And on the day of Steve Jobs death, coincidently, India makes an announcement. You left too soon Mr. Jobs:
Solar tablets coming to schools in India
RICE (US) — The I-slate, a low-cost electronic version of the hand-held blackboard slates used by millions of Indian children, has proven to be an effective learning tool, according to a yearlong study.
Now I-slate’s developers are preparing for full-scale production of the tablet, which will eventually be solar-powered for use in classrooms that lack electricity. When mass-produced, the solar-powered I-slate is expected to cost less than $50 (64 Singapore dollars).
“Our study clearly shows the I-slate is an effective learning tool for all students, regardless of their learning ability,” says computer scientist and I-slate creator Krishna Palem, director of the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID), a joint program of Rice University and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.
“The first production I-slates will be pre-loaded with lessons for mathematics, science, and social studies.”
Palem first conceived the power-saving educational tablet in early 2009. Late last summer, Palem’s team began working with the Indian nonprofit Villages for Development and Learning Foundation (ViDAL) to test I-slate prototypes in a class of 10- to 13-year-olds at Mohd Hussainpalli village, about 70 miles southwest of Hyderabad.
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futurity.org |
