Techknowlogia Journal 2002 Jan Mac

TM
Volume 4, Issue 1 January - March 2002
This issue is co-sponsored by:

Academy for Educational Development and
USAID's Global Bureau, Human Capacity Development Center (G/HDC), under an Indefinite Quantities
Contract (No. HNE-I-00-96-00018-00) to AED/LearnLink.
The contents of this Issue do not necessarily reflect the policies or the views of the co-sponsors or their affiliates
Thematic Focus: The Technologies for Education and Learning
5 Technologies for Education and Learning: More than Meets the Eye
Wadi D. Haddad, Editor
Acquisition of the technologies themselves may be the easiest and cheapest in a series of elements that
could ultimately make these technologies sustainable or beneficial. We call for an Institute or Commission to
explore and encourage new technologies that are derived from educational needs, have a long lifetime, and
are cost-effective.
7 Configuration of School Technology: Strategies and Options

Eric Rusten, Academy for Educational Development
A primer on where and how computers should be distributed, connected and used in schools.
13 Solving the Connectivity Problem

Heather E. Hudson, Ph.D., University of San Francisco
This article describes different connectivity options: terrestrial wireless, satellite technologies, wireline
technologies, and other technologies.
16 TechKnowNews
America Online Launches Online Campus Learning Center ♦ IBM's Edvisor Wins Excellence in E-
Learning Award ♦ ITrainOnline.org Launched in November 2001 ♦ Hong Kong Internet Centers: Free
Access for Elderly and Women ♦ Thailand Offers Free IT Training to Its Unemployed
! 1 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

18 VSATs and Rural Education: An Operational Reality at Last
Pedro Sáenz, Norma Garcia, and Laurence Wolff, Inter-American Development Bank
At last, low-income, remote communities may end their isolation through satellite-based solutions that may be
cost-effective and provide a reliable flow of education materials, teacher training, and communications.
21 Uganda: Wireless School Internet Connectivity

Anthony Bloome, Regional Coordinator, World Links Program Anglophone Africa
This article describes a VSAT system that is piloting new concepts in technology and pedagogy to
integrate information and communication technology (ICT) in education in developing countries.
26 VITA-Connect: A Unique, Low-cost Data Communications System

George Scharffenberger, President, Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA)
VITA-Connect is the lowest-cost remote area connectivity option where landline or cellular service is not
available. Its capacity to receive and deliver text files and messages and to access web pages makes it
ideal for enhancing the effectiveness of remote education and training.
30 Digital Satellite Radio for International Development

Rose F. Tchwenko, Manager, WorldSpace Foundation
A geo-stationary satellite broadcasts to portable digital receivers equipped with satellite dishes the size
of teacup saucers. When connected to a computer, they operate as a modem for web-based
multimedia data.
32 ICTs in African Schools: A Multi-Media Approach for Enhancing Learning & Teaching
Shafika Issacs, SchoolNet Africa
SchoolNet Africa is a network of organizations that promote education through the use of ICT in up to 23
African countries, in partnership with a range of global, regional and local organizations.
35 Designed for the Dumpster, Outdated Computers Bring Hope & Progress to
Disadvantaged Communities
John Thomas, Executive Director, The CURE Network, Inc.
How to start your own computer recycling program.
38 Pedagogical Uses of Web-based Chat: A Pilot Activity in Brazil

Vera Suguri, Lourdes Matos, Noara Castro, Ieda Castro, Lurdes Marilene Jung, and Eric Rusten
This article discusses the technologies that were used in the Chat Pilot Project, describes the different
project activities, presents an analysis of results, and outlines lessons learned.

44 The Global Service Trust Fund - Bridging the Digital Divide for Education & Health
Peter T. Knight
The satellite industry that has the technology that can most easily reach the isolated populations should seek
to do its share to address this problem with innovative answers.
49 ThinkCycle at M.I.T. : Sharing Distributed Design Knowledge for Open Collaborative Design
Nitin Sawhney, Saul Griffith, Yael Maguire, and Timothy Prestero, MIT
ThinkCycle is a student-led initiative at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that seeks to raise
awareness, develop design pedagogy and collaborative tools to address critical design challenges by working
closely with universities and organizations worldwide.
54 Getting a School On-line in a Developing Country: Common Mistakes, Technology

Options and Costs
Mike Trucano and Robert Hawkins, World Links
This article provides a blueprint for school officials and planners to determine the connectivity options
and costs associated with getting (and keeping!) schools connected.
59 Educational System Computer Maintenance & Support: They Cost More Than You Think!
Kurt D. Moses, Vice President, Academy for Educational Development
Annual Support and Maintenance costs for a healthy education computer system can range from 30% to 50%
of the initial investment in computer hardware and software. This article provides a detailed breakdown.
63 The Costs of Computers in Classrooms: Data from Developing Countries

Marianne Bakia
This article analyzes the costs of computer projects in Barbados, Turkey, Chile and Egypt under four
main categories: hardware, software, connectivity, and support and maintenance.
69 Virus Protection and Security: What Is It and How Do We Respond?

Glenn Strachan, Academy for Educational Development
Virus protection is as much a strategy or an attitude as it is a collection of information and related software.
72 Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Gregg B. Jackson, Associate Professor and Coordinator, Education Policy Program, George
Washington University
If intelligent tutors are so smart, why haven’t they taken over computer-assisted instruction?

75 Open Source Software: No Free Lunch?
Eric Rusten and Kurt D. Moses, Academy for Educational Development
Is Open Source Software a savior for cash-strapped schools and national governments?
80 WorthWhileWebs
Sonia Jurich
This article offers a selection of web sites that deal with current innovations and future trends in information
technology.
82 Technologies for Education: Looking into the Future

Sonia Jurich
The future of technology is limitless due to human intelligence and innovation. Will the future of education
continue to be limited due to human tradition and inertia?
85 RiverWalk - Brazil: Virtual Journey, Real Learning

Arati Singh, Eric Rusten, and Vera Suguri, Academy for Educational Development
The RiverWalk Project is a collaborative activity in which students and teachers from six countries research
and share information about rivers in their communities.
92 Digital Opportunity: USAID's New IT Initiative

Mary Fontaine, Academy for Educational Development
USAID's new initiative, the DOT-COM Alliance, unites a large number of leading businesses and nonprofit
organizations with significant experience and expertise in both IT and international development. Within the
Alliance, three consortia each focus on a critical IT area: dot-GOV on policy and regulatory reform, dot-ORG
on access and applications, and dot-EDU on education and learning systems.
Year 2002 Editorial Calendar
January - March 2002 The Technologies for Education and Learning
April - June 2002 Virtual Systems of Education and Learning
July - September 2002 Technology for All - Issues of Equity
October - December 2002 Technologies for Teacher Training

Wadi D. Haddad, Editor-in-Chief
Technologies for Education and Learning:

More than Meets the Eye
Schools and school systems across the world are under straightforward task. First, schools need to figure out why
tremendous pressures to provide every classroom (if not they need to connect and to what. The next problem is
every student) with computers and their accessories and with communication infrastructure. In many areas, it is either non-
connectivity to the Internet. The pressures are coming from existent or expensive to use. Some forms of terrestrial
vendors, parents, businesses and technology advocates. wireless and satellite technologies are being introduced.
Decision-makers are faced here with two myths: a macro and These technologies do not require installation of wireline
a micro. The macro myth is that the mere provision of networks and are ideal for remote and isolated areas. (See
computers in schools transforms the learning process and the Hudson's article in this Issue.) Finally, schools need to find
mere connection to the Internet changes the world of the out whether they have the resources, beyond the initial
learner. Experience is showing over and over again that investment, to cover the operating costs of connectivity.
without a supporting educational change, computers hardly
make a difference, and the Internet connects to nowhere. 4. Maintenance
The micro myth is that the provision of technologies means Computers need highly skilled and costly maintenance for
acquiring computers and securing a connection to the them to operate most of the time. Yet, in almost all cases,
Internet. Again, experience is proving, to our surprise, that schools invest in buying and networking computers but do
the acquisition of the technologies themselves, no matter not sufficiently budget for their maintenance and technical
how hard and expensive, may be the easiest and cheapest support. It is estimated that support and maintenance annual
element in a series of elements that could ultimately make costs for a healthy education computer system can range
these technologies sustainable or beneficial. I list eight of between 30% and 50% of the initial investment in computer
them: hardware and software. This makes some donated computers
quite expensive, especially when they are old, outdated and
1. An Answer to What Questions require high maintenance. (See articles by Moses and Bakia
Selecting a computer involves decisions about technical in this Issue.)
specifications: speed, memory, monitor, etc. Selecting a
computer for educational purposes involves decisions about 5. Operating Software
educational goals, classroom methodologies, role of teacher, There has been an ongoing debate whether it is better for
role of students, modalities of group work, role of textbook school systems to use open source software or commercial
and external sources of knowledge, etc. Likewise, to connect software products. The question is not restricted to cost.
or not connect a school to the Internet involves the same kind There are issues of technical support, availability of
of decisions. educational applications, user-friendliness and transferability
of computer skills beyond the school. (See article by Rusten
2. How Many, Where and How and Moses in this Issue.)
Where and how should computers be distributed, connected
and used in schools? Different educational and institutional 6. Aging or Out-Dated
objectives are served by different configuration options: Computers are not dying out of old age. Every so many years
computers in classrooms, on wheels, in computer rooms or they need to be replaced because they cannot handle new
labs, or in libraries and teachers' rooms. Next, should operating or application software. This creates a major
computers be stand-alone or connected to form a network? If problem for schools and national governments with limited
so, which network option is the most cost-effective: peer-to- financial resources. In fact, school systems that are spacing
peer, client/server, or thin-client/server? Finally, should the introduction of computers over a period of time longer
computers be connected by wiring the classroom or school, than the life of a computer will never be able to cover all the
or should we go wireless? (See Rusten's article in this Issue.) schools - ever. Some organizations are trying to address the
problem by providing software packages that can be run on
3. Connecting to Where any computer from a 286 to the newest Pentiums. (See
Turning computers into powerful communication tools www.newdealinc.com)
requires access to the Internet. However, getting a school
online, particularly in a developing country, is not a

7. Competent Users
Computers will be underused if teachers are not well trained TechKnowLogia™
to handle them and to use them to enhance the Published by
teaching/learning process. This is probably the most Knowledge Enterprise, Inc.
neglected and costliest element in the whole process.
8. Supporting Infrastructure EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

ICTs in school require supporting infrastructure of Wadi D. Haddad, President, Knowledge Enterprise, Inc.
electricity, communication, wiring, and special facilities. Just
as countries are experimenting with wireless connections, INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD:
some, in Africa and Latin America, are using solar energy to Jarl Bengtsson, Head, CERI, OEDC
run computers (and radios) in remote and isolated areas. Claudio Castro, Pres., Advisory Bd., Faculdade Pitágoras
Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President & CEO,
The Commonwealth of Learning
A Call for Action Dee Dickenson, CEO, New Horizons for Learning
Alexandra Draxler, Director, Task force on Education for
The education sector has been using the technologies the Twenty-first Century (UNESCO)
developed for the business and commercial sectors, and has Pedro Paulo Poppovic, Secretary of Distance Education,
been caught in the cycle of purchasing evermore-powerful Federal Ministry of Education, Brazil
Nicholas Veliotes, President Emeritus,
computers and software. Technologies for education have Association of American Publishers
therefore been more of applications than solutions.
The question that many are asking is: Do we really need ADVISORY EDITORIAL COMMITTEE:
Joanne Capper, Sr. Education Specialist, World Bank
high-powered computers, continuous connectivity and most Sam Carlson, Executive Director, WorldLinks
up-to-date operating software to use computers for Mary Fontaine, LearnLink, AED
education purposes? There is no empirical answer because Kathleen Fulton, Independent Consultant
there has been no systematic attempt to go to the drawing Gregg Jackson, Assoc. Prof., George Washington Univ.
Sonia Jurich, Consultant
board and set design specifications for an "education Frank Method, Consultant, Former Director, UNESCO
machine" that meets the pedagogical and institutional needs Washington
of the education sector within the financial parameters that Kurt Moses, Vice President, AED
govern this public, non-profit sector. There have been some Harry Patrinos, Sr. Education Economist, World Bank
Laurence Wolff, Sr. Consultant, IDB
humble efforts in countries such as Brazil and India to
address this issue and produce a less costly computer with a
longer operational life. But what we need is a more concerted MANAGING EDITOR:
effort in this domain. Sandra Semaan
We call on the International Development Community GENERAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

(UNESCO, World Bank, UNDP…), that is providing FEEDBACK ON ARTICLES
millions of dollars in support of ICTs in schools, to take this EDITORIAL MATTERS:
issue seriously and invest a small portion of these amounts in TechKnowLogia@KnowledgeEnterprise.org
an Institute or Commission to explore and encourage new SPONSORSHIP
technologies that are derived from educational needs, have a Sandra@KnowledgeEnterprise.org
long lifetime, and are cost-effective. Such body should
include education planners, technologists, engineers, ADDRESS AND FAX
Knowledge Enterprise, Inc.
programmers and education consumers drawn from the P.O. Box 3027
public and private sectors. Oakton, VA 22124
U.S.A.
Unless we take such collective and intelligent action, Fax: 703-242-2279
technologies for education and learning will continue to be
vendor driven, unattainable and unsustainable. This Issue is Co-Sponsored By:
Academy for Educational Development (AED),
and
Wadi D. Haddad USAID's Global Bureau, Human Capacity Development
Center (G/HDC), under an Indefinite Quantities
Contract (No. HNE-I-00-96-00018-00) to
AED/LearnLink.

Configuration of School Technology
Strategies and Options
Eric Rusten, Academy for Educational Development
The demand to integrate computers into education forces ment, software and supplies is expensive and it is often
education planners, principals, teachers and technology spe- only possible for one or two rooms in a school.
cialists to make many decisions about the technical, training, ! What is the average number of students per classroom
financial, pedagogical and infrastructural requirements of and a projection on how this ratio may change over
school computerization programs. One of the more chal- time? Schools that have large numbers of students per
lenging clusters of questions that planners and educators classroom will likely have limited space for computers
must make center on the concerns of where and how com- to be permanently installed.
puters should be distributed, connected and used in schools. ! What strategies will be used to provide support, man-
There is no single best computer configuration.1 Rather, there agement and maintenance of the computer facilities?
are only optimum solutions for each school. ! How much money is available to purchase and install the
equipment, buy software, and train teachers? Is there a
Educational Context: budget for on-going maintenance, supplies and technical
support, and for replacing aging equipment and increas-
Needs and Approaches ing the number of computers in the school? Technology
budgets for initial installations of systems and on-going
Each school or school system must evaluate its situation and support will likely be a dominating factor when deciding
educational needs and compare the costs and benefits of a which configuration is best for a school or school sys-
variety of computer system configuration options. In carry- tem. This is especially true for older schools that may
ing out an assessment, the following questions may need to need to have special electrical systems installed for
be to be considered: computers, and for crowded schools with poor general
security, which may need to install special doors and
! What are the educational goals and learning objectives window grates to prevent theft.
for using computers in schools? Different computer con- ! Do the teachers know how to use the computers and,
figurations have a direct relationship to how computers more importantly, do they have the skills to integrate
and the Internet can and will be used by teachers and computer and Internet use into routine teaching and
students to enhance education. learning? Most investments in computers and Internet
! What is the target ratio of computers to students that the access in schools are done both to provide opportunities
school or school system is aiming for? for students to learn about using computes and to enable
! Will a school's computer system need to be used by the overall quality of teaching and learning to be im-
members of the community during non-school hours? proved. The physical technology by itself cannot
The high cost of investing in technology in public achieve these goals. Only skilled teachers can. Inte-
schools will often be partly justified by allowing the new grating technology into education often requires teachers
computer facilities to be used by members of the school to change their approach to teaching and their interaction
community. If this is a priority, then a lab or computers- with students. The configuration of computer facilities in
on-wheels configuration may be needed. a school has important relationships to the training and
! What are the physical characteristics of the school professional development needs of teachers and affects
building? This includes the types of building materials teachers’ abilities to use technology to achieve the edu-
used in the walls, the availability and quality of electri- cational goals of the investment.
cal power, the size and shape of classrooms, the quality ! Do students move from class to class throughout the day
of natural or electrical lighting, the availability of tele- or do they spend most of their time in one room?
phone lines, and the types of furnishings? ! Will the computer system be used by special needs stu-
! How secure are the school and the classrooms in which dents? Is physical access to computers by students in
computers may be installed? Is the risk of theft high? wheel chairs an important issue?
Providing sufficient security to prevent theft of equip- ! Will rooms with computers need to be air-conditioned or

protected from excessive dust in the air? can accommodate computers in sufficient numbers. Provid-
! Will the computers be connected by cable or wireless ing only one or a few computers in all classrooms of a school
systems to form a network, and will this local area net- will likely have little or no impact on learning since it will be
work (LAN) require a central computer or server to difficult for teachers to make computer use an integral part of
manage network activity? their teaching.
! Will the computers be connected to the Internet? If yes,
what type of connection (intermittent use of normal Important considerations for classroom computer installa-
phone cables, dedicated phone or cable connections) will tions:
be possible? • Teachers’ skills: skills Computers in classroom con-
figurations usually require teachers to have a high de-
These questions are not equally important. So, the answers gree of technical skills along with the capacity to dy-
should be accordingly weighted. One of the most difficult namically integrate the use of computers into their
challenges, though, is balancing educational objectives with teaching. This combination of technical skills and peda-
hard financial realities. Ultimately, the goal of an assessment gogical capacity is not common and without it invest-
is to determine the optimum configuration for integrating ments in classroom computers can lead to negligible
computers into education at a specific school. educational gains.
• Space and student numbers: numbers Placing clusters
There are many ways to categorize and describe the different of computers in a classroom to enable effective student
computer system configuration options and strategies. In this use requires enough space for groups of two to thee stu-
article, we use three organizing themes: dents to sit comfortably in front of the computers. Space
is also needed to give teachers enough room to move
• Physical configuration options among the groups to orchestrate activities. Furthermore,
• Networking technology options incorporating computers into regular classrooms usually
• Internet access options requires non-traditional student seating arrangements.
Few schools and classrooms, especially in developing
Physical Configuration Options countries and poorer communities have sufficient space
or the capacity to provide a low student to computer ra-
There are three basic ways that computers can be distributed tio to make classroom computer installations feasible.
in schools to meet educational goals. They can be provided • Quality and availability of electricity: electricity
to individual classrooms, installed in central computer labs Computers demand a quality electrical supply. Class-
and placed in libraries and teachers’ planning rooms. Each rooms in older schools often do not have access to qual-
of these options, and their combinations, has associated ity electricity or to electrical systems with the capacity to
benefits and costs that need to be carefully considered. Some support 12 to 20 computers. Remodeling classrooms to
educational technology specialists argue that proximity and meet the electrical needs of computers is usually very
easy access to computers are dominant factors in achieving expensive, especially if it needs to be done for many
high rates of use by students and teachers and thus positive classrooms.
educational benefits. Similarly, some people consider that • Security:
Security Classrooms in many schools are often
installing computers in central computer rooms or labs is used for many purposes throughout the day and week.
“old fashioned” and inhibits effective educational use. These Maintaining sufficient security to prevent theft of
are overly simplistic perspectives since the distribution of equipment, software and supplies while also enabling
computers is only one factor determining how teachers use open access to the classrooms to a variety of users is
computers and the Internet to enhance teaching and learning. usually not possible. Also, modifying the doors and
Teachers can use each of these configuration options to help windows in the classrooms to make them secure can sig-
enhance education. The most critical factor is the teacher, nificantly increase the cost of installing computers in a
not the physical configuration of computers in a school. Con- school.
figuration can, however, affect teachers’ access to computers • Availability of maintenance and sup sup-
and their options for how technology can be used. port services:
services Distributing computers throughout
the classrooms of a school will make it more difficult
Computers in Classrooms and therefore more expensive to provide effective
maintenance and support services. This is especially true
One of the greatest potential benefits of distributing comput-
in systems where teachers lack the skills and time to
ers to individual classrooms is to provide teachers and stu-
provide these services on their own.
dents with easier access to these educational tools. This can
• Internet access: access Access to the Internet can multi-
make it potentially easier for teachers to integrate computer
ply the educational impact of computers many times.
and Internet use into routine educational programs. But it
However, few schools have the capacity to provide
cannot be guaranteed. Also, not all schools and classrooms

