WC Archive

The rationale behind the EELS concept is that the cost of updating paper textbooks to keep pace with changing knowledge (as well as to replace worn-out books) can be prohibitive in the developing world; as a result, many schools are stuck with out-of-date textbooks in poor condition. EduVision claims, "the price of an eSlate is on par with the yearly textbook costs incurred by the parents of children attending public secondary schools in Kenya. The eSlate, however, can be used again and again, year after year."

The argument that a device like this would give students access to a wider array of books than they'd otherwise find in their schools and libraries is fairly strong one, especially if EduVision manages to work out an agreement with Google regarding access to digitized texts (as suggested in the BBC article). The cost argument -- that the computer ends up costing significantly less over time than regular textbooks -- is on shakier ground, as it would only apply under certain circumstances. Mathematics textbooks will be updated far less frequently than science textbooks, which in turn are likely to be less-frequently updated than history texts. It's unclear from the project's website who would bear the cost of replacement, should an E-slate go missing or be damaged.

EduVision claims that the devices will not often be stolen, as their software is "locked" to specific BaseStations, and the OS is in Flash-ROM. That may reduce the likelihood that the devices would be stolen for use as general purpose computers, but not the chances they'd be stolen for parts (such as the WiFi cards). It also reduces the utility of the E-slates as general-purpose devices; it doesn't matter that the OS is Linux based if the users can't get a look at (and play around with) the code.

The other big drawback to this project is that the locations using the system are tied into one-way broadcasts from EduVision, not connected to the Internet at large. There's a philosophical issue at play -- this system makes students and schools are little more than consumers of educational material. The people testing the devices already note a practical problem with one-way communication: there's no way to get feedback to the makers directly from the users. This one-way system also raises the question of what happens if EduVision goes away -- without the central distribution of updated material, the electronic textbooks are suddenly fragile, power-hungry versions of old paper books.

None of these problems are insurmountable, and most could be resolved within the framework that EduVision has already set out. Opening up the ability to add material to the devices would reduce the threat of both the "schools as consumers" and the "what if they go away?" dilemmas, and two-way satellite transceivers for Internet access are becoming less and less expensive. Since the system is still only in the early stages of testing, the makers may come to these conclusions themselves.

I still think that information access as an expansion of communication is a more likely pathway for the broader introduction of networked devices in the developing world. Nonetheless, EduVision has gone further than most in assembling the pieces needed for useful, developing world-focused educational technologies. If they can take the necessary final steps, they may have a possibility of success.