Zimbabwe government, Apple in joint education venture
The African nation of Zimbabwe has suffered greatly over the past due to the policies of president Robert Mugabe, but there's a glimmer of hope for the future of the country. Apple and the government of Zimbabwe have entered into a joint venture to distribute solar-powered iPads to rural schools in the country.
The announcement was made by Zimbabwean minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart, who met with Apple employees in Paris yesterday. In his Facebook post, he noted that he had a "Great meeting with Apple today in Paris -- unveiled a fascinating new 'School Box' which will take iPads to the most remote rural schools - using solar power and micro projectors we will be able to bring computerized teaching aids to the poorest schools."
Coltart mentioned that the first pilot programs could start early in 2012. Coltart said "I am very excited that Zimbabwe is collaborating with Apple int his groundbreaking use of technology to advance educations 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."
As noted in Newsday Zimbabwe, most rural schools in the country lack even basic infrastructure. The Mugabe government had previously donated "several computers" to schools as part of a rural computerization project, but they have either been stolen or were never used due to the lack of electricity.
Computerworld's Jonny Evans reported on the story today with some speculation the School Box (containing the iPads and solar charger) might act as a femtocell device, sharing a 3G broadband connection among students. Evans quotes analyst firm Gartner as stating that "Where the One Laptop Per Child [OLPC] and mini-notebook fell short in delivering true computer-aided curriculum, the media tablet can deliver if schools build them into a larger ecosystem emerging around digital textbooks."
Between the idea of using solar power to reduce or eliminate electricity costs, replacing costly printed textbooks with electronic textbooks, and using the very popular iPad devices, perhaps Apple is hitting the education market in developing countries with the right product at the right time.