Internet access to all classrooms. Providing even limited each classroom, the cost for software can also be much
Internet access via intermittent use of a single dial-up less with COWs than with conventional classroom com-
connection via a phone line can significantly increase puter installations.
the cost of school computing. Enabling high-speed ac- • COWs can be stored in secure rooms when not in use.
cess to all computers in a classroom can be prohibitive. • COWs can provide classroom access to computers in
• Connecting computers within the situations where students have classes in different
classroom and the school: school As with Internet rooms.
access, connecting computers together in a classroom • COWs can be customized to include expensive special-
and school to form an electronic network can multiply ized equipment that normally would not be part of a
their usefulness and increase their educational impact. classroom system.
Without being networked, computer use is limited to • COWs can be used in support of teacher professional
simple one-to-one and small group activities, routine development programs.
word processing, and the use of stand-alone reference
and educational software applications. Unfortunately, Challenges:
most schools require extensive remodeling to enable • The initial cost of COWs with laptops and wireless net-
computers in classrooms and schools to be connected to working capabilities has a higher cost per computer than
form networks. Also, creating classroom networks in conventional stationary computers.
schools can require significant investments in additional • COWs can be seen as “communal” property and there-
computer hardware (servers, hubs, switches, routers, fore it can be more costly to maintain them, especially
etc.). when using laptops, than with stationary systems.
• There is a greater risk of equipment damage from acci-
Alternative Computers in Class
Class- dents, hard use or dropping with COW using laptops
room Strategy—COWs
Strategy—COWs than with stationary equipment.
COWs or Computers On Wheels are carts that hold a set of • Dedicated staff is often needed to maintain COW sys-
computers (10 to 20), usually laptops, often a printer, with tems, deliver them to teachers, and help teachers set up
the possibility to connect to a school network via one net- and use the equipment.
work connection. COWs can be wheeled into a classroom • Schools with multiple floors without elevators either
when the teacher wants to use computers for a specific activ- have to have COWs for every floor or restrict their use
ity. Some of the benefits and challenges of using COWs are to specific floors. Similarly, schools comprised of differ-
discussed below. ent buildings may not be able to use COWs.
• The difficulty of scheduling the use of a limited number
Benefits: of COWs may frustrate teachers and inhibit them from
• COWs make it possible to provide teachers access to using these systems.
computers in their classroom without having to signifi-
cantly remodel the room, provide special furniture, or Computer Rooms or Labs
reserve space for dedicated computers. Establishing one or more computer rooms or labs is a popu-
• Working in small groups at their desks enables all stu- lar way to provide equitable access to computers for the
dents to have access to computers even in crowded greatest number of users at the lowest possible cost. Com-
classrooms. puter labs enable schools to concentrate expensive resources
• Using battery-powered laptops makes it possible to in a common space that can be used for student educational
avoid the need to provide special electrical power. activities, teacher professional development events and
• Using infrared printing and wireless networking cards community groups. When using computer labs, it is impor-
enables the students to print their work and connect to tant to arrange computers along the walls of the room rather
the school network for e-mail communication and possi- than in rows so that teachers can view all the students’ work
bly access the Internet without the need for cables. from a common point and move quickly and easily from stu-
• COWs allow schools to optimize the use of expensive dent to student, providing feedback and support. It can also
equipment by enabling any teacher to request a cart of make it easier and less costly to provide electricity and net-
computers. work access to the computers. Some of the benefits and
• COWs may be more affordable than the costs to remodel challenges of using computer labs are discussed below.
classrooms, provide special electrical supplies, install
cabling to network all the computers, buy furniture, and Benefits:
purchase the computer equipment. • Establishing a computer in a lab or dedicated room only
• Since software only needs to be purchased for the com- requires schools to install quality electricity, network
puters on the carts and not for dozens of computers in cabling and servers, effective security, climate control

systems, good lighting, and specialized furniture in one sufficient room, suitable infrastructure, funds and technical
or two rooms in a school rather then in many different resources, the strategy of distributing computers to class-
rooms. rooms either as stationary systems or via COWs can be an
• A dedicated room, if effectively designed, ensures that effective means of enabling easy access to computers and the
there is sufficient space to allow students to work in Internet. Library computers can be used to focus on research
groups, move about to see each other work, while also activities, while special classrooms can be outfitted with
allowing teachers to move from group to group to pro- computers, especially for special needs students, to enable
vide input and guidance. and enhance benefits that are difficult to achieve from com-
• Computer labs can be maintained by one or two staff puter labs. The combination of these two options with one or
that can also provide teachers with technical and peda- more computer labs can create an ideal solution to providing
gogical support. students and teachers with rich and powerful educational
• Equipment and software costs can be less for computer tools.
labs used by all classes than by classroom-based sys-
tems. Networking Technology Options
• Computer labs can optimize return on technology in-
vestments. Connecting computers together to form a network and con-
• It can be easier and less costly to provide access to the necting school, lab and classroom networks to the Internet
Internet via computer labs than with classroom systems. can significantly multiply the educational value and impact
• Computer labs can make it easier to encourage collabo- of computers in schools. There are a variety of options for
rative projects among groups of teachers and students. creating classroom, lab and school computer networks.
Challenges: Peer-to-Peer Networking

• Computer labs can quickly become oversubscribed and As with all networked computers, users can share files and
competition for use may make it difficult for teachers to resources located on computers in the network. With peer-to-
engage their students in longer-term on-going projects peer (p2p) (see Figure 1) networking, however, there is no
and activities. file server or central computer that manages network activity.
• Scheduling conflicts can frustrate teachers and inhibit One or more of the computers in a p2p network can provide
their use of computer labs. centralized services such as printing and access to the Inter-
• Users, as with COWs, can see computer labs as a com- net. Most desktop operating systems come with software to
munal resource and thus reduce the feeling of responsi- enable p2p networking once the computers are connected by
bility and make it more difficult to maintain. some cable or wireless-networking infrastructure.
• Once the novelty of using computers wears off, encour-
aging teachers to move their students to the lab may be-
come increasingly difficult.
• Spontaneous needs to use computers for research, refer-
ence, word processing, etc. can be impossible or very
difficult to act on.
• In some schools, principals or lab coordinators may im-
plement policies that can limit access to the computers.
Computers in Libraries and Teach

Teach-
ers’ Rooms
When funding and staff resources are scarce, schools can
optimize investments in computers and Internet access by Figure 1: Peer-to-Peer Network2
installing a few computers in public spaces such as the li-
brary and the teachers’ planning room. Giving teachers pri- Peer-to-peer networking is good for small networks where a
vate access to computers and the Internet can encourage centralized file server is not needed and where network secu-
teachers to learn to use these technologies and enable them to rity is not a major issue. This type of networking is less ex-
carry out planning activities involving the use of computers. pensive to set up since the only expense is in the cables and
networking hardware. However, as the network of comput-
Hybrid Options ers grows in size and complexity, it will likely be necessary
to shift to a client/server style of network.
Where possible, the greatest educational returns on technol-
ogy investments can result by strategically using combina-
tions of the above configuration options. For schools with

Client/Server Networking Dave, June 28, 1999)3 The primary reason for a low TCO is
Larger networks in schools are client/server networks. In savings from centralized management, often from centralized
these networks, as seen in Figure 2, one computer central- remote sites, and from less costly upgrades in software and
izes functions of storing common files, operating network e- applications. Thin-client/server networks are also easier to
mail delivery and providing access to applications. install than traditional client/server networks. Also, since the
client appliances cannot function without the server, there is
little risk of theft. Thin-client systems are very efficient at
providing access to the Internet. Because the client appli-
ances have few moving parts and limited functions, thin-
client/server networks are more reliable and stable than tra-
ditional network systems.
A major disadvantage for some thin-client/server networks is

that little educational software is written to run on thin-client
servers running a version of UNIX. Most of these servers
come with special emulation software but this is usually an
incomplete solution and software often runs slower and some
applications fail to function. Since many thin-client/server
networks are based on a type of Unix operating system, skills
Figure 2: Client/Server Network2 with Unix are needed to set up and administer. However, if
schools have no staff with these skills but have access to the
One of the advantages of client/server networks is that they Internet, it is possible to have a technician at some remote
are scaleable; you can add more clients and servers to the site administer and maintain the network. This enables a
system without significantly changing the network. Central- school district to have one highly skilled technician manage
izing network services can also make the network easier to thin-client/server networks in several schools thus reducing
manage and administer and client/server networks provide a management costs further.
greater degree of security than do p2p networks. These
benefits come with some disadvantages. Because of the dedi- Even though thin-client/server network systems are relatively
cated server, initial costs are higher and they are more com- uncommon in K-12 educational environments, they are a
plex to set up and maintain than stand-alone computers and viable alternative to traditional client/server network sys-
p2p networks, often requiring schools to hire a network tech- tems. A careful assessment of TCO and the availability of
nician to oversee the network. Also, if the server fails, all technical skills at a school or school system can help plan-
network functions fail. ners decide if the thin-client/server network is best for their
needs.
Thin-Client/Server Networking
Connecting Computers
A thin-client/server network is similar to a traditional cli-
ent/server network except that the client is not a free standing There are essentially three ways to connect computers to-
computer capable of operating on its own. In contrast, thin- gether to form local area networks. The most common is to
clients are desktop appliances or network devices that link use some form of cable, either standard phone cables, coaxial
the keyboard, monitor and mouse to a server where all appli- cables or 10/100BaseT twisted pair LAN cables. Of these,
cations and data are stored, maintained and processed. The the most common cable option today is 10/100BaseT
server, often called an application server, is built to provide Ethernet networking. Installation usually requires cables and
all the networking services and computer calculations. Since ports to be installed in walls, floor or ceilings.
all network and computer services are centralized, all main-
tenance and upgrading is done at the server; there is no need An option to installing special network cables that has re-
to service the clients. cently become a reliable technology for some situations is to
use the existing power lines in the school to carry the net-
Proponents of thin-client/server networks emphasize that work traffic. Presently, Power Line Networking (PLN) is
even though initial purchase costs are usually higher than capable of providing reliable network communication speeds
with traditional PC/server networks, lifetime costs or total between 250Kbps and 500Kbps for six to 20 network access
cost of ownership (TCO) can be significantly less. For ex- points. Higher speed systems ranging form 2 to 12 Mbps are
ample, a recent “survey of 25 [business] sites using thin- also available. Equipment costs are presently higher than
client technologies conducted earlier this year by Datapro conventional networking technologies. These prices are ex-
concluded that on average, deploying thin-client devices cut pected to fall as technical improvements are made and larger
support [life time] costs by more than 80 percent.”(Molta, scale systems become available. In some situations, the costs

of using PLN can be less than installing cable systems. Dial-up Connection
The simplest and lowest cost connection to the Internet is
Another network option that is becoming increasingly popu- through dial-up access using a single standard phone line.
lar and affordable is wireless local area networking. Such This can either provide Internet access by a single computer
systems use a variety of communication frequencies to en- in a lab, class room, teachers’ room or library, or by using
able reliable connections at a variety of network speeds from software on a server to allow networked computers to share
2 to 11 Mbps across distances ranging from 30 to 500 me- this single connection. However, when sharing a connection,
ters. For small local area networks or portable classroom the speed of access can become very slow since the total
systems, wireless connectivity is often a viable and cost- available bandwidth will be divided among the number com-
effective option in comparison to cabling older buildings. puters in the network.
Wireless networking also provides a degree of flexibility that
is not possible with cable systems. Also, since cables do not If two or three phone lines are available, it can be possible to
need to be installed, a network can be created in a very short combine these lines using an analog router to enable multiple
period of time. phone line access to an Internet service provider (ISP), thus
increasing available bandwidth.
Internet Access Options
If phone lines are not available but cell phone links are, it is
One of the most important educational benefits of computers possible to use a cell phone with a cellular modem to allow
is that they enable access to the Internet and can be used as access to the Internet. This can be very costly and is usually
powerful communication devices. There are a variety of limited to short burst of use for email communications.
options and technologies that should be considered when
deciding about Internet access. This section only introduces Dedicated Connection
Internet access options. These and other options are further Schools can speed up and improve reliability of Internet ac-
detailed in Heather Hudson's article, "Solving the Connec- cess by using dedicated high-speed connections where avail-
tivity Problem," in this Issue of TechKnowLogia. able and affordable. There are a variety of dedicated high
bandwidth options that may be available to schools including
Simulated Internet ISDN, DSL, digital cable, radio modem, and satellite access.
If a direct connection to the Internet is not possible either for
economic, technical or availability reasons, it is possible to Concluding Thoughts
provide students and teachers with simulated access to a se-
lection of Internet resources by copying valuable web sites to As mentioned at the start, there are no “off-the-shelf” con-
CD-ROMs (CDs) and then using the CDs. For example, the figuration solutions to meet the diversity of needs and condi-
Rio de Janeiro Municipal school system provides schools tions for different schools around the world. Carrying out an
that cannot directly access the Internet with a CD containing assessment of needs, physical conditions, constraints and
a selection of Portuguese language educational web sites. opportunities and weighting factors according to their im-
The CDs, which are periodically updated, use the same portance, will contribute greatly to the process of deciding
Internet browsers that are used with the Internet so that when which type of configuration optimizes resources against
Internet access becomes available, teachers and students will needs. It is also important to examine the capacity of local
have no difficulty using this technology. The “Internet” CDs markets to support different options, especially new innova-
can also make it easier for teachers to prepare structured edu- tive state-of-the-art technologies. Throughout the informa-
cational activities; students can explore the CD but cannot tion gathering and decision-making process, it is important to
surf beyond the scope of the activity. Even if Internet access evaluate options and alternatives against the ultimate objec-
is available, using a CD with copied web sites can make it tive of all school computer systems—to enhance teaching
easier for students to use a slow connection. and learning.
1
In this article, computer configuration refers to how computer systems will be distributed, arranged, connected and used in a
school. The article will not discuss the technical configuration of how software is installed or how individual computers are
prepared for use.
2
From: “An Educators’ Guide to School Networks,” Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, Uni-
versity of South Florida. http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/network/.
3
Molta, Dave, “For Client/Server, Think Thin,” IT Papers.Com
(http://www.itpapers.com/cgi/PSummaryIT.pl?paperid=13855&scid=154) June 28, 1999

Solving the Connectivity Prob
Problem
Heather E. Hudson, Ph.D.1
Several new technologies offer the potential for developing standard can also allow the base station to act as a wireless
countries to leapfrog earlier generations of equipment to pro- PBX and further reduce cost.4 For example, DECT has been
vide connectivity. Terrestrial wireless and satellite technolo- used in South Africa to provide links to rural pay telephones
gies offer many advantages in that they do not require in- and telecenters. However, DECT has very limited bandwidth,
stallation of wireline networks. Satellite facilities can also be so that it is not suitable for accessing the Worldwide Web.
installed where communications is needed, even in remote
and isolated areas, rather than waiting for terrestrial networks WAP (Wireless Access Protocol): This protocol has
to be extended from the cities. been developed to make it possible to transmit web pages
and other data to cellular phones. It may be adapted for
wireless services in developing countries so that Internet
Terrestrial Wireless information can be transmitted to low bandwidth wireless
systems.
Cellular: Cellular technology, originally designed for mo-
bile services (such as communication from vehicles), is now
used for personal communications with small portable hand- Satellite Technologies
sets. Cellular service has become the first and only telephone
service for people in many developing countries where it is Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATS): Small satel-
available much sooner than fixed line service. In countries lite earth stations operating with geosynchronous (GEO) sat-
such as Gabon, Uganda, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda, ellites can be used for interactive voice and data, as well as
and Tanzania, there are now more cellular telephones than for broadcast reception. For example, banks in remote areas
fixed lines. However, the bandwidth available on current of Brazil are linked via VSATs; the National Stock Exchange
cellular systems is very limited; it is possible to send short in India links brokers with rooftop VSATs. VSATs for tele-
text messages and simple e-mail, but not to access the vision reception (known as TVROs for television receive
Worldwide Web. only) deliver broadcasting signals to viewers in many devel-
oping regions, particularly in Asia and Latin America. (See
Wireless Local Loop (WLL): Wireless local loop systems also VSAT articles in this Issue of TechKnowLogia by
can be used to extend local telephone services to rural Bloome and by Saenz, Garcia and Wolff.)
schools without laying cable or stringing copper wire. WLL
costs have declined, making it competitive with copper. Internet via Satellite: Internet gateways can be accessed
Wireless allows faster rollout to customers than extending via geostationary satellites. For example, MagicNet, an ISP
wire or cable. It also has a lower ratio of fixed to incremental (Internet Service Provider) in Mongolia and some African
costs than copper, making it easy to add more customers and ISPs access the Internet in the U.S. via PanAmSat, and resi-
serve transient populations. Wireless is also less vulnerable dents of the Canadian Arctic use Canada’s Anik satellite
than copper wire or cable to accidental damage or vandalism. system, while Alaskan villagers use U.S. domestic satellites.
Examples of countries with WLL projects include Bolivia, However, these systems are not optimized for Internet use,
Czech Republic, Hungary, Indonesia, South Africa and Sri and may therefore be quite expensive. Also, there is a half-
Lanka.2 second delay in transmission via GEO, although it is a more
obvious hindrance for voice than data. Several improvements
Multi-Access Radio: Time division multiple access in using GEOs are becoming available:
(TDMA) radio systems are a means of providing wireless
rural telephony. They typically have 30 to 60 trunks and can DirecPC: This system designed by Hughes uses a VSAT as
accommodate 500 to 1,000 subscribers. Their range can be a high speed downlink from the ISP, but provides upstream
extended using multiple repeaters.3 connectivity over existing telephone lines. Some rural
schools in the U.S. are using DirecPC for Internet access.
Cordless: Short range cordless extensions can provide the
link from wireless outstations to subscriber premises; the Interactive Access via VSAT: Several companies are
DECT (Digital European Cordless Telephone) technology developing protocols for fully interactive Internet access via

satellite, to make more efficient use of bandwidth and thus (See VITA article by Scharffenberger in this Issue of Tech-
lower transmission costs for users. Examples include VITA- KnowLogia.)
Com, Tachyon, and Aloha Networks.5
Wireline Technologies
High Bandwidth LEOs (Low Earth Orbiting): Future
LEO systems are being planned to provide bandwidth on Innovations in wireline technology make it possible to pro-
demand. Constellations of LEO satellites such as McCaw’s vide high speed Internet access over telephone lines, rather
Teledesic and Alcatel’s Skybridge, and new generations of than having to upgrade existing copper networks.9 These
GEOs such as Loral's Cyberstar and Hughes’ Spaceway will technologies may be used in urban areas where basic tele-
be designed to offer bandwidth on demand for Internet ac- phone service is available.
cess, video conferencing and distance education.6
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): Regular
Global Mobile Personal Communications Systems twisted pair copper telephone lines can carry two 64 kbps
(GMPCS): Using LEO satellites, these systems provide channels plus one 16 kbps-signaling channel. One channel
voice and low-speed (typically 2400 to 9600 bps) data virtu- can be used for voice and one for fax or Internet access, etc;
ally anywhere, using handheld transceivers. However, the or two can be combined for videoconferencing or higher
price per minute for these services is typically much higher speed Internet access. Several ISDN lines can also be com-
than national terrestrial services, and the first generation of bined, for example, for higher quality video conferencing.
LEOs has very limited bandwidth.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL): Several variations of
Data Broadcasting by Satellite: GEO satellites designed DSL technology have been developed that provide data rates
for interactive voice and data can also be used for data of up to 1.544 mbps (T1) downstream over existing copper
broadcasting. For example, China’s Xinhua News Agency pair for services such as limited video-on-demand and high
transmits broadcasting news feeds to subscribers equipped speed Internet access. This technology can be used in urban
with VSATs. Digital audio can also be broadcast by satellite. areas where copper wire is already installed, but its range is
The WorldSpace geostationary satellite system delivers limited.
digital audio directly to small radios. While one market for
these products is people who can afford to subscribe to digi- Hybrid Fiber/Coax (HFC): A combination of optical fiber
tal music channels, the system can also be used to transmit and coaxial cable can provide broadband services such as TV
educational programs in a variety of languages for individual and high speed Internet access as well as telephony; this
reception or community redistribution. It can also be used for combination is cheaper than installing fiber all the way to the
delivery of Internet content; participants identify which web- customer premises. Unlike most cable systems, HFC allows
sites they want to view on a regular basis, and WorldSpace two-way communication. The fiber runs from a central
broadcasts the data for reception via an addressable modem switch to a neighborhood node; coax links the node to the
attached to the radio. WorldSpace has donated equipment end user such as a school, home or residence. Developing
and satellite time for pilot projects at schools and telecenters countries with HFC projects include Chile, China, India,
in Africa.7 (See also article by Tchwenko in this Issue of South Korea, and Malaysia.10
TechKnowLogia.)
Store-and-Forward Messaging: Volunteers in Technical Other Technologies

Assistance (VITA) has developed a satellite-based system
called VITAsat, capable of delivering sustainable, low-cost Other technological innovations that can be used to improve
communications and information services to remote commu- access to communication networks in developing regions
nities. The system uses simple, reliable, store-and-forward e- include:
mail messages relayed to the Internet via LEO satellites. Us-
ing compression technology and software that allows access Digital Compression: Compression algorithms can be
to web pages using e-mail, VITAsat can make the Internet used to "compress" digital voice signals, so that 8 or more
accessible virtually anywhere. VITA’s current two satellite conversations can be carried on a single 64 kbps voice chan-
system has the capacity to serve about 2500 remote rural nel, thus reducing transmission costs. Compressed digital
terminals that could be installed in schools, clinics, commu- video can be used to transmit motion video over as few as 2
nity centers and NGOs. VITA plans to include local skill and telephone lines (128 kbps), offering the possibility of low
organizational capacity building and development of targeted cost videoconferencing for distance education and training.
information content and services designed specifically to
meet the needs of small businesses, local NGOs, educators, Internet Telephony: (Voice over IP): Packetized voice
health workers, and other relief and development workers.8 communication can be transmitted very inexpensively over

the Internet. Some carriers are now offering dial-up access to there are any toll free or flat rate options.
Internet telephony. The advantage of using Internet protocols
for voice as well as data is much lower transmission cost Speed and Reliability of Access to the Internet: The
than over circuit-switched telephony networks. speed of access to the Internet depends not only on the
bandwidth available to reach the ISP, but the number of ports
Community Radio: Small FM community radio stations at the ISP and the bandwidth it has available to reach an
can be important news sources for the community and can be Internet gateway. In addition to asking the ISP for such in-
used to broadcast educational radio programs for listening formation, it is useful to check with other customers to find
both in school and at home or community centers.11 Some out whether they experience outages or delays, and whether
telecenter projects are combining computer facilities with they have noticed any improvement or degradation in access
community radio stations. Portable wind-up radio receivers over time.
are practical for school and community use.12
Batched and Compressed E-mail Accounts: Users
can save money in telecommunications charges if they can
Selecting an ISP compose messages offline and send and receive e-mail in
batches to the ISP. A batched e-mail service using the com-
In addition to choosing a means of connecting to the Internet, pressed UUCP transfer protocol is four to eight times faster
it will also be necessary to choose an Internet Service Pro- than the standard TCP-IP/POP (post office protocol) used by
vider or ISP (some ISPs bundle connectivity with services). most e-mail clients.13
Factors to consider include:
Web Hosting: The ISP should provide web-hosting capa-
Distance to Point-of-Presence (POP): Ideally, the ISP bility if another web hosting site is not already available in
should provide local connectivity so that long distance call- the country. Alternatively, schools can use one of the free
ing charges are not incurred. However, in many rural and web hosting services made available by some U.S., European
developing regions, local access is not available. In such or Australian sites.14
cases, it will be important to consider the price charged by
telecommunications operators to reach the POP, and whether
1
Professor and Director, Telecommunications Management and Policy Program, University of San Francisco, San Francisco,
CA 94117, USA. e-mail: hudson@usfca.edu.
2
ITU, World Telecommunication Development Report. Geneva: International Telecommunication Union, 1998, p. 53.
3
Kayani, Rogati and Andrew Dymond. 1997. Options for Rural Telecommunications Development. (Washington, DC, World
Bank), p.27.
4
Kayani and Dymond, p. 48.
5
See www.alohanet.com ; also The Red Herring, September 29, 1998 ( www.redherring.com/mag/issue59/limit/html ; also
www.tachyon.net and www.vitacom.com .
6
Hudson, Heather E. "The Significance of Telecommunications for Canadian Rural Development." Testimony on Behalf of the
Public Interest Advocacy Centre et al., Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission Hearing on Telecom
Public Notice CRTC 97-42, Service to High-cost Serving Areas, April 1998.
7
See www.worldspace.com .
8
See www.vita.org .
9
It should be noted that copper wire is prone to theft in some countries: Telkom South Africa reported more than 4,000 inci-
dents of cable theft in 1996, at an estimated cost of R 230 million (about US$ 50 million).
10
ITU, World Telecommunication Development Report, 1998, p. 57.
11
See, for example, Latchem, Colin and David Walker, eds. Telecentres: Case Studies and Key Issues. Vancouver: Common-
wealth of Learning, 2001.
12
See, for example, Freeplay Energy at www.freeplay.net .
13
Jensen, Mike and David Walker. "Telecentre Technology" in Latchem and Walker.
14
See, for example, geocities.yahoo.com or www.tripod.lycos.com .

