Solar-Powered iPads Head to Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean government has entered into a joint venture with Apple to distribute solar-powered iPads to rural and remote schools in Zimbabwe, in an effort to reduce the digital divide between the rural and urban areas in the country.
Apple’s new “School Box” will use solar power and micro projectors to bring computerized teaching aids to some of the poorest schools in Zimbabwe. The iPads will be used to develop reports, conduct research, read e-books, and run multi-media presentations.
The announcement was made yesterday by Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart, who traveled to Paris to meet with Apple executives.
“I am very excited that Zimbabwe is collaborating with Apple in this groundbreaking use of technology to advance education in the most remote schools. If we can get it to work in Zimbabwe I am sure it will spread to poor schools throughout Africa – and beyond.”
Many of the rural schools in Zimbabwe lack a basic infrastructure, and computers donated by President Robert Mugabe, as part of a rural computerization program, have been stolen or remain unused because the areas do not have electricity. The government is hoping that the solar iPads will fare better. The first pilot programs are scheduled to start early in 2012, and hopefully they will prove successful so the technology can be brought to other rural areas in developing countries.
[via The Next Web]