Having dissected the pros and cons of the OSLPCI lets take a look at 2 Kenyan technologies that could potentially provide Mobile Device and Connectivity solutions even in remote parts of Kenya. *Mobile Device: SWAG Educator by Morris Mbesta* This is a solar powered tablet device designed and developed by renowned Kenyan Inventor Morris Mbesta see more here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiPVJ23lJSc *Connectivity Device: BRCK by Ushahidi see brck.com* The BRCK is the easiest, most reliable way to connect to the internet, anywhere in the world, even when you don’t have electricity. All kinds of jobs require steady connectivity, even when infrastructure is spotty due to wireless connections, intermittent power, or devices that can’t share connections. Seeing this, Ushahidi set out to redesign connectivity for the world we live in - Africa. As we laid out what such a device would look like - physically robust, able to connect to multiple networks, a hub for all local devices, enough backup power to survive a blackout - we realized that the way the entire world is connecting to the web is changing. We no longer only get online via desktops in our office, we have multiple devices, and we are all constantly on the move. So we designed the BRCK for the changing way we connect to the web around the world, from cafes-hoppers in San Francisco to struggling coders in Nairobi. What are your thoughts on the above two technologies in implementing the laptop initiative? On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 10:18 AM, Bwana Lawi <mail2lawi@gmail.com> wrote:
In economics there is something they call opportunity cost. What are we foregoing at this expense? Is it worth it?
Can we introduce the laptops later on? Form 1 maybe? This looks like its going to be an annual expense. Can we afford it? Class 1 enrollment is almost 100%. I am yet to hear of kids who drop out in nursery school.
What happens when the kids go to class 2, 3, etc. I am very sure the laptop will not last to class 8. So what happens then? How do other countries do it?
On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 9:16 AM, Francis Njenga <korefn@gmail.com> wrote:
One of the biggest problems in the information age is too much information( EDIT: Too much data)! The solution to this is equipping students and professionals with skills to be able to filter this data into information. As evidenced by the data mining field's latest boom.
'Can't teach an old dog new tricks' unless you taught it how to learn new tricks. If the youth grow up able to analyze and filter huge data, no matter what field they join... They will be more effective, better informed, more aware and the country will be the better for it.
On Tue, May 7, 2013 at 8:10 AM, Peter Karunyu <pkarunyu@gmail.com> wrote:
I am seeing lots of examples here of kids and reading in the same sentence. Now, I don't have any experience in that department, but since when do kids naturally like to read?
On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 11:01 PM, Laban Mwangi <lmwangi@gmail.com> wrote:
Giving a child a stethoscope might not compel him to become a physician later in life... However, It's very likely that the child will end up in STeM; which is exactly what we want. I am not advocating that we give students expensive gadgets. I am of the opinion that we give them knowledge or a portal to knowledge. A child with an agriculture kindle library might make quite an impact to his community. Empowered children have zest; they will experiment (in the farm, in the village, in science fairs) and that's what we want. Right?
'Are we there yet?' Nope
Will we get there? Depends on a lot of factors... Government policy, community, culture, an enabling economy....
On Mon, May 6, 2013 at 7:52 PM, Phares Kariuki < phares.kariuki@gmail.com> wrote:
The Estonia policy is yet to produce results - the boom right now in technology is due to the education system in the 90's (when the current working class was getting trained).
Additionally, Estonia are teaching their kids to code, not buying them laptops - it's a curriculum intervention not a medium of instruction intervention.
Again, giving a stethoscope to a 7 year old will not make him a great doctor.
On Monday, May 6, 2013 at 6:49 PM, Watson Kambo wrote:
I think we are all looking at it the wrong way, the assumption that only IT students should get a laptop and Engineer, Doctors et al do not need them is not well founded. Am a trained engineer so is a guy who trained before me but never got a chance to interact with Computers at that critical age in High school and campus. I was lucky enough to be and most of the things that I know today are probably from that time. He is still in the dark in many things. If I was exposed to computers early say even when I was younger in Primary and the like I would have gained the same or even more and at an even early age. I view the laptops as an 'eye' opener they are fascinating, they are interesting, believe you me the kids will even learn faster than they would have without them.
It does not mean that all these Kids will end up in IT, the doctors will still be doctors so will be the lawyers ... and the IT geeks will start coding at an early age, :-) , I believe its going to change everything if well implemented, you should all have a look at what the same (Almost the same) policy has changed Estonia ...
Kind regards,
Watson Kambo _______________________________________________ skunkworks mailing list skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------
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-- Regards,
Phares Kariuki
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