TechKnowNews
America Online Launches Online who work in a non-traditional environment. Specific goals
Campus Learning Center include the following:
• To change management development from a one-time

classroom event to a continuous process of learning.
America Online (AOL), the world's leading interactive
• To provide a blend of e-learning (online performance
services company, announced, in December 2001, the launch
support, online simulations, virtual collaboration) to
of AOL Online Campus. This new service enables AOL
enhance the classroom experience.
members to research and register for offline courses, access
career advancement resources, pursue an interest or hobby, • To provide a personally-customized career learning
and complete an undergraduate or graduate degree. Courses path for each individual manager.
are offered by quality educational providers such as • To meet both immediate problem-solving needs and
University of Phoenix, University of California Berkley long-term developmental goals of managers.
Extension, PBS, and Barnes & Noble. • To make learning accessible whenever desired and
convenient for managers.
The courses and content offerings focus around three major
areas of interest: career advancement, degree courses, and Edvisor's web-interactive solution provides the following
personal enrichment. three tracks to managers:
AOL Online Campus will also offer an online library of Track 1: Solve a people-management &/or leadership
more than 65,000 books and journal articles. An online problem: Edvisor provides immediate access to over 150
research engine is also available that features a digital online best-thinking and best-practices management
archive of primary source materials, journals, periodicals, performance-support modules. Managers can 24/7 access
newspapers, reference books and case studies. This content modules by topic, alphabetically or via a keyword search
is available for purchase by AOL members. engine. Modules include company-designed learning tools,
online simulators and interactive cases, and external
For more information, AOL members can go to AOL materials consistent with company approaches and models
keyword: Online Campus. (e.g., Harvard Business School ManageMentor).
Source: America Online, December 2001 Track 2: Prepare for attending classroom learning lab.
Managers use Edvisor to create their own personal pre-work
skill curriculum for a 2-day Managing@IBM learning lab --
IBM's Edvisor Wins Excellence in a face-to-face workshop.
E-Learning Award
Track 3: Work on longer-term leadership and
management development. Managers use Edvisor to design
IBM's new online performance support and personal a personal, long-term development plan. Edvisor
development tool was one of only three honorees awarded "interviews" the manager, asks questions about his/her
the Gold Prize in Innovative Technologies in the 2001 current business conditions, and analyzes his/her 360-survey
"Excellence in eLearning" Awards program. feedback. Incorporating this information, Edvisor creates a
recommended personal Manager Development Plan (MDP).
This is a tool managers can use both for immediate assistance This MDP provides immediate online access to the
and as a state of the art learning program. Edvisor was development offerings the manager needs to improve his/her
developed in response to IBM's challenge to enhance leadership competencies, and tracks his/her progress through
leadership skills for 30,000+ experienced IBM managers the plan. The MDP continues throughout the manager's

career and can be modified whenever desired to meet The centers aim to provide the community, especially the
changing business needs or personal goals. elderly, women and new arrivals, with access to IT and
Internet training and facilities.
Source: IBM http://www-
3.ibm.com/software/mindspan/distlrng.nsf/wdocs/11947e3cf The first 'Super Cyber Centre' was opened in Canton Road,
c44443d85256ad300721a10?OpenDocument&ExpandSectio Yau Ma Tei, in July of last year. The center opens for 12
n=1 hours each day and is home to over 100 PCs with high-speed
Internet connections.
ITrainOnline.org Launched in
The facilities are divided into training areas where non-profit
November 2001 organizations and IT industry volunteers can arrange courses,
sections devoted to the Internet, reading and video, and a
special area for children.
The Association for Progressive Communications' (APC)
Online Resource Centre launched "itrainline.org," and Online Services are free, but users must register their details with the
Resource for Learners and Trainers in the Development center before they will be allowed online. "
Community. According to the APC, the Online Resources
Centre project is "supporting the creating of an interactive, Appraising the center's performance, Director of Home
multilingual Website of Internet training materials to support Affairs Shelley Lee said the center has registered 7,000
and promote the strategic use of information and members and recorded an average usage rate of more than 70
communications technologies (ICTs) for development and percent with over 100 percent during peak hours.
social justice."
Source: Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com,
ItrainOnline.org was developed by APC in conjunction with January 2002.
organizations with experience in training in a development
context. These are: Bellanet, the International Institute for Thailand Offers Free IT Training to
Communication and Development (IICD), the International
Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the Its Unemployed
International Network for the Availability of Scientific
Publications (INASP), and OneWorld.
Thailand's Labor Ministry's Department of Skill
Most useful about this portal is that it offers materials and Development has requested approximately $9.81 million to
annotated links to high quality resources in English, Spanish offer IT training classes to the unemployed between January
and other languages on topics ranging from computer and and September 2002. Training would include basic
Internet basics to highly technical areas. This site and these computer and Internet usage, e-commerce, and computer
resources, are offered to help civil society and the aided design (CAD).
development community increase their impact.
This department has set up nationwide training in the past,
Web address is: http://www.itrainonline.org and most recently for graduate students in conjunction with
Chulalongkom and Ramkhamhaeng Universities. But this IT
Source: APC NewsFlash http://www.apc.org training will be aimed at a larger audience consisting of
college students, the unemployed and the general public.
Hong Kong Internet Centers: Free Courses will be developed in consultation with experts in the
Access for Elderly and Women field. Approximately 740 basic computer and Internet usage
courses will be offered, serving some 30,000 students. Each
course will be 40 hours, lasting seven days. The CAD
NewsBytes.com reports that: "The Hong Kong SAR curriculum will offer 48 classes for 20 people each. The e-
government has promised to open more cyber centers commerce curriculum will comprise 228 classes for almost
offering free Internet access to the general public. 8,000 students and will cover e-commerce, web-design and
business management. At completion of classes, students
Hong Kong's Home Affairs Department (HAD) envisages at will be aided in finding a job.
least one 'cyber center' in each of Hong Kong's 18 districts,
providing nationwide coverage. Source: Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com,
January 2002.

VSATs and Rural Education:
AN OPERATIONAL REALITY AT LAST
By Pedro Sáenz, Norma García and Laurence Wolff
allows two-way communications between two VSAT sites.
W hat is VSAT and why is it important?

Star networks allow any number of VSAT sites to have two-
way communications with a central hub. Mesh networks al-
low two-way communications between any VSAT site in a
Over the past 20 odd years, there have been many dreams network, without a central hub; each site communicates with
about linking rural schools through telecommunications. At another with a single satellite hop.
last, low-income, remote communities may end their isola-
tion through satellite-based solutions that may be cost- For education purposes, VSAT can be used in a “mesh” sys-
effective and provide a reliable flow of education materials, tem with each education site (school or telecenter) capable of
teacher training, and communications. both transmission and reception of data, to or from any other
site in the mesh. In this way, learning materials –both for
VSAT, which stands for Very Small Aperture Terminal and students and teacher training—can flow in any direction
is defined as a method using a small satellite terminal for within the system. Video and sound are also possible but
one-way and/or two-way (interactive) communications depend on the complementary infrastructure, not just on the
through satellite, is now an operational reality. Over the last VSAT system.
5 years VSATs have typically been used to facilitate Internet
access to remote communities, or basically to places where VSAT can be the medium of choice in rural and isolated ar-
terrestrial communications (using traditional telephony grids) eas because satellite networks have the following advan-
are not present or working optimally. tages:
VSAT is not new. It has been used mainly for business pur- • They can be installed in weeks, since the many miles of
poses, and there are today about 500,000 terminals installed cables are not needed.
in 120 countries, most of them developing countries. In
• They have versatility to cope with typical obstacles of
countries like the United States, VSAT-based Internet con-
rain forests, deserts, mountainous terrain, or connecting
nections are now available to the consumer. Monthly un-
remote island locations.
limited service fees vary depending on the value-added prod-
• They bring about bandwidth advantages that provide a
ucts and services selected by the clients, but on average they
bigger “pipe” for transmitting video, voice, and data.
amount to $69.99 per month.1 This growth in usage has re-
sulted in improved and less expensive VSAT technologies • While comparisons between VSAT and cable services
that education systems can now benefit from. are impossible, it is important to note that charges for
terrestrial services are nearly always distance-dependent,
The components of a VSAT site consist of a parabolic- while VSAT connections cost the same whether sites are
shaped antenna mounted on the roof of a building, connected 1 or 1,000 miles apart.
by a cable to a chassis inside the building. Operators install
these antennas at customer sites and buy transmission capac- Some creative teachers can do a great deal with a traditional
ity on satellites. Regulations permitting, it is normally more lecturing/blackboard approach to teaching. However, the
cost-efficient for isolated schools to buy transmission capac- capacity to visualize, conceptualize, construct, discuss, re-
ity from private operators. However, state-controlled telecom flect and remember knowledge, as well as the capacity to use
monopolies sometimes allow only the State to invest in the such stored knowledge for lifelong problem solving, are
whole system, not just the terminals. greatly enhanced by audio-visual aids that can provide last-
ing memory –particularly if they use two-way communica-
VSAT networks can have different configurations: point-to- tion. Of course the effectiveness of any medium for teaching
point, star, mesh, star/mesh, and broadcast. Point-to-point (“face to face,” printed materials, audio, computer, televi-
! 18 ! TechKnowLogia, January -March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

sion, or Internet) obviously depends not just on the engi- tronic equipment. Technical assistance and training will be
neering technologies available but on the availability of good provided to apply the technologies productively.
material and qualified teachers. The risk with VSAT, as with
any new media, is that if an appropriate training and/or peda- The main telecommunications architecture follows a VSAT
gogical system is not implemented, the outputs could be option. VSAT connectivity will allow taking advantage of
worse and certainly more expensive than with traditional existing distance education programs in Honduras, as well as
approaches. Piloting and monitoring projects is therefore testing innovative software and pedagogical models that can
key for developing countries entering the area of technology result in expanded and higher quality learning outcomes. In
and education. A further caveat here is in assessing the costs the absence of regular telephone distribution grids and the
of finding, buying, outsourcing or producing the contents very difficult terrain, the investments to extend terrestrial
that will be delivered through VSAT. interconnection via the telephone or radio microwave grids
are too expensive. Even radio would be more expensive be-
If remoteness cum difficult terrain and similar conditions cause it would require purchasing real estate, building relay
make investments in traditional telecom grids prohibitive, the stations and constructing access roads through difficult ter-
VSAT alternative can be an efficient, cost-effective way for rain.
reliable distribution of data, and/or images and/or sound.
With a well defined plan for proper training and organiza- The VSAT architecture2 consists of the main station (the
tion, and careful sequencing of activities to verify conditions hub) and the various (spokes) remote terminals (VSAT) lo-
to scale-up site expansion rates, access to schooling and cated in the rural areas. The hub could run around US
quality can be vastly enhanced. Honduras and Colombia are $500,000 and the VSAT stations around US$4,000 - $5,000.
two countries that are pioneering in this area. The operation of this system requires renting the satellite
segment and prices vary according to the type of frequency
band used and the transmission speed required. Satellite
V SAT-enhanced-education in Honduras
segments can be rented from providers for about US$1,000 -
$1,500 per month for dedicated connections at 64 Kbps. If
instead of dedicated connections, the system is operated us-
With assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank, ing “demand access,” i.e. on an as need basis, prices could
Honduras is beginning a pioneer program to apply new tech- range from US$80 - $100 per month. (Options such as using
nologies for the development of educational and market- DirecPC antennas, which may be cheaper, were discarded
knowledge services in about 100 remote, low-income com- since Honduras suffers from periodic adverse atmospheric
munities. The program will supply “technology packages” conditions, and also, these systems are slow for the require-
that will include tools such as computers, software, magnetic ments of this project to transmit audio, video and VoIP). The
media, cellular phones, and faxes, coupled with a renewable diagram illustrates the system.
energy source, such as photovoltaic panels, to drive the elec-

and institutions alike to exchange educational and teacher
training material, develop additional curricular content mate-
At last, low-income, remote communi- rial, and promote a new information and communication
ties may end their isolation through culture.
satellite-based solutions that may be
The participating schools will be equipped with computers
cost-effective and provide a reliable and will have VSAT-based Internet connection for at least
flow of education materials, teacher three consecutive years. The Skyblaster VSAT satellite
training, and communications. communications network used in this program is being pro-
vided by Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. through Informática
Datapoint de Colombia Ltda. Skyblaster is a two-way VSAT
solution that provides high speed Internet access. In total, the
The graph above shows the VSAT architecture, which is equipment and services provided by Gilat would provide
comprised of the Hub, the remote terminals also known as internet-based distance education to 1400 Colombian
VSAT terminals, and the Satellite. As specified above, the schools,3 including the 650 schools that form part of the
hub is located in a central site and the remote terminals are Nuevas Tecnologías program.
located in the remote areas which will benefit from this tech-
nology. Communications flow from and to the remote termi- Students will be able to use the computers during class or
nals through the Satellite and the hub depending on the to- during their free time, in order to allow them the opportunity
pology of the network. The indoor unit located at the remote to learn at their own pace and spend more time on a given
terminals is the equipment for connecting telephones, Fac- subject if needed. In addition, the computers will serve
similes, personal computers and local area networks. teacher training needs. Approximately 2000 teachers will be
trained in computer and Internet use and they will also take
virtual courses as part of a continuing education program.
C olombia and VSAT potential benefits

These courses will be managed by the Ministry of Education,
and will be selected depending on local needs. It is expected
that through virtual courses, teachers will learn to create their
Nuevas Tecnologías, or New Technologies is one of the main own teaching materials, projects and class exercises that in-
programs the Colombian government is implementing to corporate technology use. In this regard, the development of
provide distance learning to both rural and urban schools the virtual education network will be extremely important to
through the use of VSAT. This program aims to integrate allow teachers to both exchange the materials themselves and
pedagogy and communication and information technologies discuss their advantages and limitations.
to promote innovative ways of teaching and learning in 650
primary and secondary schools. By using Internet services, Computers will include education software, such as English
students will be able to sharpen their research and communi- Discoveries, a comprehensive software program designed for
cation skills, will become more familiar with scientific ap- the instruction of English as a second language that includes
proaches, and will have the opportunity to perform more listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and gram-
“hands-on” activities on their own and in working teams. An mar components. This software includes multimedia features
important component of this program is the development of a like animation, voice recording and high-resolution graph-
virtual education network that will allow students, teachers ics.4
1
http://www.starband.com
2
Proposed by Norma Flores, a Honduran Consultant (e-mail: normaf@honduger.hn)
3
http://www.gilat.com
4
http://www.englishdiscoveries.com

Wireless School Internet Connec
Connectivity
Anthony Bloome1
Monkeys and Technology!

Most satellite dish manufacturers do not worry about making their dishes safe from monkeys. Yet this is a le-
gitimate concern of Mr. David Kintu, the headmaster of Busoga College Mwiri, a rural secondary school
about two hours east of Kampala, Uganda. Mr. Kintu's school is the recent recipient of a 2.4-meter VSAT
satellite dish, which will provide high speed Internet connectivity to his school and the community. Mon-
keys ate through the school’s telephone line a few months back -- and David doesn’t want to see them mess
with the satellite equipment as well.
While they (the monkeys) probably don’t

appreciate the greater technological sophis-
tication of satellite versus landline Internet
connectivity, the school has put in an elabo-
rate wire mesh enclosure around the satel-
lite dish just in case the monkey mistakes
the dish for a large mango. (There is a sec-
ond box around the core wiring that needs
to be built to keep the monkey urine off, but
that is a separate topic…)
World Links2 and

Partners
The wireless satellite-based school connec-
tivity project is part of an ongoing interna-
tional initiative by the World Links Program to pilot new concepts in technology and pedagogy to integrate
information and communication technology (ICT) in education in developing countries. Uganda was the first
World Links country program established in 1997, and will be the first of the now twenty-seven World
countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia to pilot the use of this technology as part of its
country program.
With generous financial support to World Links from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the dishes and
attendant satellite reception equipment were purchased as part of an exciting pilot project to link fourteen
(14) secondary schools and one National Teacher’s College with high-speed Internet connectivity. Geo-
graphically disbursed around the country, eleven of these institutions have received Very Small Aperture
Terminal (VSAT) satellite dishes, while four additional schools will be connected to Busoga College’s satel-
lite dish via wireless spread spectrum connections. (For a more in-depth technical description, please see
Project Technical Description later in this article).
All the equipment for the project has been procured and installed -- and the network will be operational as of
January 2002.

Five other important project partners are supporting the • The system would need to be highly scalable from an
Ugandan project: Schools Online (a California-based non- initial group of 11 VSATs up to possibly 1,000 in a few
profit which has teamed up with World Links in a number of years time.
countries) provided ten of the participating schools with • The solution should be affordable even with low num-
computer labs of networked PCs and printer; SchoolNet- bers of schools (for example, if the pilot stops after the
Uganda has played the lead role on the ground; Verestar is initial 11 schools are launched), even though the costs
providing the satellite bandwidth at very competitive prices; will clearly be greater until additional sites are added
AFSAT has handled school-based VSAT installation and and indeed may need some kind of subsidy or forward-
commissioning; and the Ministry of Education and Culture pricing.
paid for the duty clearance of the satellite equipment. The • The schools themselves should ultimately be able to bear
most important partners – and beneficiaries -- are the stu- all running costs in order that the system be sustainable.
dents and teachers at the participating institutions them- This means very low recurrent monthly figures.
selves. • The Internet facilities to be used by the schools include
e-mail (the major application); file transfer (small scale);
web browsing (at acceptable speeds so as not to discour-
Project Technical Descrip
Descrip- age use of the system and including graphics elements
tion and multi-media where appropriate to the teaching); IP
multi-casting (sending out materials overnight to all
The VSAT system will use a national network of 2.4 meter schools simultaneously); and some reasonable level of
dishes operating in the C-Band. (Due to climatic conditions, interactivity, especially in the future as the number of
C-Band (3 – 6 GHz) is less susceptible to interference from schools grows (this to include low-quality video sharing,
heavy rains as its wavelength is much bigger than the size of although not in the initial instance).
a raindrop). The system will be full duplex (two-way) so no • Local ICT skills required in the schools should be mini-
PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), microwave mized.
links or optical fibers are needed for a return link. The link • Some schools will serve as centers that will provide on-
will be asymmetric – i.e., more bandwidth will come to the ward connectivity via point-to-multipoint spread-
schools than go from the schools. spectrum microwave links, and will therefore need addi-
tional bandwidth capabilities on the satellite link (and
The “download” bandwidth, 256 Kbps shared among the ability to control the use by individual schools).
network of participating sites, will guarantee that each site • Many countries in Africa will eventually share the sys-
has a minimum of 23 Kbps to operate simultaneously. Any tem in order to achieve real economies of scale.
school will be able to “burst” or obtain higher bandwidth • Higher capital costs are acceptable if it means lower
(within the total amount) if other schools are not using it. operational costs, as establishing capacity for local
The “upload” bandwidth is a dedicated 32 Kbps per site sustainability is the most important factor for scaling up
during the pilot phase. While this bandwidth currently isn’t the project.
sufficient to do video-conferencing or video streaming, • Over time, increased bandwidth will be needed as Inter-
schools can purchase more bandwidth to enable this if there net experience and skills become more sophisticated.
is sufficient interest for additional capabilities. (Also, hopefully, the cost of bandwidth will decrease
with time).
Ten of the fifteen participating sites will have stand-alone • Any web servers/list servers etc. will most likely reside
VSATs (i.e., antenna, wireless units, routing equipment), a on the Internet backbone in the North (rather than at any
server and at least ten PCs on a local area network (LAN). In of the African sites).
addition to the VSAT equipment identified above, the elev- • Project managers do not wish to purchase, build or
enth site, Busogo College Mwiri will have an onward con- maintain their own hub but rather wish to use the facili-
nection to the four other schools in Jinja via a point-to- ties of an existing provider who will manage all facilities
multipoint Spread Spectrum wireless link through Ethernet on their behalf.
bridge equipment. With a wireless Ethernet connection, the • If possible, it would be best to avoid highly proprietary
four “remote” sites will require very little maintenance and systems.
their bandwidth usage can be tracked and controlled by
• The pilot project will run for an initial period of two
Mwiri (the VSAT “hub” site) with appropriate monitoring
years. After this time (as well as at six months intervals
software.
during the pilot phase) a major review will be conducted
to take account of changes in Internet usage and new
In developing the specifications for this pilot, the choice of
technologies. Contracts, therefore, should be for a
the technology platform was based on the following assump-
maximum of three years.
tions:

• The schools will allow access to their Internet facilities communities and user groups. (In fact, nearly two-thirds of
by the local communities in order to generate income to the approximately 800 World Links schools in the twenty-
cover their costs. Facilities for the community should seven countries are outside of the capital cities.) Two of the
thus be at an acceptably good level so that this service project sites are highlighted below:
offering will take off and be successful.
• The VSAT systems will operate in the C Band (due to Mbale Senior Secondary School is located in Eastern
climatic conditions). Uganda and borders the Republic of Kenya. This day school,
• The hub should be based on a high-speed part of the situated in the Mbale township some 4 hours drive from
Internet (e.g. in Europe, USA or South Africa). Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, has over 2,000 students –
• No PSTN lines or microwave links will be available for and is the largest secondary school in the eastern region.
a return link to the Net in these rural areas, and that two
way VSAT operation is therefore necessary. The school staff, excited by the Internet connectivity pro-
• Throughput rates on the pilot project should be at a rea- vided by the project, looks forward to opportunities for
sonable level in order that users are not discouraged teacher professional development and for improving school
from using the facilities. efficiency in management of finances and student data.
• Ability to closely monitor and control network usage Senior staff believes that connectivity will ensure that their
must be available. students keep abreast of latest developments around the
world and hopes to use the Internet to establish an interactive
Verestar, a global communications solutions provider, pre- public relations platform that will enable the school to put
sented the winning bid for the project and assembled a num- itself on the global map. (This is another key component of
ber of partners including Gilat (VSAT equipment manufac- the World Links and SchoolNet-Uganda Programs – to re-
turer), AFSAT (Local support, installation and maintenance), verse the typical North-to-South flow of Internet-based in-
and UUNET (Internet provision). The hub -- a Gilat Skystar formation to promote the acquisition and dissemination of
Advantage -- will manage this traffic and is located in New locally produced content from developing countries.)
Jersey. The traffic will be directed through an Intelsat satel-
lite located in the Atlantic Ocean region and servicing Africa. A number of surrounding institutions have expressed interest
in utilizing the Internet and computer resources and training
at Mbale Senior Secondary, including a Primary Teachers’
Community Assessment Sur
Sur- College, a Technical College, several surrounding secondary
vey and Site Selection schools, a public library, district education offices, rural wa-
ter and sanitation project, and other government proj-
From August to October this year, World Links commis- ects/offices. For sustainability, all participating schools will
sioned a team of researchers from Makerere University to pay a monthly access fee to offset Mbale’s operating costs.
conduct local community surveys at potential sites around
Uganda. Through stakeholder meetings and interviews, the Muni National Teachers’ College (NTC) is another VSAT
researchers gathered basic demographic information and project site located in Arua District in northwestern Uganda,
made recommendations concerning potential community some 520 kilometers from Kampala. Bordered by Sudan in
partners. The overall findings of this report revealed high the North and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the
interest from the schools, business community and local gov- West, travel to Arua is often complicated and dangerous due
ernment units. Several of the teachers interviewed in the sur- to the spillover of military action taking place across both
vey observed that the project had great potential for mitigat- these borders. Most of the regional economic activity is
ing the shortage and lack of variety in teaching-learning ma- small scale or subsistence farming.
terials across all school levels and for vocationally oriented
out-of-school youths and adult learners. These and other The College receives energy from the Uganda Electricity
findings from the report will be useful in identifying com- Board only five hours a day (7 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.) and must
munity clients who can benefit from the ICT resources and supplement this power during the day through its own gen-
training available at each site. erator. Notwithstanding this challenge, the headteacher and
faculty of the college are ecstatic to be part of the project.
Ultimately, schools were selected based on geographic loca- Access to information technology in the district is extremely
tion, enthusiasm for and commitment towards the project, limited – and their teachers will acquire useful skills to en-
and proximity to other community stakeholders. hance their teaching and learning and to improve their stu-
dent’s chances of employment upon graduation.
A majority of the schools are located in rural communities in
Uganda. This is an important premise of the project -- ex-
tending Internet connectivity options to less advantaged

