Asia Workshop Discussion
Contents
Localization & Language
Problem 1
Low Quality of teaching. Resulting from:
- Poor Infrastructure
- individual capacity of the teacher & student
- Possible solutions
- Advocacy, policy & govt. in formal and anon-formal education to improve school standards
- Distance Learning
- Support & Resource Needs
- Government
- Funding support from private & public donors
- equipment & technology (satellite, tv, etc)
Problem 2
Local Language installed in OLPC to motivate the learning and ease the process.
Possible solutions
- Invest & motivate content creation
- Assist high level knowledge/ learning for complex subjects
- universal icons
- Learning by doing
- Support & Resource Needs
- Local language software & content
- Approach to teachers & students to maximize the exiting resources.
Comments There are new opportunities now that open media (e.g. wikis) is available. Because initiatives like OLPC is non-profit there can be many people offering help. Technology makes this logistically possible (just like how wikipedia has become so successful). Initiatives like Wikitextbooks is becoming available, which will provide high-quality content.
Issues in Rural Education
Infrastructure
Electricity
- We assume most areas were OLPC will be introduced will have some electricity, perhaps at the school but not at the homes. So, how can we manage and power the laptops?
- Charge laptops at the school to take home. Student may pay a small fee.
- Use alternative energy sources to assist. Such as, Solar energy, water mill, wind, natural gas from cattle.
- When a new method is involved, the main issue becomes how to bring the method and ideas to the rural area in a sustainable way.
- Educating the teacher, students can help
Communication
How to connect rural communities. Point-to-Point wireless for long distances and then cellular or mesh for the local connections.
Distance, Terrain
Determined mostly by the government
Social Issues
- Perhaps it is easier to introduce empowering learning in rural areas than in urban schools.
- The school is more connected to the community
- There could be resistance to the laptop from the community/parents/religious groups.
- Village meetings to discuss and explain the benefits and opportunities are important
- Infrastructure to help prevent undesirable behavior such as pornography filters are necessary.
Economy (Reducing rural poverty through education)
People are poor.
- Knowledge Empowerment. Education provides indirect but sustainable income to the community.
- Better understanding about deforestation led to better forest preservation, which led to more water for plantation.
- Better understanding about financial management allows for better decision making about investments and loans.
Personnel: Learning how to learn
How to get MIT people in a box?
- Community involvement. Everyone needs to agree upon what to do.
- Taking ownership of initiatives. Not waiting to receive help from the outside.
- Building partners with quality and skilled facilitators.
- Building a good leadership in the local community
- "Learning by Doing!"
