I came across this article this morning and thought I would share it. I wonder what implications it could have on education in Northern America if we ever decided to issue a low cost tablet device such as this for all students.
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Suhayl Patel 9:00 am on November 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think this is a great initiative, especially for countries where affordable educational technology is only available to the upper class. I also came across an article this morning in Canadian Business about a tablet that’s 35 dollars, also in India. The idea of providing technology for students in less fortunate coutries/communiteis has been a focus for EdTech companies for a while (eg. 100 laptop/netbook in some areas in Africa). Now although this would provide for access to a “computer”, there is still the issue around the infrastructure (within organizations or at home) to support enhanced learning by leveraging that device (wifi, apps, maintenance, etc). I’m assuming that students would purchase these netbooks and use them as a BYOT device. In our organization we have some infrastructure in place to allow for BYOT devices to be used in the classroom but experience enormous difficulties to make effective use of it. But this is an amazing start and I look forward to seeing how they manage this, and hope to learn from their work.
Thoughts?
Thanks for sharing this Melissa,
Suhayl
visramn 11:19 am on November 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for sharing this article Melissa. I agree with Suhayl. The idea of this tablet is great but the infrastructure in many of the countries it could be used it may not be conducive. I taught in Africa for a year. The school I worked in did not have much technology but the technology that was present was not useful most of the time due to other issues that limited access and capabilities of the technology. Internet connection, lack of electricity, etc, are major issues in countries that are on the other side of the digital divide. Any technology that is presented in these setting can not be used to its full potential until these issues are addressed. The article you posted reminded me about a project with a similar intent that I had learned about in a previous MET course (http://one.laptop.org/ ).This organization wants computers to be made cheaply so that more kids can have access and they also look at making these computers in a manner that addresses the power issues faced in communities it will be used in.
Thanks for sharing the article about the $20 tablet. It defiantly got the wheels turning in my head.
Nureen
frank 3:46 pm on November 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good afternoon,
One of Touch screen’s revolutionary advantages is that its direct and intuitive interface, which makes computer use and access readily available to everyone.
One barrier to achieving this goal however has been cost, and countries such as India have realized that to empower their populations with 21st century skills and know-how, getting them access to the technology that can drive them there is critical. I’m excited to see how the $20 tablet will evolve.
Ranvir 4:02 pm on November 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The invention of low cost computer such as the Ubislate can bring enormous change and revolution in developing countries by bringing the internet to the masses. With education becoming becoming more available and in many cases even free (MOOCs and the Khan Academy’s..), the low cost hardware will make education easily access to the poor and significantly help in spreading literacy an enlightening the impoverished.
My sincere thanks to Mr. Suneet Tulli for trying to make this dream become a reality and for inspiring others to innovate and use technology for the betterment on humankind.
teacherben 7:32 pm on November 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think it is unlikely that this sort of tablet would ever appear in North American schools. We have been seeing pretty good low-cost tablets in Asia for a long time and even the ones that could get into Canada without a lawsuit from Apple would be unlikely to get much traction in the market. Canadians are pretty cautious about new technologies. Things that take off in other parts of the world, such as mini-discs and VCD’s, never made a blip. People seem to want trusted name brands and are willing to pay. And as far as schools go, the boards are so strict about what you can buy and who you can buy it from that again, I think it would be unlikely we would see them. I remember when I taught grade 1 in Peel, there was a shortage of computers in the school and we couldn’t choose our own distributor. We had to buy the machines from the the authorised Peel company for 2500 bucks a machine, even though I was able to buy a better one at College and Spadina for 500 bucks. The 2500 dollars got us a service plan, but they always took over 2 months to come to repair them in any case, so it wasn’t much help. At any given time, there were several machines in the lab with sticky notes on the screen saying it didn’t work.
Here’s a fun website where you can see the newest Chinese brands and various knock-off devices and read reviews of them:
http://www.gizchina.com/
In many cases these days, their specs are as good as the big names but the prices are less than half.
And remember, that Indian machine is subsidised by the government. It costs 80 dollars to buy one yourself.
Scott 2:28 pm on November 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good point Ben, about the tablet being government subsidized. Do we really want the Canadian government involved in underwriting technology purchases? As you say, the cost to bring one of these low cost tablets to North America would be at least quadruple the price, to cover shipping, duties, taxes, distribution, marketing, service, support, language naturalization and bilingual packaging… the list of fees goes on and on. It makes us realize once again, the enormous coast barriers we place on entrepreneurs, trying to bring new technology to market. As you also note , there are bound to be features which infringe on at least one patent held by Apple, Samsung, Google or some other manufacturer – which will only add to its cost.
So, I see these devices as solutions only for the country which subsidizes them. Which begs the question – who is going to develop apps for it? It might be ok for online activity, but with such a limited market, I imagine its app ecosystem will be hard to develop.
Jonathan 9:45 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Ahh enabling technology.
These devices are outstanding. The focus should be about enabling technology and by that I mean allowing students to have access to a computer. The most important aspect of having a computer is access to the internet through a web browser.
Technology access to more people means more access to information. The applications that surround it are great to extend ideas but if a simple internet connection can be established then the opportunities are endless. Many great programs work through the web browser as well.
This got me thinking of the Sugata Mitra TED Talk where he ran “Hole in the Wall” experiments. Essentially Mitra told students what they needed to learn, left some computers, told them he had to leave and that he would be back in a few weeks with a test. It’s fascinating to see the results as students self taught themselves the material they needed to know for the test.
The computer is a resource/tool in this case that the students taught themselves with.
These low cost tablets are awesome for increasing the distribution to more people. I’m with @teacherben on the idea that they wouldn’t make it to North America. There tend to be many problems with these types of devices. In North America we tend to have a highly curated selection that needs to pass many regulations before they can be sold here.
Jonathan 9:45 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Forgot to include the Sugata Mitra link TED talk link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html
Jonathan 9:58 pm on November 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Oops! How embarrassing. I just realized that of course the group linked Sugata Mitra – in the next phase (Touch, I just finished putting in my responses for Voice 😉 My apologies for the redundant link.