School Commitment and Lab Specialist is working with stakeholders at each of the VSAT
sites to further develop their business plans for serving cli-
Sustainability ents both during and after school hours. A particular empha-
sis of this position will be linking these sites with the devel-
The schools and other host institutions are responsible for opment needs of the community. For example, after-school
underwriting the lab’s capital costs (e.g., chairs, desks, power clients might include women entrepreneurs, out-of-school
points), financing recurrent costs (e.g., satellite bandwidth, youth, HIV/AIDS NGOs or youth groups. Development
maintenance, paper, toner, diskettes), providing security agencies can facilitate this linkage by further subsidizing the
(e.g., burglar bars) and staffing. World Links and its partners recurrent costs associated with the use of the ICT resources
provide the equipment, a series of professional development and training at the sites by and for these client groups.
workshops on how to most effectively use the technology in
the classroom, and ongoing technical and pedagogic advice
through support from the national SchoolNet-Uganda secre-
Professional Development
tariat. Work
Workshops
The phone and Internet connection costs are typically the From September 11-15th, 2001, headmasters and World
greatest recurrent costs that schools have to underwrite. Av- Links-trained IT Resource Teachers from the fifteen schools
erage recurrent costs for World Links school labs connected gathered in Jinja, Uganda to attend a workshop focused on
via landline or wireless (cellular or spread spectrum) are financial sustainability of the VSAT sites. Produced by ex-
US$150--$250 a month for bandwidth which rarely exceeds perts in the field of telecenter development, the weeklong
28.8 kbps. In most cases, the school and parent-teachers as- workshop entitled Planning for School-Based Telecenters
sociations finance these costs. explored the opportunities and challenges associated with
such a model. Topics discussed included identifying and
Because of the unique nature of this VSAT project, World matching potential clients with service opportunities, time-
Links is partly subsidizing the recurrent costs by underwrit- tabling and business plan development.
ing half the costs of satellite connectivity (half of the
US$400 a month per site) for two years. The remaining costs The fifteen sites involved in the project will also join the
of connectivity are equally distributed among the network of other seventeen (17) SchoolNet-Uganda schools in an ongo-
fifteen schools. Because the satellite footprint covers all the ing series of professional development workshops. These
sites in the country, there are no additional connection workshops take heads and teachers from a basic exploration
charges for this connectivity (e.g., no telephone surcharge). of computer literacy and application topics through a deep-
ening understanding of use of ICT in the classroom -- i.e.,
School-Based Telecenters Using Internet and E-mail in the Classroom, Online Col-
laborative Project Development, Curriculum Integration of
and Commu
Community Usage ICTs (Phase III), and ICT Evaluation and Diffusion. As
these participants graduate from each workshop, they are
Recognizing that connectivity and lab maintenance costs are tasked to introduce the concepts learned and train other
a significant factor for school participation, particularly in teachers in their schools.
rural communities, World Links is working with the partici-
pating VSAT pilot institutions on a number of fronts includ-
ing providing assistance from international and national staff
and actively promoting the sites’ development as school-
based telecenters.
In a school-based telecenter, the schools’ labs serve students

and teachers during the day, and remain open to the commu-
nity on evenings, weekends and holidays. By paying a nomi-
nal fee for computer and Internet access and training, these
community clients help underwrite the labs’ running costs.
Business Develop
Development
Additionally, World Links is supporting SchoolNet Uganda
with a full-time consultant to work with the participating
sites. This Community Development and Small Business

National Expansion What Lessons Will Be
The network model described above, with “hub” and “re-
Learned?
mote” sites, offers an exciting model for national program
This national pilot project will attempt to explore several
expansion to even more sites.
questions:
Each new school or institution added to the network, as a
• Is a nationally distributed VSAT network with “hub”
“hub” or “remote” site will share some of the connectivity
and “remote” sites workable within the context of serv-
costs. This will lower the overall operating costs for all
ing a national network of schools in a developing coun-
schools involved. While adding new sites can lower overall
try?
Internet connection speeds around the national network, it is
hoped that additional demand can be met through increasing • Is the equipment that is required for such a system af-
the total bandwidth available and further technological inno- fordable and sustainable?
vation. For example, new satellite hardware and software • How will the equipment be maintained and at what cost?
which lowers overall bandwidth costs (a model which World • Can the recurrent costs be met by schools and additional
Links is also exploring), remote network monitoring to as- clients using the school-based telecenters in the after-
sess and balance national bandwidth allocation, and server school hours?
software -- e.g. proxy servers and web page and e-mail • What is the educational impact of providing fast Internet
caching – to balance on- and off-line user load. access to rural schools in developing countries?
• What is the educational impact on out of school youth
Certainly a positive indication of project demand and impact and adult learners?
will be user demand driving network expansion; i.e., school
and community clients actively supporting more sites and These are some of the questions which World Links and its
greater bandwidth acquisition. These will be important vari- international and national partners are committed to explor-
ables to gauge interest in and use of the Internet in rural ing.
communities.
And the Monkeys…
The current policy environment, however, for adding addi-
tional sites in Uganda is still unclear. At present the one And as for Busoga College’s monkeys, by default they are
school in Jinja will be allowed to add more schools via the just one of the participants -- hanging out in the trees and
spread spectrum technology. But until the legal environment looking on with curiosity at the well-protected satellite
is clear for schools offering this service, no other schools will dishes. Until they find a way to test its overall edibleness, the
be allowed to extend their access to the community through dish will provide far more intellectual sustenance for the
wireless links. many students and teachers at the school -- using it to ex-
change a daily menu of information and a rich smorgasbord
of educational material with their peers in Uganda and
around the world.
1
The author, Anthony Bloome, is the World Links’ Program Anglophone Africa Regional Coordinator and can be reached at
abloome@worldbank.org. Other contributors to this article include: Robert Hawkins, Task Manager, WorLD Program, Samuel
Carlson, Executive Director, World Links Organization, Daniel Kakinda, National Coordinator, SchoolNet-Uganda, and Allen
Luyima, Technical Coordinator, SchoolNet-Uganda.
2
The World Links Program is an initiative jointly supported by the World Links Organization, an independent 501(c)3 non-
profit registered in Washington, D.C., and the World Bank’s World Links for Development Program (WorLD). For more in-
formation on either, please see www.world-links.org and www.worldbank.org/worldlinks .

A Unique, Low-cost Data Communi
Communications System
George Scharffenberger
President, Volunteers in Technical Assistance
Introduction from critical information resources. By connecting teachers

and trainers in the field with curriculum resources, teacher
trainers, administrators and other providers of educational
With courage and little fanfare, a multitude of local and in-
content and support, VITA will help make high quality, near-
ternational organizations toil on the frontlines of global
real time distributed education a global reality. While VITA-
struggles–to alleviate poverty, to build sustainable liveli-
Connect provides a solution for significantly expanding ac-
hoods, to combat disease, to eradicate hunger and illiteracy,
cess, an even greater responsibility falls on the shoulders of
to defend human rights, to protect the environment and to
program designers and content providers to develop appro-
prevent and respond to natural and man-made disasters. In
priately formatted, compact, custom educational materials
hundreds of thousands of remote communities, dedicated
developed specifically for bandwidth constrained users.
workers provide services that help, heal, teach, provide hope
Without concerted efforts to develop appropriate content,
and pave the way for a better future. Many live and work
educators and students with limited bandwidth will never
beyond telecommunication networks, without access to a dial
share in the full promise that remote communication holds to
tone, or to the information resources and communications
enhance the educational experience while increasing its effi-
potential of the Internet. Until now they have had to spend a
ciency and effectiveness.
disproportionately large portion of their financial resources
for vital communications and information access for limited
service or simply do without. VITA and the VITA-Connect Technology
Now there is an affordable resource to overcome those con- VITA has been providing appropriate, quality technical in-
straints. Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA), a not- formation in support of humanitarian, development and envi-
for-profit organization with extensive field experience, has ronmental programs for over 40 years. As technologies have
developed VITA-Connect, a unique, low-cost, communication revolutionized the process of information collection, storage,
and information service, to meet the needs of humanitarian, processing, and dissemination, VITA has experimented with
development and environmental organizations and the com- a variety of approaches for providing quality technical in-
munities they serve. VITA’s intent is for VITA-Connect to formation to, within and about developing countries.
be a replicable demonstration project, a learning laboratory VITA’s range of technical information dissemination tech-
and a catalyst to help local institutions and civil society or- nologies and applications include wireless packet radio,
ganizations maximize the potential of new information and electronic mail and bulletin boards and a low-earth orbiting
communication technologies, to learn new skills, and to de- satellite system. VITA’s groundbreaking work in applying
velop new ways of implementing their missions. Never be- microelectronics and space technology to the dissemination
fore has the need been so large or the opportunity as great. of information led to it becoming the only humanitarian or-
ganization granted operational satellite communications li-
Of the many applications for VITA-Connect, distance edu- censes by the FCC under the Pioneer Preference program.
cation for the rural poor is among the most promising. VITA has combined its experience in low-cost communica-
VITA-Connect will deliver low-cost data to and from the tions systems and in the design and delivery of high value
remotest parts of the world and is a valuable tool for rural information services with the technology and operational
educators and trainers who historically have been cut off

capacities of its satellite communications partner, Wavix windfall for rural schools, clinics and communities currently
Inc.,1 to create VITA-Connect. without any connectivity at all. To help overcome this limi-
tation on the receiving end, an optional interface with multi-
VITA-Connect’s user-focused, email-based communication media enabled WorldSpace’s all digital satellite-radio re-
network is built upon VITAsat, a low-cost, robust and proven ceiver3can be incorporated to greatly enhance the value of
technology. For the past 8 years, using similar technology both technologies for distributed learning purposes.
and experimental satellites, VITA has successfully provided
remote area connectivity to more than 20 development ac- Access to VITA-Connect’s satellite network requires a user
tivities in Africa, Asia, and … even the South Pole. Now, supplied basic laptop or desktop computer and the purchase
thanks to VITAsat’s two low-earth orbiting satellites, already of a portable ground station, antenna, and specialized soft-
in orbit, thousands of users around the globe can gain access ware.4 The annual cost share to support operational costs of
to enhanced connectivity and information services. the network will start at $495 and will cover network man-
agement, VITAmail and VITAinfo communication services,
and VITA’s costs for maintaining international satellite
The VITA-Connect Service Menu
communications licenses.5 As the number of participants in
the VITA-Connect network expands, the annual cost-share is
Accessible via a unified, browser-based, portal-style, user- expected to decrease.
friendly interface installed on the user’s computer, VITA-
Connect basic service will include: Full VITA-Connect service will be available in early 2002.
VITA’s goal over the next three years is to fully implement
• Email messaging using standard email programs; VITA-Connect, providing connectivity to a minimum of
2,000 remote area field sites participating in the VITA-
• An expanding and fully searchable database (VITAinfo) Connect network. VITAinfo information services will also
of select information developed in response to user re- be made available to millions of additional humanitarian and
quests and feedback. Agreements currently being nego- development workers around the world via the Internet.
tiated will facilitate access to the best ‘how to” technol-
ogy sites and listservs on the web such as GRET, SKAT,
Why VITA-Connect?
GATE, ITDG, Village Earth, ELDIS, etc.;
The rollout of telecommunications networks, while expan-
• Webmail access to the full information resources of the sive, has yet to reach the majority of the world’s population
Internet (requested webpages automatically delivered via living in rural areas. Recent data indicate a slowdown in the
email attachments);2 pace of expansion of low-cost services accessible to the poor
in both rural and urban areas. As well, the current “melt-
• A selection of monthly, sector-based newsletters (sus- down” in the telecommunications industry and financial
tainable agriculture, small enterprise development, re- markets means that many projects for expanding services
newable energy, home technologies (house construction, will be postponed for years or shelved altogether, including
water and sanitation, domestic technologies), primary many new and existing satellite-based broadband projects.
health care, basic education, etc., providing practical in- Equally challenging is the fact that web-based information
formation, inter-community discussion, news, best prac- resources of direct value to the poor in developing countries
tices, “best of” annotated links to additional web re- and to the organizations supporting them are scarce, difficult
sources, events and training opportunities; and, to locate, costly to access, or not in a form appropriate for
user needs and capabilities (English only, high graphic con-
• A planned selection of email-based, distributed learning tent, etc.).
resources.
The lack of affordable connectivity and relevant information
Capacity, Cost and Availability resources handicaps the poor, and especially the rural poor,
in their efforts to improve their lives. It creates inequalities
Given current system-level throughput limitations and that limit learning, cripple efforts to improve production and
VITA’s desire to maximize the number of organizations and identify new market opportunities, hamper creativity and
communities able to take advantage of this unique resource, cultural expression, stymie involvement in governance and
each VITA-Connect ground station is programmed for an exclude participation in broader communities of interest. The
average 2-way throughput of 350 kilobytes per week. While same lack of connectivity dramatically increases the costs
this is only a fraction of what would be needed for broadband and reduces the effectiveness of international and local or-
content delivery, it is the equivalent of 175-250 pages of text, ganizations and institutions, government services and enter-
transmitted during 4-8 daily satellite passes – a significant prises responding to the needs of the poor.

make VSAT an attractive option for potential users having
In Africa alone, the number of communities, schools, clinics, sufficient financial resources, the low purchasing power of
local government offices, project offices, NGOs, and re- most organizations and institutions serving rural areas makes
search stations without affordable access to connectivity is in VITA-Connect the lowest cost, sustainable solution for many
the hundreds of thousands – a good portion of which have no applications. Included in these would be most rural schools
access at all. Many thousands of these benefit from financial and training centers in large portions of Africa and Eurasia,
and technical support provided by national and international as well as smaller pockets in the Americas and the islands of
development organizations but the effectiveness of that sup- the Pacific.
port is often dramatically reduced by the same lack of con-
nectivity and information access. Interviews with organiza-
tions such as CARE, UNICEF, Save the Children, the Peace
Applying VITA-Connect to the Educational
Corps and OXFAM indicate a strong and growing interest in Environment
lowering costs and enhancing effectiveness and impact
through increased use of information and communication VITA-Connect’s capacity to receive and deliver text files and
technologies. Many see technology-related skill building messages and to access webpages makes it an ideal technol-
and the facilitation of increased access to information re- ogy for enhancing the effectiveness of remote education and
sources and networking as important complementary strate- training. VITA’s experience in project design and imple-
gies to their more traditional poverty reduction programs. mentation of communication technologies for dissemination
of training and educational materials confirms this. For ex-
VITA-Connect Compared with Other Op- ample, at the request of the Philippine Department of Health,
VITA designed an earlier generation of VITA-Connect based
tions on a packet radio network that helped transfer valuable in-
formation related to health education and the prevention of
VITA-Connect is the lowest-cost remote area connectivity epidemics to health centers on outlying islands. Also in the
option where landline or cellular service is not available. Philippines, VITA provided a link between the Visayas Ag-
Satellite phone service (ex. INMARSAT) has been available ricultural College on the island of Leyte and Cornell Univer-
to these areas for several years, though it is either too slow or sity’s agricultural school through which Visayas professors
too expensive for continuous data services for most users. and students received technical assistance, advice, educa-
Iridium's new data service is billed on a per minute basis tional materials and remote mentoring.
(currently up to $1.50 per minute, depending on location),
only offers a throughput speed of 2400 bps, and will be pri- Similar projects using this technology and other wireless
marily marketed to government and military users and verti- technologies have been implemented throughout Africa and
cal markets such as maritime, oil and gas, mining, construc- Southeast Asia to connect people in remote field locations
tion, forestry, and aviation. Unless voice service is essential, with centralized support structures. By applying this same
and as long as data throughput needs correspond to VITA- model to the way educational information and materials are
Connect’s parameters, VITA-Connect is a viable and much shared among institutions, individual instructors and stu-
less costly option. Other satellite data services using similar dents, VITA-Connect creates multiple and affordable op-
technology have begun to target remote rural users in devel- portunities for disseminating educational material to a variety
oping countries but have lower capacity limits, uncertain of audiences and enhancing the educational process through
financial viability and considerably higher costs. None of two-way communications including:
these services has a specific development focus nor comes
bundled with VITA-Connect’s content that is specifically • providing educators and students with access to on-line
targeted to the needs of humanitarian, educational, health and resources;
development organizations working in rural communities. • networking educators, students, curriculum producers,
teacher trainers and administrators in email-based virtual
In some areas, communication and Internet service via com- communities;
mercial VSAT is becoming available. Service provided is • connecting educational institutions and sponsoring or-
real-time Internet connectivity with robust throughput that ganizations with remote campuses;
holds excellent promise for distance education. Costs, how- • supporting centralized testing and statistical analysis for
ever, are considerable – in the range of $300 - $400 per remote schools; and
month. These prices are expected to fall over the coming • updating learning materials with near-real time effi-
years, but even if halved, they would still be 2-3 times ciency.
VITA-Connect’s projected cost (including annual cost share
and the amortized cost of the VITAsat ground terminal). VITA-Connect provides opportunities to leverage existing
While the “real-time” connectivity and superior throughput investments in networking and “community building” be-

tween educators by adding an additional tier of remote par- content partners, VITA is making information available to
ticipants who, because of their lack of connectivity, had been low-bandwidth users that would not have been accessible to
excluded from such efforts in the past. them by:
• repackaging information in modular form;

The Next Step in Creating Educational Re-
• simplifying the format of documents;
sources for Bandwidth-Constrained Users • reducing the file size;
• substituting or removing custom document templates
Users of low bandwidth access technologies risk finding and macros;
themselves increasingly frustrated not only by constraints of • eliminating unnecessary data rich fonts and graphics;
their technology relative to those available to their better-off • developing creative alternatives using text or simple line
peers, but even more so by the dearth of appropriately de- drawings to replace high resolution photographs and
signed and formatted curricula and educational resources diagrams; and
tailored to their connectivity constraints. The historic “book- • incorporating text-based descriptions to replace graphic
bias” of many educational content providers has, to a large representations.6
degree, been mirrored in many of the distributed learning
programs being offered on today’s market. In many cases, VITA’s efforts to improve access to information for band-
they involve little more than adding indexing and search ca- width-constrained users through the VITA-Connect portal
pabilities to digital reproductions of existing textbooks. At will be limited unless other content providers recognize the
the other end of the spectrum are the new learning environ- opportunity of low-bandwidth systems to reach this critical
ments designed with the latest IT bells and whistles with audience. Everyday more and more individuals in the devel-
high-resolution graphics and complex multimedia interfaces. oping world gain access to the Internet – but it is usually at
Neither option fits the needs and possibilities of the vast the low end of the connectivity spectrum, not the high end.
number of bandwidth-constrained educators and students. To reach this large audience, educators and national and in-
The dearth of creativity and investment focused on creating ternational development organizations serving the poor
contemporary content for bandwidth-constrained users has should invest in a wide range of locally appropriate, afford-
only widened the educational divide for the digital “have- able and sustainable technologies based on a careful analysis
nots.” of user needs, culture and context. Content providers need to
recognize the special challenges and opportunities repre-
VITA’s commitment to bring tailored content to bandwidth- sented by the under-served poor and develop tailored mate-
constrained users is embodied in its approach to content for rial to allow them equal access to the opportunities offered
VITA-Connect. Through page-level annotated web indexes, by the information age.
a focus on text-based information resources and collabora-
tion with a like-minded community of content providers for For more information about VITA-Connect contact: Mark
shared access to their own libraries and databases, VITA is Ganter, Volunteers in Technical Assistance, Suite 710 1600
creating an information portal tailored to low-bandwidth us- Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209, USA, Tel:
ers in the VITA-Connect network as well as the many more 1.703.276.1800 ext. 17, email: vita-connect@vita.org
with direct but limited online access. Working with our
Of the many applications for VITA-Connect, distance education

for the rural poor is among the most promising.
1
Wavix, Inc. is a U.S.-based, commercial company providing remote data collection and e-mail services through inexpensive
two-way satellite communication systems.
2
VITA’s Webmail server is being developed thanks to a generous grant from the World Bank’s infoDev program.
3
Requires a computer equipped with a WorldSpace multi-media card. Broadcast programming on the WorldSpace Learning
Channel requires a separate agreement with the WorldSpace Foundation.
4
Purchase price for hardware and software is $3,000.
5
Costs of licensing by local regulatory authorities will be added to the cost share. In most instances these can be waived or
greatly reduced given VITA-Connect’s humanitarian, non-commercial purpose.
6
VITA is exploring the use of standards and design techniques developed for the visually impaired to aid in the development
of content relevant to low-bandwidth applications.

