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Samsung's Solar-Powered Internet School
An anonymous reader writes "Samsung has developed a solar-powered internet school for Africa. Although its more of a CSR initiative to show how 'responsible' they are, the idea is really good. Hopefully, more companies will chime in the near future, and not only include Africa but also other 3rd world regions"
Oxfam Australia called me last night trying to get donations for a crackpot scheme - growing pineapples in Mozambique. Hardly a staple food crop, and not particularly fast-growing either.
No school today!
Putting responsible in quotes, complaining that other companies aren't doing the same thing, and complaining that they're only doing it Africa. Next submission "Cure for AIDS discovered" - "Well, its not like they cured cancer, and I'm sure the drugs will cost a lot." Go die in a fire, you're holding the rest of us back.
They should build an Earthquake-Powered internet school. there's a LOT of energy available from a single earthquake. Just look at the amount of power it would require to bring down large numbers of buildings using conventional technology, as is done during a single quake. So what if the classes can only in session during an earthquake, we're talking about green energy here. The solar powered school can be brought down by a little bit of bad weather, so ut's not perfect either.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
Looks like one of the advantages of their project is that the school is portable, but in this case it is an insulated cargo container.
Wouldn't a bus work better? That way it can move to village to village and all those villages can share a teacher.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
and not only include Africa but also other 3rd world regions
Wait a sec! Is that code for "California?"
Africa is the target, because Africa is the last great reservoir of cheap labor. This will be important in the coming decades as rising prosperity in Asia increases the cost of doing business there.
Dear Sir Madam, ...
School of Samsung Internet School decides to give you $64.000.0000 sixtee for million dollars. For because your late grand great father has died and has not living relatives. I implore you give me your name address bank details and pecial pictures of your girl friend.
From samsunginternetschool.com
Thanks you,
Samsung
dig samsunginternetschool.com
Seems legit.
So let me get this straight... they built a school in a shipping container, with an electronic whiteboard, air purifier, and LED lighting? And they expect this to somehow stay intact in rural Africa? Almost nobody in those villages is going to understand the value of education. From their perspective, it's all just a shiny piece of technology to be sold off by the first person who can steal it.
The sad part is, that statement is not intended to be racist or discriminatory in any way. I personally have volunteered in Africa, and I doubt very much that these folks from Samsung have spent much time at all in the rural villages they want to help so much.
Here's a better idea: Take those solar panels, and build a charging station. Distribute flashlights to the village. Now those villages have a longer usable day, where working on the meager farms is not really feasible. Now they can learn. Spend most of the rest of the money on books. For a chalkboard, use a piece of plywood covered in black paint made from charcoal. It works. Get a few teachers who have actually graduated from college, give them supplies, fund their classes for three years, then rotate them out to avoid apathy.
What I saw (in rural Ghana, which as I understand is well above the continental average) was that among those few students who had a desire to learn, none were paired with teachers who actually cared about teaching. They haven't had schools for the last three generations, so why bother now? In their opinion, it's more important to learn how to cook an egg, so you can sell it to the passengers on buses at the gas station.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
apple did this first!! Samsung just ripped them off! ;-)
We have one near the Navajo Reservation here in Arizona too. http://www.starschool.org/ Has that made the news?
There's an interesting talk on TED about using solar power to enable night schools: http://www.ted.com/talks/bunker_roy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TEDTalks_video+(TEDTalks+Main+(SD)+-+Site)
Sounds neat. But 2 notes..
1) Over 10 years ago (1997 IIRC) artist Ingo Gunther and an architect designed a mobile shipping container based classroom with computers in it. I helped publicize it by posting the drawings online at our ISP Cyber Technologies International too. Metal walls would stop bullets too. However, no phone lines, and military would seek out radio signals. Anyway, I remember discussing the project in the context of building educational infrastructure in Cambodia which was pioneered by Bernard Krisher who we have supported ever since then and who built hundreds of rural schools there. His schools have a solar option. Cambodiaschools and Villageleap on google IIRC.
I could be wrong but think the architect was
David Weiner, [Inter] Net Container Project, 1997
worldprocessor.com/dweiner/About.html
as this is Ingo's site.
2) I'd like to know how much money is spent per child and how/if they do net uplink, and is this supposed to be a self-sustaining program. Building a school is not that expensive, maybe 20K USD with world bank providing half. I am uncomfortable with the idea the school might leave.. If they have satellite though this would be a valuable mobile clinic. So if Samsung will provide guaranteed satphone connectivity I'm ready to praise them endlessly. Should be within their portfolio.
Apple sued Samsung, in order to prevent them to further install other solar power plants for school, a technology that is infringing several Apple patents.