Open Source Replacing Books in Kenyan Schools 170
ickoonite writes "The BBC is reporting that wi-fi enabled Pocket PCs running open source software are being used as digital textbooks in classrooms in Kenya, where 'real' books are hard to come by. The story says that the scheme, in its trial stages, currently only affects 54 pupils, but all of them are enthralled by the devices - unsurprising in a country where electricity is a scarce commodity. The article does not make it clear what is running on the Pocket PCs, but this seems a wonderful example of how the free and open spirit of open source can make a real difference." A follow-up to a story from March.
missing the point, perhaps? (Score:4, Insightful)
Hi-tech replacement? (Score:2, Insightful)
Possible opportunity... (Score:4, Insightful)
From TFS: So real books are difficult to obtain, but Pocket PCs are plentiful?
Looks like I need to take a trip to Kenya with a couple suitcases full of books...I smell a trading opportunity here.. ^_^
Let me get this straight... (Score:2, Insightful)
Wha? (Score:3, Insightful)
Wonderful, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
In fact, a much better investment is in mobile phones and mobile networks. Even the cheapest handsets encourage kids to learn to read and write, not to mention gain proficiency in handling technology. At the same time, adults can use mobile phones to find employment, find affordable goods, negotiate deals, conduct business. Mobile phones integrate themselves into daily life much more easily than PCs, and their impact is thus felt much faster and wider. If the free flow of information enables a market to work efficiently, then what better technology to kickstart the economy than mobile phones?
Here are a few articles with the hard numbers pitting mobile phones against PCs.
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0712-rhett_butler.h
http://usinfo.state.gov/af/Archive/2005/May/17-48
http://www.economist.com/printedition/displaystor
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cf
While it's certainly heartening that open source software is having a positive effect in poverty-stricken Africa, it's also important for aidgivers to note that dollar for dollar, computers aren't the best use of limited funds.