Digital Satellite Radio
for International Development
Rose F. Tchwenko
Manager, Institutional Resource Development
WorldSpace Foundation*
A quiet revolution is taking place in Africa. In communities across the continent, people are listening to programs about
HIV/AIDS prevention, micro-enterprise development, environmental conservation, child survival and youth development,
women's rights, general health and nutrition, and conflict resolution. These programs are 'first voice,' produced by Africans for
an African audience. The listeners recognize the voices as their own, and realize that the ideas and solutions are from commu-
nities like theirs, from people who have shared and understand their experiences and particular circumstances. For many of the
listeners, it is the first time they are hearing information that is specifically targeted to meet their needs. Inadequate communi-
cations infrastructure and the lack of resources to access the information superhighway isolate these communities. Thanks to
innovative digital satellite radio technology, they are able to participate knowledgeably and with confidence in the new global
village.
The Technology dium that combines the possibilities of satellite technology

and the steadfastness of radio. This new technology would
A geo-stationary satellite, AfriStar™, of the WorldSpace
reach the estimated 4.6 billion people in developing commu-
system orbits over Africa. Comprised of three beams, Af-
nities in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Latin
riStar™ covers every inch of the African continent, the Mid-
America, and the Caribbean with potentially life-saving in-
dle East and parts of Southern Europe (Figure 1). It broad-
formation.
casts to portable digital receivers
equipped with satellite dishes the size of This gave rise to the WorldSpace digital
teacup saucers (Figure 2). The audience satellite radio network, a system of geo-
hears crystal clear CD-quality sound stationary satellites that broadcast exclu-
without static or interference. The re- sively to the developing world. In 1997,
ceivers run on batteries or electricity and WorldSpace Foundation (WSF) was
have been adapted to use solar power. founded to carry out the mission of em-
They can pick up the satellite's signal at powering disadvantaged populations
any location in Africa and the Middle through education and knowledge
East, no matter how remote or isolated. building.
When connected to a computer using a
special adapter, they operate as a mo- Endowed with 5% capacity on the satel-
dem for the transmission of web-based lites of the WorldSpace system, WSF
multimedia data from the satellite to the produces and delivers noncommercial,
computer. social development programs to tech-
nologically isolated communities in the developing world. It
WorldSpace Foundation collects locally produced content from community-based
In the 1980's, African entrepreneur Noah Samara recognized NGOs, media organizations, national and international de-
the power of radio as an important tool for reaching popula- velopment agencies, and other content providers, and facili-
tions in the developing world with relevant information. Still, tates the placement of receivers within target communities.
traditional AM/FM radio's effectiveness is susceptible to
geographical and meteorological interference and even the Reaching the Target Audience
most powerful transmitters have limited range. In Africa, The target populations of WSF's programs in Africa are
very few radio stations reach beyond major urban centers, mainly the 'poorest of the poor.' They cannot realistically be
and rural communities get only trickles of information from expected to buy state-of-the-art digital receivers when most
fledgling community broadcasters. of them live on less than $1 dollar a day. Yet, they have the
greatest need for the information that WSF produces. In or-
Concerned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa and in- der to ensure that the programming reaches these popula-
spired by the proven power of knowledge to change the tions, the foundation has developed and promotes a policy of
course of history, Noah Samara sought to develop a new me- 'one receiver reaching many ears.' Following this strategy,
! 30 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March, 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

WSF places a receiver with a community-based partner such costs. The WSF Multi-Media Service transmits texts, images,
as an NGO or a service agency and encourages the partner to audio and video via satellite to the user's computer. It is a
organize coordinated listening groups within their constitu- reliable, cost-effective mechanism for the dissemination of
encies. large volumes of time-sensitive multimedia data by interna-
tional and regional agencies to field workers and partners in
The listening groups are modeled after the great oral tradi- areas where access to e-mail and the World Wide Web is
tions of the African people, which have been found to be unreliable at best.
effective in the promotion of learning. Each listening session
is followed by a discussion of the program content during Using the WSF Multi-Media Service, meteorologists, disaster
which the participants are encouraged to analyze the infor- relief workers, and rural extension workers receive up-to-the-
mation for its usefulness to their daily lives. minute climate information, including dynamic satellite im-
agery and sophisticated charts, from the
In addition to coordinated listening groups, RANET, a project developed by the Afri-
WSF places receivers with community can Centre of Meteorological Applica-
broadcasters and allows them to download its tions for Development (ACMAD) in
programs for rebroadcast on AM/FM. Many collaboration with the US National
broadcasters translate the programming into Oceanographic and Atmospheric Ad-
local languages before rebroadcast. For in- ministration (NOAA). Doctors and com-
stance, the Community Information Center munity health workers get the latest arti-
(CIC) in the village of Bankilare, which is the cles from major medical journals pro-
poorest community in Niger and the second vided by Boston-based Health-
poorest in the world, downloads WSF pro- Net/SATELLIFE. Community extension
grams for rebroadcast in the local dialect. workers in East Africa download training
These programs are the CIC's only source of manuals and visual learning aids pub-
information outside of Bankilare and its im- lished by the Arid Lands Information
mediate vicinity. Network (ALIN). And, community
broadcasters receive the latest news about the region from
Africa Learning Channel (ALC) the United Nation's Integrated Regional Information Net-
Currently, WSF programming through its flagship audio work (IRIN).
service, the Africa Learning Channel reaches an estimated
audience of six million Africans in 50 countries. Launched Looking to the Future
in 1999, the ALC is a one-of-its-kind audio service dedicated With the launching of the AsiaStar™ satellite over Asia and
to the broadcast of noncommercial - and commercial-free - the Pacific in 2000, WorldSpace Foundation is beginning to
information to African communities. It is an electronic fire- expand its audio and multimedia services to the region. Be-
place, a forum for Africans to exchange ideas with other Af- ginning in early 2002, WSF, in collaboration with the South
ricans and share solutions to common problems. The pro- Asia Foundation (SAF) and the Rainbow Partnership Or-
grams on the ALC comprise one-hour magazine style seg- ganization (RPO), will launch a pilot project in seven coun-
ments compiled from content collected from African NGOs tries in South Asia for the delivery of multimedia content to
and media producers. They cover a wide range of topics with learning centers in rural areas. The audio service for Asia
particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS education, which consti- and the Pacific is still in the planning stages.
tutes about one-third of all ALC programming. The pro-
grams are broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In Africa, WSF continues to develop new programming on
the ALC and is looking to create an indigenous language
Canal EF channel in the West African region in partnership with the
WSF shares its capacity on AfriStar™ with the Francophone Panos Institute. The foundation is always forging new part-
Agency, an intergovernmental organization of French- nerships with community groups and broadcasters for the
speaking nations around the world, for the broadcast of placement of receivers and organization of coordinated lis-
French-language programming via the agency's audio chan- tening groups in an effort to reach at least 10 million Afri-
nel, Canal EF. cans by the end of 2002.
Harnessing the Internet *

In addition to the ALC, WorldSpace Foundation provides a For more information about WorldSpace Foundation, please visit
unique service to its partners that delivers web-based multi- the web site at www.worldspace.org or contact the author at
rtchwenk@worldspace.org
media data to target audiences in regions with little or no
Internet access due to poor infrastructure and/or prohibitive
! 31 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March, 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

ICTs in African Schools:
A Multi-Media Approach for Enhancing Learning and Teaching
Shafika Isaacs1
“I learned how to use the Internet at school and how to do research using
the Internet …My research has been on the French revolution, its causes and
what happened afterwards. I have also learned to work on collaborative
projects with other learners where we used the Internet to work on our proj-
ects like the one about women in traditional marriages from different cul-
tures.”
Sophia Nansbuga, 18 years old, at SchoolNet Africa launch, November 2001
“There is no email and Internet at my school. I learned about it from my

friend. I use the computers at my school to write letters and my exercises
using MS Word.”
Analina Macatane, 16, at SchoolNet Africa launch, November 2001
Analina Pedro Macatane is a Grade 9 student at Fransisco teachers in the use of ICTs and furthers the integration of
Manyanga High School in Maputo Mozambique. Analina’s education content and curriculum through the use of ICTs.
school is one of the very few in Mozambique that have com-
puters – in fact, one of the 13 computerized schools out of The Technological Landscape
the 7,000 in the country. Analina says that they have 5,000 in African Schools
students at her school and 16 computers. They had Internet
access at the school as well as a school homepage. But the
ICT penetration in schools in Africa remains extremely lim-
high price of the telephone bill meant that they couldn’t af-
ited. Access to ICTs remains highly uneven within countries
ford to pay to maintain the Internet.
and across the African continent – an extension of the devel-
opmental disparities that have characterized the region for
Sophia Nansbuga, an 18 years old Grade 10 student at Na-
decades. Table 1 provides a cursory glance of a few African
bisunsa High School in Uganda, on the other hand, speaks of
countries where schools with computers are shown as a pro-
how she uses the Internet at her school, how she regularly
portion of the total number of schools.
sends email to students from other countries, how she used
the Internet to conduct research for her school projects on the
French Revolution, and for collaborative projects with other
learners at the school on female genital mutilation in Uganda. Table 1: Computer Penetration Ratios at Schools
However, at her school there are 1,200 learners and only 10 in African Countries, 2001
computers in one computer lab.
Country Number of Schools
These two girls told their story at the recent launch of schools with com-
SchoolNet Africa. SchoolNet Africa is an African learning puters
network of “SchoolNet” organizations which are promoting South Africa 28,798 5,000
education through the use of information and communication Egypt 32,000 10,000
technologies (ICTs) in up to 23 African countries, in partner- Ghana 35,000 500
ship with a range of global, regional and local organizations. Namibia 1,519 60
A SchoolNet is an institution that facilitates the distribution Mozambique 7,000 20
of computers to schools, connects computers to the Internet,
provides helpdesk support to schools, facilitates training of

South Africa has the most developed economy in Africa, the uted to the decline in the school dropout rates. Also student
highest teledensity and hence the highest degree of access to enrollment increased from 720 in 1997 to 850 in 1999.
ICTs relative to the rest of Africa. And yet, the disparities
even in South Africa remain significant. Of the approxi- Similarly, SchoolNet Namibia is currently testing the use of
mately 29,000 schools, only 5,000 have computers and of wireless Ethernet bridges with high gain antennas to link
these, a fraction has Internet access, despite the increase in schools to a central wired node, which allows for connection
initiatives to get schools online in the country. The main ob- of ranges up to 60km.
stacles to Internet access for schools are: Evidently, much of the technologies that will work on a
larger scale are currently being tested and schoolnets are ex-
• Lack of infrastructure in general and network infra- ploring innovative options that will work under conditions of
structure in particular, scarce resources.
• High telephone costs and high cost of Internet access,
• Limited expertise, and Learning Outcomes
• Lack of an enabling policy environment
The experience of African learners using new ICTs shows
Similarly, in schools where there are computers available, that there are positive learning outcomes. Sophia, for in-
they range from one computer in the school to computer stance, tells of the advantages of having access to the Internet
laboratories of up to 40 computers. They would also range at school - how it has widened her horizons, and allowed her
from used and refurbished computers to new Pentium IIIs. to claim the Internet space for her own learning experience.
This disparity also leads to uneven access to the technolo-
gies. In some cases, only principals use computers, in other SchoolNet Namibia shows fine examples too. SchoolNet
cases only teachers do. Access to computer labs by learners Namibia emerged from a competition organized by the Na-
remains very limited. Where learners do have access, it is mibian National Museum, which involves children comput-
limited to Grades 11 and 12. 2 erizing paper-based insect records. The competition, Insec-
tathon, is now a central activity of SchoolNet Namibia. In
A few schoolnets such as SchoolNet South Africa and total, 31,020 paper-based insect records of the National Mu-
SchoolNet Namibia have also developed schoolmail, an seum, representing 152,751 insect specimens were comput-
email system for learners and educators. Many have also erized by schoolchildren from 48 different schools during the
developed school home pages. Some, like SchoolNet Cam- regional and final events. Most of these children had never
eroon and SchoolNet Namibia, and to some extent in South seen a computer before the competition.4 The winning team
Africa, are exploring the use of wireless solutions particu- from Usakos Junior Secondary School will go to Washing-
larly for schools that are outside the electricity grid. At ton, DC, USA in April 2002, to undertake, among other
Myeka High School in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, the things, a mini-insect@thon at the world-renowned Smith-
school uses a solar panel system to access electricity to sonian Institute.
power the school's computer laboratory.3 (See Figure 1)
Similarly, ThinkQuest International, a web-development
competition for learners between the ages of 12-19, have
over the past three years, had a number of participants from
12 different African countries, two of which have established
national ThinkQuest programs, SchoolNet South Africa and
the Regional Information Technology and Software Engi-
neering Centre (RITSEC). One of the winners in 2000 was a
17-year-old from Nigeria whose family spent half its
monthly income to encourage her to learn about the Internet.5
In Mozambique and Uganda, collaborative projects on topi-

cal issues have been one way of encouraging learners to use
computers. In Mozambique, learners from different schools
According to the principal of Myeka High, solar electricity have worked with one another, even though they do not have
has led to the acquisition of world class electronic learning access to the Internet.
equipment such as computers, a TV and VCR, an overhead
projector, linkages to the Internet and useful educational Thus, despite the slowness of the diffusion of the new tech-
websites, and a copier/printer. The technologies have had a nologies in African schools, where they have been tried,
positive learning effect on both learners and educators. They there is at least anecdotal evidence of positive learning out-
encouraged a culture of learning and teaching and contrib- comes. Through computer-related competition programs in

particular, African learners appear to be motivated to partici- • School TV – dedicated time for curriculum-related
pate and they acquire skills in research, collaboration, team teaching;
work, and, in some cases, like with ThinkQuest, interaction • CD ROM's and video– a myriad of educational software
with learners between different countries, thereby creating packages based on school curricula and available on
opportunities for cultural awareness and tolerance. CD-ROMs; and
• Online curricula such as www.learn.co.za .
Multimedia Options
In South Africa, the spectrum of technologies outlined above
New ICTs should be utilized to complement older styles of is being tried, and the process has begun in Nigeria.
learning, particularly in situations like in Africa, where we
are challenged to reach large numbers of learners and edu- Conclusion
cators. Much of the experience of schoolnets thus far has
been on the technological side: installing computers and SchoolNet organizations, with one or two exceptions, have
connecting them to the Internet. An approach with a stronger only scratched the surface in using ICTs among a few learn-
educational focus will have to consider utilizing varied tech- ers and educators. They nevertheless demonstrate the poten-
nologies. SchoolNet Africa’s collaboration with the Learning tial that new technologies may provide in enhancing learning
Channel Campus, a commercial enterprise in South Africa and teaching. There is, however, a dearth of knowledge on
whose vision is to develop multi-media platforms most the experience with the use of ICTs in schools and the peda-
suited to local conditions, teaches that the use of both old and gogical value they add in an African context. Generating
new ICTs works most effectively in reaching large numbers experimental knowledge on how to change the shape of
of learners. A multi-media platform is what works most ef- learning and teaching remains crucial and is one objective
fectively, one that takes account of local capacities and lan- that SchoolNet Africa hopes to achieve.
guages.
References
Thus in additional to chalk and talk, a spectrum of techno-
logical options are available. 1. Isaacs, S. and Sibthorpe, C. (2000): Report on School
Networking in Africa Workshop, IDRC.
• Community Radio with dedicated education programs www.schoolnetafrica.org.eg
for learners and educators;
• Local media, whereby educators use their own resources 2. Isaacs, S. and Broekman, I. (Eds.) (2001): Whetting the
in their own languages at the local level to supplement appetite for ICTs in African Schools, IDRC.
the absence of textbooks; www.idrc.ca/acacia (to be published)
• Print media that take the form of newspaper supplements
targeted at both learners and educators. This has been 3. www.myeka.co.za
extensively applied in South Africa and is now being
tried in Nigeria; 4. www.schoolnet.na
1
Shafika Isaacs is currently the Executive Director of SchoolNet Africa, a pan-African NGO headquartered in South Africa.
For more information contact Ms. Isaacs at shafika@schoolnetafrica.org.za or check out their website:
www.schoolnetafrica.org.eg
2
Isaacs, S. and Broekman, I. (Eds) 2001: Whetting the appetite for ICTs in African Schools, An evaluation of schoolnet proj-
ects supported by the IDRC, IDRC (to be published). www.idrc.ca/acacia
3
www.myeka.co.za
4
www.schoolnet.na
5
www.thinkquest.org

Destined for the Dumpster, Outdated Computers Bring Hope
and Progress to Disadvantaged Communities
John Thomas, Executive Director, The CURE Network, Inc.
Imagine this… America was an era marked by great industrial feats – all
without the aid of the personal computer. So when PC’s
The time is the late 20th century. The place, the United brought about the dawn of the information age, the world
States. Millions of computers, once the coveted, highly ex- was still very much driven by the people, pace and process of
pensive, and indispensable tools of industry, are now ren- the past… and herein lay the problem. How does one raise
dered obsolete. Faster, better and cheaper computers soon funds, volunteers, and rally public support in order to give a
arrive to replace them. Companies, whose vast fortunes were computer to a disadvantaged person, when food, clothing and
due to these outdated relics, eagerly abandon them for the shelter presented much more pressing needs?
new generation of powerful personal computers now emerg-
ing. This brave new world, once limited to an elite minority, This was the problem I faced in the early 1990’s when I
now paves the way for thousands of small businesses, founded a nonprofit organization to do just that. The CURE
schools, and middle-class consumers, as they too join the Network was created for the purpose of providing computers
high-tech boom that marks one of the most spectacular tech- to persons with disabilities so that they could use them as an
nological achievements of humankind. educational and rehabilitation tool, and to communicate with
one another for support and self-help via e-mail. The World
While this sounds like the happy ending to a great adventure Wide Web had not yet been made available in order to make
story, it’s really only the beginning, because with the birth of the Internet user-friendly and mainstream, so we developed
this new technology comes the death of the old. Conse- our own small online network. The first computer we found
quently, dumps and landfills, already swelling with dispos- was lying next to a dumpster. CURE members and volun-
able diapers and other modern conveniences of post- teers got together in their homes to repair and distribute these
consumer waste, now become vast graveyards for tons of discarded PCs to each other. Through our online network, a
CPUs, circuit boards, hard drives, monitors, mice and key- community of hope was born. Yet, despite the efforts of
boards that make up the post-modern wasteland of the late those who built this self-help program, public support was a
twentieth-century. The real happy ending to this story is challenging hurdle to face for a number of years.
made possible only by resurrecting and breathing life back
into these old machines and re-distributing them back into When approaching potential donors, I was often asked,
the community and into the hands of persons who need them “What does a person with a disability [a poor kid, a home-
the most – children, low-income families, and persons with bound senior] need a computer for?!” This was a fair and
disabilities, just to name a few. And yet, there is an inter- reasonable question. Why give a person a computer when
esting twist to this tale. the person needed more basic things? Our belief was that if
you provided disadvantaged people with the same tools (al-
When the personal computer was first introduced in the beit a bit older) that mainstream society was using to create a
United States, few people envisioned that it would evolve new era, then you would have a person who was more likely
from a scientist’s tool, to a household appliance that would to catch up, join in and succeed in this rapidly changing soci-
one day be as commonplace as the television, now in virtu- ety. To not do so was to run the risk of abandoning a seg-
ally every household, but decades earlier was a luxury af- ment of society that would fall seriously behind, thus creat-
forded only by the rich. ing a poorer and more needy class of citizens. Today they
call this “bridging the digital divide.” It’s as true today as it
Like all emerging technologies, the computer was a young was then.
person’s tool, but the world was still very much dominated
by the tools of the past. Indeed, civilizations were built and The happy ending to CURE’s story was that more and more
destroyed without the help of a PC, and post-World War II people came to see unwanted and outdated personal comput-

ers as useful tools for disadvantaged communities. Now that personal computers you will seek. Pay careful attention to
the PC has affected a whole new generation of users, public the advise that your computer experts give you. Personal
support becomes less challenging. After all, if we see the computers are really made up of components such as the hard
need for our children to own a PC so they can download drive, motherboard, CPU, memory, case, power supply, key-
homework and email their school friends, certainly those of boards, pointing devices and monitors. Your first task for
us at the greatest risk in our community deserve no less. your experts is for them to provide you with a list of mini-
mum specifications for each of these components – and this
How to start your own computer recy- list will change and should be updated regularly. This will
enable you to focus on collecting only those components that
cling program they deem valuable and that they are likely to be able to use
to refurbish the maximum number of computers as possible
All happy endings aside, the task of finding computers, re-
for distribution. Not every computer you will get will be
pairing them and disseminating them back into the commu-
working, but your computer repair department will be able to
nity can be challenging. Here are a few tips.
more successfully build a working computer from an assem-
blage of parts if they have been pre-approved by your com-
First of all, you don’t have to know anything about comput-
puter experts.
ers to start a recycling program in your area, but you do have
to have access to people who do. Your primary challenge
will be to recruit experts in PC technology and motivate Finding unwanted computers
them into believing in your worthy project. One of the best
places to look is at your local high school, community col- Although our first recycled computer was recovered from a
lege, or university. These places will likely teach courses in dumpster, your first may not come as easily depending on
computer technology. Ask the schools and instructors if they your location and the size of the population whom you’ll
have a local computer club or user’s group where students serve. There are several places you can begin your search.
meet to share technical information and enjoy the company Local, regional and national government offices (depending
of others with similar interests. If there is no such club or on your country) probably make up the largest consumers of
user’s group in your area, work with the school and commu- new computers and will have the most used equipment. We
nity to create one. Schools, local places of worship and found here in the U.S. that many government facilities were
community centers are good places to host initial and on- renting warehouses to “store” their older PCs, which would
going meetings. With little effort, you can start a group if eventually be destroyed. Since a new generation of PCs is
one doesn’t already exist. Advertising on the Internet is a developed about every 18 months, you can imagine how
cheap and efficient way to attract volunteers. For example, many computers are sitting unused in this manner. However,
Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) hosts many clubs and groups of all getting to them was difficult because this equipment belongs
types online for free. Check for online communities near to the public. Giving them to private organizations was often
your area and post messages to the group in your pursuit of difficult if not impossible and the bureaucracy involved in
people to help you locate, build, repair, store, and distribute changing this system is very time-consuming and often
computers and provide instruction. Make use of Internet fruitless.
search engines to their fullest extent. Search for keywords
such as “volunteers” so you can locate services where you After the government, the next largest consumer of PCs is
can advertise for the many types of tasks that you’ll need to private industry. This is where you will likely find the bulk
get done in order to succeed. Not just computer enthusiasts of your donations. Companies in the United States are given
and experts, but the many people behind the scenes who pro- tax breaks and other financial incentives to donate used
vide important organizational support that will be essential to equipment to charity. If this does not exist in your area, you
your operation. These are people such as fundraisers, book- are still doing local companies the favor of removing un-
keepers, administrative assistants, people involved in public wanted equipment they may have to pay to haul off and (im-
relations, and others who will help be the liaison between portantly) they benefit from the good public relations you
you and the community, or what we called “outreach ambas- will provide to them. Their incentive to give to you also in-
sadors.” In other words, you want those of your clients who cludes the opportunity to be “sponsors” of your mission.
were initially helped by you, and want to build a bridge be- This free publicity only helps to better their relationship with
tween your organization and their local community. their customers and it’s your responsibility to see that they
get plenty of credit and accolades for doing so in order to
attract more and more company “sponsors” to follow suit.
Organizing your mission
A smaller source of used PCs is your local computer retail or
Once you have located or formed your group of computer
repair store. The store in your area may sell only new com-
enthusiasts, work with them closely in determining the set of
puters. If so, they can tell their customers to give their old
technological standards that will determine what types of

ones to you (particularly if there are tax or other financial Distribution
incentives for them). Visit your local computer retailers and
offer them free advertising space in your newsletter in ex- If you’ve gotten this far in the process, distribution will be
change for referring their customer’s to you. If computers your easiest task because there will always be more people
are scarce in your area, then it is likely you will be compet- who need personal computers than you will have to distrib-
ing with the used computer market, which will make your ute. It will also be the most rewarding part of your task as
efforts even more challenging. you see the fruits of your labors come to harvest. To benefit
the most people, you may want to consider distributing your
Finally, the consumer who is looking to get rid of his com- computers only to places that serve the community (i.e.,
puter (because he discovered that he can’t sell it for anything community centers, schools, places of worship, etc.) rather
near what he paid for it), is your final source. This is the than to the individual himself. One way in which our or-
least efficient means of collecting computers and you will ganization has changed in recent years was to focus mostly
often find these make up the oldest and least workable ma- on providing computer training to persons with disabilities,
chines. rather than doing both. Working closely with other organi-
zations which only provide computer recycling services, has
Operating Systems and licensing issues enhanced our outreach efforts many-fold. Forming similar
symbiotic collaborations with other organizations in your
Depending on your area, the vast majority of PC’s you find area will similarly strengthen your own outreach efforts and
will be running one of the earlier versions of the Windows pave the way for empowering the lives of many people.
Operating System. If you are getting your computers from
companies, they are probably purchasing site licenses from Many developing nations around the world are being
Microsoft, so when they turn these machines over to you, changed by the personal computer now, like they did only a
they will not include an individual Microsoft license for each decade or two ago in the United States. Technology, how-
machine. Depending on current Microsoft policy or your ever outdated in a rapidly changing world, is technology that
arrangement with them, you may or may not be allowed to benefits someone. The lessons learned by the struggles of
legally distribute these PC’s without the original Microsoft many charitable organizations such as CURE don’t need to
Operating System license, which will likely affect your entire be repeated by other communities and developing nations
computer inventory. This is a very difficult problem. On the who are now emerging into the information age. If the fast-
one hand, by distributing a Windows-based computer back est computer on the block five years ago can make a differ-
into the community, you are creating a future Microsoft user ence today in the hands of a child who is struggling in
and customer by giving him access to their product – one that school, or a person with a disability learning new job skills,
will likely be the only operating system he will use. Distrib- then it’s truly a happy ending for everyone concerned.
uting a computer without an operating system does nothing
to empower your client, and distributing one with a lesser- [For more information about how The CURE Network is
known public domain operating system won’t prepare him using technology for persons with disabilities, please visit
for a job in the Windows-dominated world of PC’s. Before our website at http://www.cure.org.]
you begin any computer recycling efforts, check with Micro-
soft and your local legal representatives.
Editor's Note
There are several other NGOs that have been established to recycle computers to developing countries. Examples:
Computer Aid International is based in the UK (www.computeraid.org). Since starting operations in 1997 it has provided
5,000 recycled computers to schools and community organizations in 33 developing countries.
Afritech is a Canadian based NGO that also recycles computers from corporate users. Computers are provided free to schools.
The WorLD Organization is a Washington based NGO (www.worldbank.org/worldlinks), spawned by the World Bank. They
are able to supply used ex-rental machines from large computer manufactures (US specification) at a reasonable price.
A major problem with old computers is lack of software to run them. NewDeal offers a software package that can be run on
any computer from a 286 to the newest Pentiums. It is constructed in a way which allows very small application size and very
fast performance. (See www.newdealinc.com ) See also article by Sonia Jurich, "Recycling Computers: A Simple Solution for
a Complex Problem," TechKnowLogia (May/June 2000).

