and have collapsible paragraphs (like text editor folds) to overcome some of the presentation difficulties.
Nice idea in theory but oh so many problems in practice.
The main one is the complexity of the system. I can't imagine primary schools in rural areas in Kenya (or for that matter here in US) having the expertise to fix the problems that will surely arise sooner or later.
If the main goal is to give students access to the textbooks, why not simply preload the relevant ones on the handhelds and give them out to the schools, and do away with the whole satellite -> base station -> wireless network -> handheld business.
At what intervals do the textbooks need to be updated/replaced anyway? Probably less that the average lifetime of the handheld computer in the hands of a 10 year old.
bah, waste of time and energy.
....You know what "educates" students very well? Interesting and educated teachers.
I made it through elementary with an apple ][ in the corner of the class. Hell, we weren't allowed to have calculators until trig [e.g. high school or for science classes]. We had to "use our minds"
I [and I'm sure everyone else] has had a teacher at a time that was totally ineffective of getting the lesson plan delivered. No amount of "e-technology" would "e-help" the students "e-absorb" information that they don't "e-want".
Sure having access to computers is good but giving each student their own personal "e-slate" is just stupid. Specially given that the economic state there doesn't support it.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Pardon me while I fall off my chair laughing. Project guttenberg and the like have been "computerizing" public domain books for years and they are up to what, 10,000 or so. Where is this great magical library of 15 million ebooks?
Why is it that everytime someone mentions something on slashdot which happens in an african country (Kenya in this case) the post has to mention "Africa" as if it is one country.
Kenya != whole of africa
I live in an "African" country and this seems rediculous to me.
Consider a couple of examples:
If the story is about Americans college students you don't have a title:
Students in North America...
Similarly for a story about something in China or Germany you don't title the story:
Scietists in Asia discover x
or
Scientists in Europe discover y
You you title it:
Scientists in China discover x
and
Scientist in Germany discover y.
The other thing that bugs me is that posters talk as if everyone from "Africa" is mentally handicapped or something.
Change the title to : LINUX handhelds in KENYAN schools!
They mention Google digitized books, but they could also grab content from http://www.wikipedia.org/ - after all, that's what GFDL is for!
Ok, some will argue quality / neutrality / completeness isn't guaranteed on all articles - i'll say it's better'an nothing [and biaises exist in every material / textbook]
Tsuyoikoto ha taisetsu da ne, dakedo namida mo hitsuyousa (Strength is an important thing, but tears too are necessary)
demand for stolen eSlates will be minimal - they simply will not work for uses other than those for which they were designed."
Those who do not learn from their mistakes are condemmed to repeat them.
The X-Box will only play MS software. The I-Opener will only work with their subscription service, The Cue Cat will only work with the Digital Convergance online database....
Yea Right!
The truth shall set you free!
These devices will be stolen as quickly as possible. After the thieves discover they won't work abywhere except on a proprietary network, they'll be discarded. Dumped in a river, something like that. Too much effort to actually return them.
I give the program about three months.
It's a nice idea, but I don't think it's sustainable.
668: Neighbour of the Beast
That's a pretty ignorant assumption you have about Africa. The African continent isn't one huge block of savage rural territory ruled by roving tribes. That would be like saying that everyone in Texas rides a horse to work; it might have been true two hundred years ago, but don't base your assumptions on what happened then. Lagos, Nigeria, has a population of over 8 million, which places it above New York City. There are countless other examples of cities that have not just running water and electricity, but just as many luxuries as some American cities. I'm not going to list population statistics (you can look it up yourself), but Africa isn't one huge rural area.
And what do you mean "there will be no geek-students?" Are you saying that most children in Africa are stupider than Americans? And don't say it has to do with the amount of technology you grew up with; fiddling with tech devices has to do with how intuitive and creative you are. Are you saying that African children don't have this?
Most people have this horrific view of Africa from what they see on TV commericals like "Save the Children" and whatnot. They try and paint a horrible, savage view of Africa so that people will donate money to their cause. Yes, there are bad things happening in Africa, but that doesn't mean the entire continent is savage.
I hate it when people think that Africa is a mass of uncivilization, and there is no infrastructure except what the west has so graciously given. Yes, Africa is generally poorer than most continents, but that doesn't mean that all Africans are: a) stupid, b) poor, c)needy of the West's help
Drill baby drill - on Mars
but I think it's pretty cool that Kenyan schoolchildren are getting devices for school that American and European kids don't have yet. There are bright minds everywhere, and if you water them they will blossom. And education is the best way possible for folks in developing countries to better their situation.
I've always wondered if somewhere in Africa is the schoolkid who will someday cure cancer, if only he/she can get an opportunity from programs like these. After all, just by sheer numbers alone there should be several dozen Einsteins in the developing world, just waiting to be discovered. If the human mind is the greatest of all national resources, then the developing world is vastly wealthier than all the developed nations put together.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.