!"#$%&%'($)*+,",*&-*."/01$,"#*23$45
A Pilot Activity in Brazil
Vera Suguri
Lourdes Matos
Noara Castro, Ieda Castro
Lurdes Marilene Jung
Eric Rusten*
6748&#9(4'&7*$7#*1$(:%8&97# on teaching and learning and in carrying out interdisci-

plinary and collaborative projects.
Many educators around the world are making extensive use The following schools participated in the Chat Pilot Project:
of computers and the Internet to enhance teaching and
learning. For over four years, the ProInfo program in the • Ary Ribeiro Valadão Filho Middle School Center of
Ministry of Education in Brazil, in collaboration with teach- Gurupi, state of Tocantins;
ers and multipliers1 across the country, has been seeking
ways to help educators integrate these technologies into • Antônio Canela State School of Montes Claros, state of
learning activities. Much of this work has focused on using a Minas Gerais;
variety of basic software applications in school computer • Jacob K. Neto School of Novo Hamburgo, state of Rio
labs to enable teachers and students to develop interdiscipli- Grande do Sul; and
nary projects. To build on this solid foundation and to ex-
pand opportunities for using computers and the Internet in • Hilda Rabello Matta Municipal School of Belo Hori-
learning, Vera Lúcia Atsuko Suguri, a pedagogical coordi- zonte, state of Minas Gerais.
nator at ProInfo, proposed to four multipliers, Lourdes Ma-
tos, Noara de Resende e Castro, Rosalva Ieda Vasconcelos This article discusses the technologies that were used in the
Guimarães de Castro and Lurdes Marilene Jung, that a pilot project, describes the different project activities, presents an
project be developed to explore the pedagogical uses of analysis of project results, and discusses the lessons that
Web-based chat. Together, the project team asked Eric were learned from the Chat Pilot Project.3
Rusten, the Director of the US/Brazil Learning Technologies
Network (LTNet)2 to create an easy to use Web-based chat
environment in the LTNet web site that the team could use to
carry out the Chat Pilot Project. This pilot, which took place !8&;"(4*<"(37&)&%'",
from July to December, 2000, had three main objectives:
• to test the use of a simple web-based chat tool in col- Internet chat is a form of synchronous on-line communica-
laborative educational projects; tion that uses software to allow two or more people to engage
in real-time discussions by typing. Unlike many Internet chat
• to identify effective strategies for integrating the use of applications commonly used today, the chat software used in
Internet chat into Brazilian curricula; and this pilot activity, Ralf’s Chat,4 was embedded in a web page
• to learn what impacts, if any, that Internet chat may have in the LTNet web site. This made it possible for users to par-

ticipate in synchronous discussion, or to chat, without having the main part of the screen. Users can also change the color
to download and install any special software. This software of the text they use to post their messages so that it is easy to
also saves a copy of the chat discussion as a log file. This log tell the difference between the dialogues of different users.
file, which proved to be one of the most important pedagogi-
cal tools of this pilot, was used by the project coordinators,
teachers and, most importantly, by the students to reflect !')&4* =(4'>'4'",* ?* 674"87"4* 23$4
about the discussion after it was completed. A more detailed +,"#*'7*@#9($4'&7$)*!8&;
+,"#*'7*@#9($4'&7$)*!8&;"(4,
description of the importance of the log file is presented
later. Participants in the project only had to have access to
computers connected to the Internet and to use a recent ver-
sion of Internet browser software such as Microsoft Internet The pilot project focused on using Internet chat within the
Explorer or Netscape Communicator. The chat “room” is context of different educational projects and themes. This
displayed in the user’s browser just like a regular web page. was done to test the effectiveness of Internet chat under dif-
ferent conditions and for different groups of users. To help
As with all forms of Internet chat, the software used in the evaluate the effectiveness of Internet chat, the pilot’s activi-
pilot allowed people from different locations to engage in ties were organized into five main categories. It is important
discussions by typing their messages. Internet chat allows to note that these categories do not represent the only ways
people to remain anonymous if they choose and they often that Internet chat could be used in education. Other educators
use nicknames or even take on new identities when chatting. are encouraged to be creative in the use of chat and to apply
These characteristics of chat are greatly responsible for chat this communications tool to their specific needs. The catego-
becoming one of the most common and entertaining uses of ries selected were:
the Internet.
• Collaborative Discovery;
These same characteristics are also responsible for many • On-line Seminars and Interviews;
educators believing that chat has little educational value. As
mentioned earlier, an important aspect of the software used • Professional Orientation;
in this pilot activity helped overcome this concern by main-
• Professional Development; and
taining a digital record of the chat dialog, in the form of a log
file, so that the project coordinators, teachers and students • Chat with Handicapped and Special Needs Students.
could study the text of the exchange after it was completed to
reflect on aspects of the discussion, to identify errors of ex-
The rest of the article briefly describe each of these uses of
pression they may have made, and to expose questions for
Internet chat and assess the benefits from them for teaching
further discussion and research. The log file also helped
and learning. Only one or two examples of a variety of chat
teachers overcome one of the most challenging aspects of
activities are used to illustrate each category.
project-based education; identifying and responding to stu-
dents’ needs. These log files were also used to plan future
chat sessions and help to keep participating students from Collaborative Discovery
using rude or inappropriate language. This chat software is
also available for free as a download from the Internet On September 6, 2000, a group of 14 and 15 year old students
(http://www.ralfchat.de/) and because it is written in Perl, a from the Jacob K. Neto School of Novo Hamburgo, Rio
programming language, it was easily modified so that all Grande do Sul, the most southern state of Brazil, met in a chat
menu items and instructions were in both Brazilian Portu- room with students from Antônio Canela State School of
guese and English. Montes Claros, state of Minas Gerais, a state in the center of
Brazil (see map). Lurdes Marilene Jung and Lourdes Matos
Teachers and students who were involved in the pilot project mediated this chat session. The focus of this chat was to
did not need to buy or install any special software on their allow students to explore the differences and similarities be-
school computers. They only needed to have a connection to tween the two regions of Brazil where the students lived.
the Internet and recent browser software, either Internet Ex- During their discussion, they compared the climate, vegeta-
plorer or Netscape Navigator. Because the software runs on tion, industrial production, life styles and traditional festivi-
the Internet server and only text files are posted on the Inter- ties.
net, it is possible to participate in chat discussion using a
basic dial-up Internet connection. The software is also very During this chat session the students of Novo Hamburgo
easy to learn to use. Participants only need to register a user became very curious about why the people of Montes Claros
name and password and then enter the room. There is a space would celebrate a festival for Pequi, a fruit that they had never
to type their messages and then by tapping the return/enter heard of. This sparked an animated discussion about Pequi
key or clicking on the “post” button, the message appears in and the importance of this fruit to the economy and culture of

Montes Claros. In another situation, when the students of and the local school’s multiplier, Noara Resende Castro, de-
Novo Hamburgo mentioned that their economy was based on cided to use the Internet chat to allow the students to have a
leather, a student in Montes Claros stated that the production virtual interview with experts in this field. A psychologist,
of insulin was central to Montes Claros’ economy. Questions Gilvane da Silva Terra and Vilma Borges de Moura Perini, a
were raised about insulin that none of the students could an- science teacher, from Gurupi, Tocantins were invited to join
swer and as a result, one of the Montes Claros students the students for this seminar. They had a very open and ani-
started, with his teacher’s help, eagerly to research about mated discussion and the psychologists and science teacher
insulin. It is unlikely that the student would have been as were able to provide the students with accurate and detailed
eager or done as complete a job, if the teacher had assigned information. This virtual seminar also allowed the psycholo-
this research topic. This result illustrates how useful Internet gist and teachers to discuss other important topics such as the
chat can be in exposing students’ educational interests and negative impact of early pregnancy on young women. With-
topics for learning projects. out using Internet chat, these experts would not have been
able to collaborate with these students on this topic. It is also
likely that in a face-to-face meeting, the discussion of this
topic would not have been as open as it was with Internet
chat.
Professional Orientation
In another example, 16 to 18 year old high school students

from Antônio Canela School of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais
participated in a chat with Professor Carlos Meira, the coor-
dinator of a technical business course at the University of
Montes Claros. This chat, which was mediated by Lourdes
Matos, the multiplier at the Montes Claros NTE, focused on
having the students learn about different career opportunities
and the education required to prepare for those careers. This
chat session provided the students with a rare opportunity to
speak directly with a university professor about different
courses, fields of study and related carrier opportunities. This
provided the students with critical information important to
making decisions about which courses to take and the chal-
lenges they would face at college. Presently, few students
have access to this first-hand information through conven-
tional channels. Internet chat allowed the professional to
Online Seminars and Interviews spend a little time from the convenience of his office to meet
with a group of students. It is unlikely that a face-to-face
On October 3, 2000, a chat interview session, moderated by meeting for this purpose would have been possible.
Lourdes Matos, took place between a group of high school
students from Antônio Canela and Dr. Kátia Liliane a Psy- Professional Development
chologist at the Regional Superintendents office of Montes
Claros. This chat session focused on student projects on On November 1, 2000, teachers from three schools, Colégio
early pregnancy among adolescent girls. Chat was used as Estadual de Gurupi, Colégio Bom Jesus and CEM Arizinho,
part of the project because the teacher felt that the questions Gurupi, Tocantins met in a chat room to discuss how interdis-
being asked by the students required more specific and sci- ciplinary projects are developed using computers and Internet
entific responses that she could not provide. technologies. Noara Castro and Ieda Castro of Belo Hori-
zonte and Gurupi mediated this chat session. The discussion
A similar interview chat session took place on October 20 focused on the important roles of interdisciplinary studies on
with 11 to 14 year old students at Hilda Rabello Matta Mu- effective learning. The teachers talked about different teach-
nicipal School in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and a team ing methods that can be used when working collaboratively in
of specialists from Gurupi, Tocantins. The Science teacher an interdisciplinary way. During this chat, teachers shared
at Hilda Rabello, Ms. Geralda Sueli da Silva, was developing their doubts, fears and experiences regarding work in interdis-
a project with her students on Adolescent Sexuality. Early in ciplinary projects at schools that have computer labs.
this project Ms. Silva realized that the students wanted to
have more specialized information about adolescent sexuality
than she was capable of providing. To meet this need, she

Chat with Handicapped and Special Needs Stu- other. The research coordinators also reviewed and analyzed
dents the digital records from each chat dialogue to learn more
about the dynamics of this environment. Even though the
One of the most remarkable chat experiences of the entire chat pilot did not use scientific control activities to compare
study occurred when one of the project coordinators, Ieda with the chat sessions, the coordinators did compare the be-
Castro, joined an ongoing chat activity. A group of students havior they observed with the behavior of students and
from Montes Claros was in the chat room talking with stu- teachers in conventional classroom activities.
dents from Novo Hamburgo. When Ieda joined their chat
session, the students became curious about who she was and Fondness and Friendship
where she was from. As the discussion progressed the conver-
sation became very animated and diverse and they all started One of the things that impressed the participants in this proj-
asking specific questions about Gurupi, Tocantins and com- ect the most about all the chat sessions that took place during
paring conditions in their communities. Since this was an this pilot activity was the great expression of fondness and
informal chat, the conversations were mingled with personal friendship that emanated from the on-line conversations even
tastes and preferences; some spoke about courtship and the though most of the participants had never met each other.
discussions flowed naturally and enjoyably. At one point, the Initially, the project coordinators had expected the chat ses-
multiplier from Montes Claros, Lourdes Matos, sent a private sions to be dry and emotionless. From this it can be con-
message to Ieda Castro, explaining that the Montes Claros cluded that people participating in chat-enabled collabo-
students were special needs children with a mixture of mental, rative learning environments can share emotions as well
visual and hearing disabilities. This was a great surprise to as information and develop friendships as well as con-
Ieda Castro who later remarked that, “in spite of one of the structing new knowledge.
girls having shown a lack of attention, nothing else seemed to
be different from having a conversation with, normal people. Overcoming Disabilities
I only imagined that I was chatting with children.” A few
months after meeting the students in the chat room, Ieda vis- Another important factor, observed clearly by teachers dur-
ited Montes Claros to attend an international conference. At ing the chat sessions, was related to the possibilities for deaf
this time she visited the school and met the students with and other special needs students to overcome certain diffi-
whom she had chatted. However, in contrast to the open and culties that they encounter when trying to communicate, es-
dynamic chat discussion, when she met the students in person pecially at a distance, with others. The student’s teacher and
they became very shy and spoke little. Also, since Ieda didn’t the project coordinators were also surprised to learn that par-
know sign language and the children were deaf they could ticipating in the chat environment enabled the deaf students
communicate very little. This example illustrates the power of to gain a better understanding of how prepositions and arti-
anonymous dialogue and chat discussion for people with cles are used in writing. When used in isolation, prepositions
disabilities. and articles have little intrinsic meaning, and deaf students
have a difficult time understanding how these words should
Soon after this chat session started, a deaf girl from Montes be used. During the chat, the students had a chance to see
Claros began shaking. Lourdes Matos quickly moved to her these words being used in written conversations and they
side to see what the problem was. The girl explained that started asking questions about them and discussing the use-
there was no problem, she had just become overwhelmed by fulness of these words with the teachers and other students.
being able to communicate for the first time in her life with This example shows how helpful guided chat activities can
someone who lived far away and she didn’t need anyone be in assisting students in becoming more reflective about
else’s help to communicate. Internet chat had provided a language and the challenge of writing clearly so that oth-
means for her to communicate equally on her own with chil- ers can understand.
dren who were not deaf and who did not know sign language.
Suddenly, opportunities for her to learn and share with others No Inhibitions
had grown from the confines of her home and school to the
rest of Brazil and the world. In short, her worldview had been Even though the people participating in the chat sessions
transformed. were not completely anonymous, since they used their real
names and everyone knew where each person was from, they
did not see the faces of the other participants during the dis-
=,,",,A"74*$7#*B",,&7, cussions. This situation allowed the participants to feel
anonymous and discussions were less inhibited. This was
especially true when younger students were talking with
adults. Usually, students are relatively shy when talking with
The project coordinators carefully observed the behavior of
teachers and will rarely ask questions or talk about topics that
students and teachers and the way they related with each
may be considered as personal or controversial. In the chat

sessions, however, discussions were animated, open and free consistent spellings and grammar. Many participating stu-
flowing. Students who usually exhibited very shy behavior in dents, without being told by their teachers, quickly turned to
face-to-face situations were uncharacteristically candid and dictionaries and other books to learn which spelling and us-
talkative. This allowed the open discussion of topics that age was correct. And overall, they showed much greater
might normally not be talked about. As a result, informa- interest in proper Portuguese.
tion and opinions were easily exchanged and all partici-
pants, even those who might be inhibited in conventional Studying the log file also helped the students discover
discussions, were able to communicate equally. topic areas that arose during the discussion, which they
knew little or nothing about. This realization was often
Thoughtfulness and Accuracy followed by a personal quest for additional knowledge and
information—a quest that would have been unlikely if the
Because the dialogues were written rather than spoken, the teacher had assigned it.
participants had to spend more time thinking about their
questions and comments than they would in verbal discus- Connecting Diversity
sions. They were also able to read what they had written and
then edit their sentences and expand on ideas. This combina- The pilot project also demonstrated the power of Internet
tion of factors contributed to discussions that were very chat in connecting people of different age groups and from
thoughtful and meaningful. The focus on written communi- distant locations. Experts and specialist who would not be
cation also highlighted to the student participants the impor- able to visit distant schools for conventional face-to-face
tance of good spelling and proper grammar. Internet chat is meetings were able to spend time from the convenience of
often characterized by a very relaxed approach to spelling their offices with students in distant schools. Similarly,
and grammar. However, when used in educational environ- teachers who have few opportunities to participate in profes-
ments, especially among participants from different loca- sional development activities or to network with peers from
tions, it is possible to focus students’ attention on the quality different schools, discovered that Internet chat allows them
of their communication. Similarly, students became quickly to explore new educational ideas and practices and to
aware of the need to describe things to other participants in share challenges and skills with colleagues across the
the chat very accurately and completely. Since facial expres- country.
sions, hand gestures and the tone of voice could not be used
to help communicate, the participants were required to be Discovering Students’ Real Needs and Desires
more accurate in the use of written language. At the same
time, students’ formulation and use of questions over the Internet chat was found to be a very effective tool to help
course of a chat session showed signs of becoming more teachers discover students’ interests, needs and problems.
focused and accurate. The Chat Pilot Project did not, how- One of the cornerstones of constructivist education and proj-
ever, investigate if the changes in the use of written commu- ect-based learning is that teachers should seek to respond to
nication used during chat sessions had an effect on students' the real interests, needs and problems of students rather then
overall writing skills. impose their perceptions of need. Unfortunately, discovering
students’ real needs and desires is one of the most difficult
Teachers involved in the chat pilot commented that they con- parts of effective project-based educational activities. How-
sistently have difficulty getting students to write and students ever, as the coordinators of the Chat Pilot Project discovered,
consistently complain when asked to do writing assignments. the students themselves naturally exposed their educational
However, students were extremely eager to participate in needs and desires as they engage in Internet chat discussions.
chat activities where they had no choice but to write and And since these needs were preserved in the form of the log
to become concerned about the quality of their communi- files, teachers were able to follow-up and guide student
cation. efforts to satisfy their natural desire to discover answers
to questions and doubts raised during the chat.
Learning from the Past
More Is Not Better
As mentioned earlier, the log file created during the chat ses-
sion provided a digital record of the discussion that students The chat pilot also showed that the quality of discussions
and teachers could study on their own and as a group. The degrades if too many people participate. The pilot did not
importance of the log file, especially to the students, sur- seek to determine the optimum number of participants in a
prised the project team. At one level, the students showed chat environment, but it seems that if more than 15 people
great pride when reviewing the log file with others and are actively chatting at one time quality suffers. It is possible,
pointing out what they had written and what questions they however, for part of a group of students to chat actively
had asked. At another level, students became very reflective while the others observe and offer suggestions for what to
when reviewing the chat log file and started to identify in- type. Then partway through a chat session the students can

switch control of the keyboard so that their partners can type. that they can follow up with more thoughtful and detailed
In Hilda Rabello Matta Municipal School of Belo Horizonte, discussions on topics raised during the chat. This extended
for example, students are organized into groups that are and expanded learning opportunities and strengthened rela-
named for the planets. Each group logs into the chat room tionships among participants.
under their planet name and the members of the group take
turns typing responses and questions generated by group The pilot also showed that both teachers and students quickly
members. This not only makes it easier for participants to learn to use the chat tools and greatly enjoy the dynamic dis-
follow a chat discussion but it also helps students develop cussions that occur. The pilot also showed that even with a
good teamwork skills. slow Internet connection, chat could be done successfully,
using the tools in LTNet. Also, when computers and Internet
2&7()9,'&7, access are already available, Internet chat is essentially free.
It is important to note that Internet chat is not a perfect tool

and that it should not be used to replace face-to-face activi-
The Chat Pilot Project clearly demonstrates that Internet chat
can be a powerful pedagogical tool that can definitely en- ties. Talking and meeting with people face-to-face has un-
hance teaching and learning in many different ways. impeachable benefits that cannot be replicated in virtual en-
Achieving the educational benefits of Internet chat, however, vironments. However, it is equally important to emphasize
requires that educators carefully plan and moderate chat that Internet chat provides benefits that may be difficult or
events. It is also important that teachers take a long-term impossible to achieve in face-to-face engagements.
perspective with using chat so students are able to follow up
on topics that are exposed during early chat sessions. Chat There is still much to learn about how to use Internet chat in
becomes a more powerful tool when combined with other different educational environments, and how best to integrate
tools such as e-mail and a listserv. This combination of this tool with other computer and Internet technologies and
communication tools allows for more complete and in-depth classroom teaching. This pilot project has only exposed the
tip of the iceberg. As more and more teachers and multipliers
discussions. For example, during a chat, questions and ideas
across Brazil start using Internet chat as a routine part of
are quickly raised that require more time and more writing to
treat fully than is available during chat sessions. In the pilot education we will learn more about the pedagogical power of
project, the participants often exchanged e-mail addresses so this exciting communication tool.
* vsuguri@proinfo.mec.gov.br, lourdes@mail.connect.com.br, noara207@terra.com.br, castro@naves.com.br,

ljung@cepic.tche,br. erusten@aed.org
1
Multipliers are education technology specialists who train teachers to integrate the use of computers and the Internet into
daily teaching and learning, and coordinate and support ProInfo activities in Brazilian schools. Multipliers work in teacher
training resource centers, called NTEs (Núcleos de Tecnologia Educacional) that are distributed across Brazil.
2
LTNet, a project funded by USAID and administered by AED, operates under the US/Brazil Partnership for Education. The
LTNet project developed and administers a bilingual web site, http://www.ltnet.org/, to help carryout its activities.
3
This article uses some information that was originally presented in a research paper on the Pilot Project, “INTERNET CHAT:
AN EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY” written by Rosalva Ieda Vasconcelos Guimarães de Castro and Eric Rusten.
4
This software was created by Ralf Gueldemeister and is available without charge as a download from the Internet. Because it
is an open source CGI application, it is possible to translate the words used in the interface to Portuguese.

The Global Service Trust Fund
Bridging the Digital Divide for Education and Health
Peter T. Knight1
If we are to believe George Gilder, bandwidth will be free, someday, perhaps soon.2 Right now it
certainly is not, and Gilder made his prediction back in 1993. The cost of broad bandwidth, in many
cases of any bandwidth, is prohibitive for many potentially valuable projects in developing coun-
tries. The Global Service Trust Fund (GSTF)3 would address the digital divide by making available
bandwidth free or at below market prices for qualifying education and health projects in developing
countries. Think of it as a voluntary international e-rate for education and health with conditionality
to induce improved health, education, and telecommunications policies.
The idea is to provide incentives for the development of educational and health content requiring
broad bandwidth and better policies now in developing countries, with South-South and South-
North collaboration encouraged by making the required bandwidth free or close to free. The scheme
could be phased out gradually as the price of bandwidth falls.
The fund would come from two donor sources: telecommunications companies with underutilized
bandwidth and organizations possessing financial resources. Funds would be allocated as grants to
qualifying projects and as in-kind assistance with connections; bandwidth would be allocated in-
kind through a per capita income-stratified auction-like process. Conditionality regarding health,
education, and telecommunications policies would apply for a country to be eligible to submit ap-
plications to the GSTF. This conditionality would be established through a participatory process in-
volving major stakeholders.
Background and Rationale fessionals, but they can expand and magnify conventional
capabilities in powerful ways that are only now beginning to
There are still at least two billion people out of a global be studied and understood.
population of six billion that have major unmet needs in edu- The Internet, with its rapidly expanding and improving infra-
cation, health care and water supply, sanitation, and nutrition. structure, will be the main telecommunication media of to-
Many of these people are located in remote rural areas, with morrow. It has been extended to most countries, albeit with
limited or no access to formal educational systems, health slow-to-medium speed in most developing countries, even in
care, potable water, electricity, or jobs related to the new large parts of the developed world. But the full potential for
information economy. Even in urban areas, many people lack achieving revolutionary advances in education and healthcare
access to the Internet and its great potential to improve edu- in developing countries cannot be realized with the currently
cation and health. These deficiencies are core to what has available information infrastructure and at currently prevail-
been described as the “digital divide.” ing market prices.
Conventional approaches to these issues such as trying to Improved distance education requires much better ways of
train new teachers and doctors cannot possibly meet the presenting information and of allowing learners to interact
needs. In fact, there are more people to be educated in the with facilitators to enable the learners to process that infor-
next fifty years than have been educated up to this point in mation into personal knowledge.
human history. Information and communications technolo-
gies cannot replace the need for teachers and health care pro-

At present most electronic distance learning takes place by ganization that provides such a network across national
one of two equally primitive programming and delivery boundaries, oceans, and continents for the use by non-profit
modes. On the one hand, much instruction is primarily text organizations, e.g., tele-education, tele-healthcare, libraries,
and simple graphics delivered over the web and/or through and local governments. This international gap is now a major
email and its derivatives (electronic fora, bulletin boards, cause of network congestion, and there is an urgent need to
chatrooms). On the other, there is “room-based” or desktop- close it in a rapidly globalizing world society.
based videoconferencing, usually with relatively small
groups involved and low production values so far as the In sum, what is needed is both high quality audio/video
video and audio are concerned. Both techniques allow sig- delivery and high quality interactivity. Although these
nificant interaction, but the quality of instruction suffers from terms will be understood and applied differently in various
the lack of high-quality audio and video. parts of the world, the objective of increasing quality, inter-
activity, and system throughput can be seen as a global ob-
High-quality instruction is possible by broadcast television, jective for improving tele-education and tele-health services.
with multi-million dollar production budgets having been A true revolution in distance learning and telemedicine re-
deployed to good effect in some countries – for example An- quires high-speed access to the World Wide Web, and the
nenberg/CBP in the US, BBC/Open University in the UK, flexibility to offer a variety of media. These might include
The Roberto Marinho Foundation’s Telecurso 2000 and Ca- two-way audio, full-motion video-conferencing up to MPEG
nal Futura in Brazil, and SCS and MINCS-UH in Japan. 2 quality, television-quality netcasting, and high-resolution
There have also been reasonably high-quality and effective image transfer for tele-medicine. Such capabilities require
programming produced in newly industrializing countries by medium to broad bandwidth. Developing countries need
the Ministry of Education and Central China Television for broadband Internet via international satellite and fiber-optic
the Chinese National TV University, by the Indonesia tele- cable.
education training center for the PALAPA satellite system,
as well as high-quality audio tele-courses produced by the The revolution in education and healthcare in developing
University of the West Indies and the University of the South countries also requires a more favorable policy environment
Pacific. – not just for telecommunications but also for education and
healthcare. A key to bringing down prices to affordable lev-
Today, narrow bandwidth systems and high telecommunica- els is to establish national and international competition or at
tions costs will not allow the use of streaming video and least flexibility in the provision of telecommunications, edu-
audio on a large scale in developing countries. Often tele- cation, and healthcare services. Also rapid transfer of knowl-
communications pipes get clogged even with heavy net use edge from developed to developing countries needs to be
of more conventional kinds. Ironically, many audiences, even actively encouraged along with support for higher quality
in developing countries, are “spoiled” by commercial televi- local educational program development.
sion with high production values when it comes to attempts
to promote tele-education course delivery. Thus audiences,
even in developing countries, do not easily accept jerky
movement, small windows, failing connections, and low
Origins and History of the GSTF
production values. The quality of tele-lectures, video inserts Proposal
and the like has to approximate that of high-quality commer-
cial television. Nevertheless, high quality online courses at The first draft of this proposal was developed by Dr. Takeshi
lower bit rate transmissions are also increasingly in produc- Utsumi, Chairman of GLOSAS/USA with Dr. Salah Mandil
tion and more pervasively available. of World Health Organization (WHO) and presented at the
International Workshop and Conference on Emerging Global
As for telemedicine, there is a proven need for high- Electronic Distance Learning (EGEDL'99) held 9-13 August
definition moving images, or at least extremely high- 1999, at the University of Tampere, Finland. It has been de-
resolution still images. Even with low-cost or free broadband veloped since then by a team led by the present author and
connectivity between nations, the cost and pricing structure including Francis Method, Joseph Pelton, and Takeshi
of telecommunications in many developing countries keep Utsumi. Members of the team have made a series of papers
the cost of access to the Internet at prohibitive levels, and and presentations in several countries including the United
inappropriate policy and regulatory frameworks do not en- States, Brazil, Pakistan, and South Africa.4
courage efficient use of those public resources devoted to
education and healthcare. As a result of the G-8 meetings held in Okinawa, Japan, in
July 2000, important initiatives have been started to address
Although many countries (including some developing coun- these great needs. The Okinawa Charter on Global Informa-
tries) are now geared to establish broadband Internet, their tion Society provides an important framework statement
initiatives are mainly domestic. There is no international or-

Finance and Organization
The satellite industry that has the
technology that can most easily Expansion of high-speed broad bandwidth connections for
education and health applications in developing countries
reach the isolated populations would be financed by the GSTF. Funding should be suffi-
should seek to do its share to ad- cient to eliminate or greatly reduce the telecommunications
cost for qualified education and healthcare applications in a
dress this problem with innova- significant number of countries and number of applications.
This might be done by a voluntary international mechanism
tive answers. akin to the “E-Rate” now benefiting schools in the United
States and the Brazilian “Fund for Universalization of Tele-
calling on G-8 governments to “foster an appropriate policy communications Services”(FUST). In fact, many countries
and regulatory environment to stimulate competition and have used public policy tools of some kind to create a less-
innovation, ensure economic and financial stability, advance than-market rate for education, health, and/or other priority
stakeholder collaboration to optimize global networks, fight applications. Another option could be to begin with free
abuses that undermine the integrity of the network, bridge the bandwidth for qualifying education and health applications,
digital divide, invest in people, and promote global access but raise it toward (expected to be declining) market prices in
and participation” and called on “all, within both the public gradual steps.
and private sectors to bridge the international information
and knowledge divide….” Under the current model of the GSTF, two separate contri-
bution “funds” or “sources” would be established – an in-
The report of the G8 Digital Opportunities Task Force (Dot- kind bandwidth transmission source and a financial assis-
Force) formed to prepare a set of action proposals for the tance source. The Coalition supporting the GSTF would in-
Genova G8 summit requested support for expanding “op- clude commercial and non-profit sources. These should in-
portunities for training, education and knowledge sharing for clude key international organizations such as the Interna-
people living in rural and remote areas through distance tional Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations
learning” and “the interconnection of education and research Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization
networks among developing countries and industrialized (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO), as
countries for instance through high-speed networks, twinning well as multilateral development banks (The World Bank and
or bandwidth pooling….” The current proposal falls within the regional development banks for Africa, Asia, Latin
the Okinawa Charter and the DotForce framework, though it America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia).
cuts across several of the proposed DotForce action points.5 The Coalition would also include bilateral aid agencies,
foundations, and companies contributing to the Fund as well
The satellite industry that has the technology that can most as organizations contributing education and healthcare
easily reach the isolated populations should seek to do its knowledge. The Fund could be administered in a variety of
share to address this problem with innovative answers. ways, but it should have a credible, well-organized, and fi-
INTELSAT has undertaken its Project Share and Project nancially scrupulous entity of significant international
Access programs over the last 15 years. WorldSpace has set standing in charge in the disbursement of funds.
up a Foundation to support health and education activities. The proposed Fund would be financed from a variety of
EUTELSAT, ASIASAT, INSAT, and the Chinese National public and private sources, which could include:
Television University have provided important new satellite-
based capabilities. • Overseas Development Assistance funds of countries
belonging to the Organization for Economic Coopera-
Several satellite companies have agreed, in principle, to sup- tion and Development.
port the GSTF initiative that has been accepted as one of its
• Cash contributions from the profits of international fi-
first three projects by the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Tele-
nancial institutions, such as The World Bank and the re-
communications and Information (CITI) at its launch meet-
gional development banks.
ing in February 2000. More recently, at the infoDev Sympo-
sium held at the World Bank on December 5-6, 2001, José • Cash contributions from foundations and companies.
Maria Figueres Olson (Managing Director for the Global
Agenda, World Economic Forum and former President of • Contributions in kind from companies owning
Costa Rica) made a proposal that contained many elements underused satellite transponders and/or fiber optic cable
similar to the GSTF. The GSTF team is happy to work – for these companies, the marginal cost of making
closely with him and any other individuals or organizations available underused existing bandwidth is near zero, but
espousing similar ideas.

providing it may build future markets for sale at (de- 3. Technology and bandwidth resources will not be made
clining) commercial prices. available by providers at the scale or the prices neces-
sary to have a significant impact if there is not some as-
surance that:
The Fund’s bandwidth source might be allocated through a
variety of means that might include an auction process to
organizers of distance education and telemedicine projects in a) The resources will be put to good use on high prior-
qualifying countries. The GSTF could function as a band- ity public goods applications.
width aggregator itself or could work with commercial and b) The demonstration projects will be sufficiently well
non-profit aggregators through business arrangements to be identified that they can be monitored and assessed.
established. c) The GSTF approach is not so open-ended that it
precludes the development of new commercial-rate
The cash source might be used for grants to such projects, markets for ICT technology and services.
with rules favoring poorer countries and end beneficiaries,
assuring a certain geographical distribution of benefits be- At the same time, it is undesirable to burden the GSTF
tween regions, encouraging national initiatives to increase mechanism with complex conditionality criteria requiring
Internet access and encourage competitive provision of substantial review and judgment by a board or governing
bandwidth, and so forth. Grants might also favor interna- body or with such detailed analysis and reporting processes
tional knowledge sharing. All grants would be made through that the mechanism becomes a policy-setting, standard-
open competitive process. The cash source could also be setting or technical assistance entity. To the maximum extent
used to purchase additional bandwidth from companies pro- possible it is desirable to:
viding free bandwidth, giving an additional incentive for
these companies to make in-kind contributions. • Set criteria that meet bright line eligibility standards.
These are only some preliminary ideas. The details, including • Limit criteria to those that are essential to GSTF alloca-
the establishment of a pilot version of the Fund to test operation.
tional principles, need to be worked out during the next stage • Set standards that can be determined by entities other
in proposal development. than GSTF.
A more detailed examination of criteria for establishing con-

Conditionality ditionality is beyond the scope of this short article, but may
be found on the Web at www.friends-part-
GSTF funding would only be available for education and ners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/GSTF/GSTF_2-28-
health projects in developing countries with telecommunica- 01/Proposal_2-28-01.html.
tions, education, and health policies meeting certain mini-
mum standards. These standards, or conditionality serve as A major effort will be needed to further develop provisional
an incentive to better policies and as a means to limit and criteria suggested by the GSTF team and to develop feasible
focus the application of GSTF resources. Three main reasons arrangements for screening the applicants. Confidence in the
to establish this conditionality have been proposed by the relevance of the criteria, the technical validity of the criteria
GSTF team: and the arms-length neutrality in establishing eligibility is
essential.
1. The essential justification for the GSTF is that important
public goods objectives (development objectives) are
going unmet because of lack of access to affordable
broadband and related technology services. Support for
Participation
the overall initiative requires that the resources be fo-
cused on entities meeting the public goods criteria. Participation by the United Nations, the World Bank, Re-
gional Development Banks, and specialized members of the
2. Financial resources will not be adequate, at least ini- UN family (UNESCO, WHO and ITU) as well as represen-
tially, to meet all needs. Unless some means is found to tatives of the technology providers and relevant specialized
ensure resources are used for high priority and high NGOs will be needed.
quality applications they may be viewed as undesirable
subsidies for less cost-effective applications without the 1. As early as possible upon securing the necessary fund-
public good characteristics meeting local allocation cri- ing, a working group should be established of four to six
teria for scarce public financial resources. members designated by the above organizations to meet

with GSTF organizers in a workshop to draft initial cri- 4. An additional workshop and decision meeting will be
teria. needed to reach agreement on the final set of criteria and
the dissemination package for the initial set of GSTF ap-
2. Following the completion of draft criteria, each partici-
plications.
pant should vet the materials as necessary within their
respective organization and with key officials in the fo- 5. At least four pilot projects will be prepared prior to the
cus countries. The purpose of this exercise is to refine launch of the GSTF.
the criteria, not to revise the GSTF mechanism or pro-
posal. This process should be relatively short, perhaps
one month, maximum two months.
Next Steps in the Development of
3. During this same period, GSTF organizers will need to
begin preparation of necessary materials for dissemina-
the GSTF
tion and for application. It should be possible during this The GSTF team is seeking funds to develop the conditional-
period to complete the graphics and the work plan for ity along the lines set forth above, mobilize bandwidth and
duplication and dissemination. financial resources, prepare four pilot projects, find an insti-
tutional home for the GSTF, and hold an international meet-
ing to launch the pilot version of the fund.
1
The author is one of the board members of GLOSAS/USA, President of Telemática e Desenvolvimento Ltda
(www.tedbr.com), a Brazilian company with offices in Rio de Janeiro and Washington, DC and Partner in Knight-Moore
Telematics for Education and Development (www.knight-moore.com), a virtual firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Rio
de Janeiro. He may be contacted at peter@tedbr.com.
2
See Kevin Kelly, “George Gilder: When Bandwidth is Free, the Dark Fiber Interview with George Gilder,” Wired, 1.04
(September/October 1993), available online at www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gilder.html or
www.gildertech.com/public/articles_about/bandwidth.html .
3
The GSTF (TM of GLOSAS/USA) proposal has been developed over the past four years by a team consisting of Peter
Knight (peter@tedbr.com); Francis Method (fmethod@erols.com), education policy analyst, advisor to TechKnowLogia and to
UNESCO, www.resiliencies.net ; Joseph Pelton (ecjpelton@aol.com) one of the board members of GLOSAS/USA, Research
Professor with the Institute for Applied Space Research at the George Washington University (www.seas.gwu.edu/~iasr) and
Executive Director of the Arthur C. Clarke Institute of Telecommunications and Information (www.clarkeinstitute.com); and
Takeshi Utsumi (utsumi@columbia.edu), Chairman of GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the USA
(GLOSAS/USA) and Vice President for Technology and Coordination of Global University System (GUS) (www.friends-
partners.org/GLOSAS).
4
Versions of the proposal may be found at www.knight-moore.com/projects/GSTFproposal.html,
www.clarkeinstitute.com/trust.html , and www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/GSTF/GSTF_2-28-
01/Proposal_2-28-01.html. PowerPoint presentations of the proposal may be found at www.knight-
moore.com/presentations/GSTF/GSTFCITIK-MGLOSASweb_files/frame.htm and www.friends-
partners.org/GLOSAS/Global_University/Global%20University%20System/Reference_web_sites.html. The current article
draws freely on this documentation.
5
All of the documents cited in this paragraph can be found on the DotForce website at www.dotforce.org.

ThinkCycle at M.I.T.
Sharing Distributed Design Knowledge for Open Collaborative Design
Nitin Sawhney, Saul Griffith, Yael Maguire and Timothy Prestero
MIT Media Laboratory and MIT Ocean Engineering
{nitin, saul, yael}@media.mit.edu, tprester@mit.edu
http://www.thinkcycle.org
Creating a Culture of Socially-Conscious De- such problem domains. ThinkCycle1 is a student-led initiative
sign Innovation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that seeks to
raise awareness, develop design pedagogy and collaborative
How does one go about designing better water filters for
tools to address critical design challenges by working closely
solving the clean water needs of 1.3 billion people, simpli-
with universities and organizations worldwide.
fied intravenous (IV) treatment devices for cholera patients
in refugee camps, low-cost prescription eye-wear for com-
munities in Africa or active response kits and temporary Open Collaborative Design: Capturing Design
shelters for disaster relief? Critical design challenges in the Knowledge in Social Settings?
environment and under-privileged communities have gener- Most engineering design tools have focused on highly spe-
ally not been well addressed by either existing market cialized and formal approaches to support collaboration
mechanisms, academia or government organizations. We feel among members of a design team. The complexity of the
that such initiatives require diverse domain expertise (from tools imposes a high barrier for novice or casual users to
doctors, engineers and practitioners), motivated design teams participate in the design process. Often the focus is primarily
(perhaps based in universities and industry), and field- on the design artifact, rather than on capturing the evolving
experience from both entrepreneurial and non-governmental rationale and social dialogue in the ongoing design. In multi-
organizations (NGO) working in such areas. This class of cultural settings, the diverse design perspectives and unin-
“critical global challenges” requires a new approach towards tentionally embedded cultural biases are rarely captured. In
collaborative design, one, which embraces multi-disciplinary this article, we propose the need for lightweight online de-
teams and contributions from participants in different insti- sign tools that support gradual problem formulation and de-
tutional settings. sign exploration mediated by ongoing dialogue among many
distributed participants. Such tools must effortlessly capture
In collaborative projects, the emerging design knowledge and design process, rationale and contributions, to make both the
process is rarely captured and shared among others. In the outcome and ongoing process useful and relevant to design-
open source community, it has been argued that in many ers, domain experts and stakeholders.
cases it is beneficial for the ongoing design to be exposed to
public peer review and contributions from a wider commu- A design rationale is an explanation of the reasoning, tacit
nity of experts. Ideally, such a process would lead to more assumptions, design parameters, operating conditions, de-
rapid and innovative design iteration. Why is collaborative pendencies or constraints applied in the creation of an artifact
design around critical challenges not approached in this or some part of it [Gruber93]. A design rationale may help
manner today? Is it because of inappropriate design tools or a justify why specific decisions were made and alternatives
lack of social awareness and political will on the part of or- chosen in the process of design. It is argued that design ra-
ganizations and institutions? We believe there is a genuine tionale is helpful for both the original designers and others in
need both for designing novel collaborative tools and creat- reusing, modifying and maintaining the existing designs. It is
ing a culture of design innovation among institutions around also considered useful for designers to communicate and

coordinate within a team over time or negotiate with nology for their communities and the environment.
stakeholders about a design in progress. However, engineers
do not have strong incentives to document the rationale in In the first few months, a proof-of-concept prototype for the
their work due to the added overhead of capture. online database was developed to serve as a demonstration of
the core ideas. However, without an active user community
Gruber and Russell suggest that existing software tools for the system lacked the appropriate structure and interface nec-
engineering design should be extended to provide easy cap- essary for distributed collaboration. We also recognized that
ture or linkage to rationale explanations as a by-product of simply building a distributed software platform does not by
their usage. [Karsenty96] proposes an iterative approach to itself create an environment of design innovation in such
capturing design rationale, suggesting that it should be con- problem domains. To test and redesign this platform, we set
ceived of as an unfinished “document” that evolves over the out to create a novel design course at MIT, focusing on real-
course of a project through subsequent use of the rationale by world problem solving. We felt that it was necessary to re-
others. One system, Answer Garden [Ackerman98] allows think design pedagogy to integrate a culture of collaborative
users to seek answers to commonly asked questions in an design, multi-disciplinary fields and real-world exposure in
information database through sets of diagnostic questions. engineering courses taught at universities.
However, it also allows users to tap into the organization’s
social network by routing queries on unknown answers to In Spring 2001, in consultation with Media Lab professor
appropriate human experts (via email). This mechanism, Mitchel Resnick, we ran a design studio at MIT appropri-
hence, provides users and experts a means to grow a body of ately titled "Design that Matters,"2 as a novel experiment to
knowledge on the system over time, through the normal pro- devise a pedagogical approach that would seed challenges
cess of posing and answering questions. and design solutions for the initiative. The studio brought
together students from across MIT and Harvard, with notable
Recent trends in the “open source” movement suggest that speakers from around the world to focus on problems like
many benefits can be derived from sharing design knowl- access to clean water, human generated power, bilingual lan-
edge, and allowing an “open” evolution of design based on guage learning, low-cost health treatment and adaptive eye-
public peer-review and contributions from diverse partici- wear. By nature this studio was developed to test concepts of
pants. Eric Raymond [1997], in his landmark article charac- distributed and collaborative design, where student teams
terizing the evolution of open source software like Linux, must work with domain experts, NGOs and communities on
pointed out the importance of a large base of distributed us- real-world projects. The students documented the challenges,
ers who help improve the design outcomes much more rap- their ongoing design alternatives as well as the final proto-
idly but also become indispensable co-developers, if “prop- types.
erly cultivated” during the design process. This “Bazaar
view” of software development relies on the fact that each This studio was also used as the nucleus for developing the
co-developer due to unique background and interests, views ThinkCycle web-based collaboration software. In mid-April
the problem with a “slightly different perceptual set and 2001 one of the authors, Nitin Sawhney, began development
analytical toolkit.” This approach is particularly valuable in of the current system with iterative feedback from students in
complex problem domains where expertise cannot easily be the course. An early version of the system was introduced in
found in any one institutional setting, and a wider design May for students to document their projects online. Over the
exploration of many simultaneous design alternatives and year, the system functionality has been extended with many
approaches is necessary. With this view, we began to con- performance improvements to make it a robust and usable
sider how one would create an environment that provides an collaborative platform.
Open Collaborative Design approach, particularly for hard-
ware/product engineering challenges with a distributed ThinkCycle: Framework and Design Approach
community of interest. This framework has begun to emerge The ThinkCycle Collaborative platform is designed to pro-
in the development of the ThinkCycle initiative. vide an evolving online space for discussing, contributing
and viewing design challenges, emerging solutions and re-
The ThinkCycle Initiative: A Brief History sources in diverse problem domains. Such domains include
In March 2000, several graduate students at the MIT Media Cholera Treatment Devices, Human Power Generation,
Lab proposed an initiative to enable "open source problem Emergency Relief Technologies, Rural Community Radio,
solving" among university students everywhere and commu- and Arsenic Remediation. The nature of these domains re-
nities in the developing world. A key part of the initiative quires participation from domain experts, stakeholders, de-
was to create an online database of well-posed problems and signers and the general public. To support sharing of knowl-
evolving design solutions. This would be designed to facili- edge among such distributed communities, ThinkCycle pro-
tate exchange, raise awareness and harness the expertise of vides a number of collaborative features on a web-based on-
students towards real-world and appropriate design of tech- line platform.

ThinkCycle Topics (e.g. Cholera IV Treatment Devices)
Participant Roles Publish & Review Dynamic Views
Creator & Editors Discussions Topic Notes

Domain Experts or Threaded Messages Categorized Notes
Stakeholders and Recent Postings
Categorical Notes
Design Teams
Contribute Generate ThinkSpace
Challenges, Concepts
Students, Designers and Resources Process & Rationale
and Contributors in Design Teams
Publications
Peer-Reviewers Peer-Reviewed Papers File Mirror Archives
Experts, Stakeholders
and General Public Files and Images
Figure 1: Model for knowledge sharing and collaborative design activities among diverse users.
The system organizes problem domains as “topics” which Case Study on Collaborative Design: The
serve as a shared working space for a community of interest. Cholera Treatment Project
Topics consist of an online discussion board, shared file-
We now demonstrate how one design team used the system
space, categorical notes and publications. NGOs and domain
in the Design that Matters course offered in spring 2001, to
experts typically contribute design challenges and resources
archive their work and collaborate on a problem domain re-
posted as notes with online links and relevant images while
lated to cholera treatment. This inter-disciplinary design team
design teams use the system to post iterative design concepts,
consisted of three MIT engineering students (including one
technical notes, working files and images from ongoing en-
of the authors, Timothy Prestero), working closely with a
gineering design. Other participants, including the
local domain expert to explore design approaches for cholera
stakeholders, innovators and the general public review the
treatment devices. This case study illustrates the design proc-
ongoing design in a topic while posting their own contribu-
ess, emerging design artifacts and outcomes of the project.
tions. The topic creators serve as editors (initially) to setup
However, we must note that the ThinkCycle system became
the problem domain, and make suggestions to contributors
available to the design team only in the last half of the design
when needed; however, no formal moderation mechanism is
course.
created on the system. When new topics are created, mem-
bers of the ThinkCycle community are notified by email al-
The key design challenge was to develop a novel low-cost IV
lowing members to review, join and contribute to it.
drip flow control device that would facilitate rapid treatment
of patients infected with cholera. Cholera is an acute intesti-
Contributions within a topic are categorized as challenges,
nal infection, which if left untreated can lead to severe dehy-
concepts, resources, technical notes, organizations and so on.
dration and death. The team began with a basic survey of
These notes consist of short descriptions, along with online
cholera epidemics and how medical relief organizations cur-
links, images and files attached. Users can also add detailed
rently handle such treatment, particularly in refugee camps
references to relevant books or articles as publications in
where a large number of patients must be treated quickly. In
topics. Publications can include reviews posted by any user.
this exploratory problem-formulation phase, the team ar-
Subscribers to specific topics are notified whenever new
chived some of the online articles, resources, organizations
content is posted. In addition, when users login to the site,
and established designs as categorical notes on their Think-
the system displays newly posted items and messages since
Cycle topic. Based on their online discussions with domain
their last visit. Finally, all content on the system can be eas-
experts and relevant literature search, the team developed
ily searched. Together, this set of functionality in an online
four well-posed challenges for cholera treatment, which were
distributed system, begins to provide a powerful platform for
clearly documented on the site.
knowledge sharing and collaboration. Iterative refinement of
the interface and better personalization and support for group
The team quickly moved into the design phase of the project,
activity should make this a more usable platform for distrib-
experimenting with existing IV drip measurement devices
uted communities.
and their own prototype devices. They archived the flow-rate
data results of their experiments as documents and excel

spreadsheets on the ThinkCycle file-space, often sharing the as packages running on top
uploaded documents with each other and the course instruc- of the ACS services, in-
tors in this manner. The team now devised clear design concluding topic and notes
straints for their proposed devices based on their target users categorization, content
(medical relief assistants in developing countries), which templates, publication li-
included low cost, accurate flow-rates, ease of operation and brary, peer-reviews and a
simplicity of construction. In a series of group meetings the custom search engine. An
team came up with a diverse set of 7-10 concept alternatives, Oracle database is used to
followed by concept sketches, detailed design specifications, store and index all data for
prototype manufacture and experimental testing of the pro- ThinkCycle. We also
totypes. Many of the design artifacts from this process, in- maintain a separate devel-
cluding sketches, graphs, CAD models and images were ar- opment server for
chived on ThinkCycle with annotated comments. In some prototyping and testing new
instances, other students in the course and the local domain applications and features.
expert reviewed these artifacts and provided feedback to the All content files in the Ora-
team. cle database are extracted
four times a day to a sepa-
The team now found that their nine working design concepts rate mirror server, which
fell in three categories of increasing complexity, and began provides fast text-only access to archived files categorized by
to evaluate the design constraints for each device based on topics. The mirror archive can be subsequently placed on
the criteria proposed earlier. Designs that showed most distributed servers around the world, for rapid access by uni-
promise included a modified roller clamp and a rotameter (an versities and local users. This extensive infrastructure allows
instrument for measuring fluid flow rates). These were more us to provide a robust and scaleable online platform for a
extensively refined and tested, while additional documenta- large distributed community of potential users worldwide.
tion regarding their design rationale and advan-
tages/limitations was archived online on a separate website Related Online Initiatives
designed by the team. Finally, the team took their design Here we outline some non-profit initiatives that utilize an
sketches and working prototypes to consult with two doctors online distributed approach towards knowledge sharing and
at the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Infectious problem solving. A number of initiatives such as Distrib-
Diseases. Both doctors had extensive field experience with uted.net3 and SETI@home4 set out to solve computationally
cholera treatment. The team videotaped and summarized the intensive problems by utilizing a distributed network of
discussion (both documented on ThinkCycle). The critical computers. Many online sites exist for open source software
feedback from the doctors helped the team understand some developers such as SourceForge.net providing means for
of the real world constraints for practitioners and narrow tracking and archival of ongoing software projects. One ex-
their designs accordingly. They submitted their final paper ample of open source hardware is the Simputer project,5 a
for peer-review on the ThinkCycle publication library [Pre- non-profit trust to promote development of low-cost hand-
stero01]. held devices for rural settings, initiated by the Indian Insti-
tute of Sciences in Bangalore, India. The World Bank re-
How should ThinkCycle be extended to support the team’s cently created the Development Gateway,6 a shared knowl-
design activities? There is a need to support lightweight edge base of reports and information on international devel-
mechanisms for informal contributions and a more coherent opment projects. Finally, a novel initiative for archiving in-
view of the unfolding design process. We are currently de- digenous knowledge is the Honey Bee Network,7 an online
veloping design tools that provide shared spaces for mem- database with over 10,000 grassroots innovations collected
bers of individual design teams (within topics) to collaborate from farmers in India. Prof. Anil Gupta at the Indian Institute
towards evolving design concepts. These ThinkSpaces serve of Management and Sristi, Ahmedabad [Gupta97] initiated it
as informal design notebooks for teams. in 1988. ThinkCycle is distinct with its focus on open source
collaboration around engineering design innovations for
ThinkCycle System Implementation critical problem domains.
The ThinkCycle online collaboration platform has been de-
veloped using an open source framework called the Ars- Ongoing Work and Open Research Questions
Digita Community System (ACS). This consists of core Current initiatives in ThinkCycle are being led by a working
services and software modules for managing content, ver- group of graduate students and researchers across MIT, with
sioning, permissions, user membership, messaging, and ses- support from faculty in various departments:
sion tracking. The main applications for ThinkCycle are de-
veloped in the Tcl programming language with SQL queries, ! “Development by design” Workshops: We organized an

international workshop at MIT in July 2001,8 to bring Field study of design interactions on ThinkCycle allows us to
together participants from NGOs, industry and acade- consider key questions such as: What formal and informal
mia. The goal was to create a dialogue on design issues knowledge do designers and participants freely express in
for critical challenges in the environment and under- such a publicly accessible online forum? What technical af-
privileged communities. Based on the success of the first fordances in the system influence active knowledge sharing
workshop, we plan to continue this event in Bangalore, among local and distributed participants? Under what social
India (2002) and Sao Paulo, Brazil (2003). and institutional conditions do participants have greater in-
! Challenge Probes with NGOs: Packages are being centive to share design knowledge? What conflicts arise due
mailed to 20-25 non-governmental organizations to intellectual ownership or need for privacy control among
(NGOs) with questionnaires and disposable cameras, in participants in diverse institutional settings? In actively col-
an effort to seed well posed challenges on ThinkCycle laborating with NGOs in developing countries, what will we
with real-world problems documented by them. learn about the effects of technology and resource disparities
! Global Design Studio with Universities Worldwide: A on transmitting ideas in general, and the collaborative design
pilot program of design courses is being launched in process as a whole? These questions should motivate and
conjunction with 7-10 universities in Brazil, Costa Rica, inform the design of future collaborative tools and pedagogi-
Portugal, Kenya and India. They plan to adapt existing cal approaches. Finally, a range of design projects created on
design courses or create new ones to incorporate part of ThinkCycle may reveal the distinct conditions and problem
the ‘Design that Matters’ approach and collaborate with domains that more readily support an open collaborative ap-
local NGOs, industry and design teams at other cam- proach for engineering design innovations.
puses, using the ThinkCycle platform.
References
Ackerman, M.S. 1998. Augmenting Organizational Memory: A Field Study of Answer Garden. ACM Transactions on Infor-
mation Systems, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp 203-224.
Gruber, T.R. and Russell, D.M. 1991, 1993. Design Knowledge and Design Rationale: A Framework for Representation, Cap-
ture, and Use. Technical Report KSL 90-45. Stanford: Knowledge Systems Lab., Computer Science Dept. Stanford University.
Gupta, A. K. 1997. The Honey Bee Network: Linking Knowledge-rich Grassroots innovations. In Development, Vol.40, No.4,
pp.36-40. http://www.sristi.org/pub.html
Karsenty, Laurent. 1996. An Empirical Evaluation of Design Rationale Documents. In Proceedings of CHI’96.
Prestero, T. J., Height, M. J., Hwang, R. 2001. Rapid Cholera Treatment: Exploring Alternative IV Treatment Devices. Up-
coming Proceedings for “development by design,” Workshop on Collaborative Open Source Design of Appropriate Technolo-
gies, MIT, Cambridge, MA. http://www.thinkcycle.org/tc-papers/?paper_id=12060
Raymond, Eric. 1997. The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Article available online. http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-
bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/
1
http://www.thinkcycle.org. The ThinkCycle initiative was devised by Media Lab graduate students Ravi Pappu, Saul Griffith,
Nitin Sawhney, Yael Maguire, and Wendy Plesniak. The initiative has expanded with ongoing efforts from Tim Prestero, Ben
Vigoda, Jason Taylor, Jesse Kipp and Amy Banzaert. Professors Mitchel Resnick and Bakhtair Mikhak provided guidance in
the design studio.
2
http://www.media.mit.edu/~nitin/thinkcycle/
3
http://www.distributed.net
4
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu
5
http://www.simputer.org
6
http://www.developmentgateway.org
7
http://www.sristi.org/honeybee.html
8
http://www.thinkcycle.org/dyd

Getting a School On-line in a Developing Country:
Common Mistakes, Technology Options and Costs
Mike Trucano and Robert Hawkins
Answering the Question should do when assessing their connectivity options. Sounds
so simple, yet many schools fall into this mistake.
At World Links, we have, since 1997 helped train teachers Connectivity seen as an end in
and students to make effective use of information and com- itself
munications technologies to improve teaching and learning
in developing countries around the world. As part of this Time and again, we have found that, at least initially, deci-
effort, we have helped schools and community telecenters sion makers of all types and sorts -- community leaders,
"get on-line," to establish a connection to the Internet, in a school officials, policymakers, teachers -- often see connec-
variety of circumstances, for a variety of purposes. This tivity in schools as an end in itself. A typical assumption is
connectivity effort has been quite successful: 98% of schools that once computers are introduced and connectivity is es-
have remained connected to the Internet. Because of this tablished, nebulously defined "benefits" automatically fol-
positive experience, groups, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, low. This short-term view often leads schools to budget in-
regularly approach us with a simple question: "How can we sufficient amounts for recurrent costs, especially technical
get our schools on-line and what will it cost?" Unfortu- maintenance, training and human resource support. Thus,
nately, we have no one short, simple answer to this question, viewing connectivity as an end in itself can be a very costly
because there is none. assumption. And given the serious resource constraints and
great challenges faced by almost all schools in developing
We do, however, have a process for coming up with an an- countries, a very dangerous one. Getting a school connected
swer, based on our experience in working in about 700 is just the first step.
schools in over 20 developing countries in Africa, Latin
America and Asia. This article highlights some of the com- Focusing only on the technology
mon questions we pose to help school officials in a variety of
developing countries determine the technology costs associ- "What do you think of using [insert product name] in a
ated with getting (and keeping!) their schools "connected." school?" People interested in connecting schools to the
These questions attempt to identify why schools is seek to Internet ask us this type of question on a daily basis. This is
get on-line, and what they hope to accomplish. Answers to not surprising, as typically schools and decision-makers are
these questions help in identifying and assessing the tech- bombarded with (often incomplete, biased and/or contradic-
nologies that they need, in creating a budget, and in negoti- tory) information from vendors promoting their products for
ating with the myriad of vendors who are all-too-eager to use in schools. However, these types of questions are not
provide these technologies to schools. appropriate in the first stages of assessing connectivity op-
tions for schools. As everyone knows, computer technology
Avoiding Common Mistakes changes - often and fast. Although it is essential to know the
pros and cons of each choice, the initial focus of planning for
a school’s connectivity should again be on what you hope to
"We have $x to spend on con- accomplish, not the specific tools that you will use to do so.
nectivity -- what will this get
us?" Short-sighted initial focus on
Before embarking on a journey of any sort, the first question establishing connectivity,
is not typically "How much money do I have?" Rather, it is downplaying operating costs
to determine where you want to go, and why. Then you fig- Almost all groups that approach World Links for advice on
ure out how to do it. On a general level, this is what schools establishing connectivity acknowledge the importance of

recurrent costs and maintenance. However, in our experi- with teachers and students in other schools." "We want ac-
ence, these costs tend to be systematically underestimated. cess to more up-to-date educational resources." "We want to
These costs include such things as: provide students with basic computer literacy skills." And so
on.
! electricity;
! telephone charges; The "What" Question
! Internet access (assessed in a variety of ways: by minute,
Once schools are clear on why they want to invest in tech-
by hour, by data transfer, by time of day);
nology, we then move to the “what” question. Connectivity
! web/e-mail hosting (disk space, data transfer);
for a school or community can mean many different things.
! hardware/software maintenance and upgrades;
We start by asking, "Do you want students to be able to surf
! paper;
the Internet and send e-mail?" Of course, the answer to this
! toner;
question is almost always "Yes!"
! reliance on proprietary hardware/software solutions;
! reliance on a single vendor; and, most often neglected,
Then, in addition to vital issues relating to pedagogy and
! sufficient human resource support.
curriculum (that are beyond the scope of this article), we ask
questions to help determine what exactly "surfing the Inter-
We have found that introducing the concept of Total Cost of
net" and "sending e-mail" might mean for a school. Ques-
Ownership (TCO) of computer-related initiatives can be es-
tions like:
pecially useful to help illustrate the potential dangers of
making this mistake, for this helps to focus attention on the
! What web sites or on-line resources will students need to
operating costs of whatever connectivity solution is imple-
access?
mented. An illustration of the focus on start-up costs at the
! Do these resources change very often?
expense of on-going maintenance is the fact that most
! How quickly will web pages need to be downloaded?
schools buy anti-virus software and then neglect to update it
! What type of communication would you like to enable?
regularly (often, this effectively renders the software use-
(Between teachers, between students, between adminis-
less). Many of these schools then experience serious virus
trators and teachers, etc.)
contamination and have no budget or know-how to resolve
! Who should be able to send e-mail?
the problem. As daunting a prospect of providing initial
! Who should be able to receive e-mail?
connectivity may seem, success is a function of keeping a
! How often does e-mail need to be sent/received?
school on-line, not in getting it there.
! How many concurrent users do you want?
! How many total user accounts will you need?
Factors Influencing Connectivity Op- ! Will students be creating their own web pages?
!
tions and Costs
Will students be using a digital camera or working with
digital images?
! Will students need access to on-line audio or video?
When working with education decision makers regarding
costs for establishing an education technology program, we The answers to these (and many other) questions help to de-
first establish the why (usually a long, iterative process, as termine the types of technology needed to support a school's
greater exposure to technology helps to refine answers). We
connectivity needs. Quite often, a connection to the Internet
then move on to the what, where, who and when questions,
is not necessary to enable many of the activities that a school
which help to translate the general why statements into more
believes connectivity will provide! For example, decision
specific, discrete needs that connectivity can be expected to
fulfill in a school. makers are often quite surprised that, by using widely avail-
able, free and low-cost software tools (local web servers,
proxy caching servers, off-line browsers, CD-ROMs, an e-
The "Why" Question mail server on the local network), the "on-line experience"
We first try to open a dialogue, beginning with a few seem- can be had with only a minimal (or no!) connection to the
ingly simple questions: "Why do you want to connect your Internet. Particularly for schools with dial-up Internet ac-
school or community to the Internet? What function will cess, World Links has worked very hard over the years to
Internet connectivity serve in your school or community?" find technical solutions such as these to limit the amount of
time (and associated telephone bills) that schools actually
Common answers familiar to readers of TechKnowLogia are: spend on-line connected to the Internet. Also, World Links
"We want our students to develop skills that will help them has built on the technology platform for which the most ex-
in the 21st century." "We want to be able to communicate pertise and knowledge exists in a particular school or coun-

try. For instance some countries have developed peer-to- monitors. There will also be a need to train teachers and
peer networks while others have installed client-server net- administrators on how to use the equipment; these types of
works. Some countries have implemented solutions using human resource costs should be included in budgets related
only 486 computers and Linux software, while others exclu- to Internet connectivity in schools. There is also a need for
sively have Wintel solutions. Each decision however needs skilled labor to help install, maintain and upgrade the equip-
to be evaluated based on the basic question as to what stu- ment. A select group of teachers and students can help with
dents and teachers will do with the technology to improve this process, but they too will need to be trained.
teaching and learning in the classroom.
In the World Links experience, too little funds are budgeted
The "Where" Question for technical training related to the general use, maintenance
and upgrading of hardware and software in schools, with the
The “Where” question is essential because connectivity op-
result that equipment has a much shorter productive life than
tions and costs can vary greatly, depending on setting. Now,
it should. As a general rule of thumb, we advise that basic
again, this might seem obvious. But many people who con-
maintenance services for a set period of time (usually two to
tact World Links are quite surprised at just how vast the dif-
three years) be included in the agreement with a vendor to
ferences are in costs associated with bringing a school on-
purchase the equipment. An additional complicating factor
line, depending on the school's location. A country's general
is that technical support people often need to have a good
telecommunications infrastructure and operating environ-
command of English to be able to access support documen-
ment (see checklist at the end of this article) is an obvious
tation. Often, a school will designate a technical adminis-
determinant of costs associated with connectivity. Based on
trator for its computer lab from its own teaching or adminis-
World Links initial feasibility reports that are conducted be-
trative staff, and will pay for additional technical training for
fore initiating the program in a country, schools outside a
this person. This is a great idea, but also can be a dangerous
local call or wireless connection to an Internet Service Pro-
use of precious school resources. Why? After the person
vider simply cannot get connected. The costs of regional
has received this training, he /she often leaves for a higher-
calls are simply prohibitive and the exchanges over which
paying job elsewhere. The difficulty of finding and keeping
these calls must be placed are so antiquated in developing
qualified staff to manage the technical aspects of a computer
countries that data transfer is nearly impossible.
lab has led many schools to outsource the technical mainte-
nance of computer labs and connectivity to outside vendors,
Increasingly, World Links has had great success in imple-
typically those vendors from whom they bought their equip-
menting a variety of wireless connectivity solutions for
ment. Other schools have given students additional responsi-
schools, which in some circumstances can provide a higher
bilities and training to maintain the computers in the labs and
level of faster Internet connectivity to larger groups of end
run the network.
users at a lower cost than a traditional dial-up solution. The
cost, availability and quality of wireless connectivity can be
impacted by a variety of additional factors, including such The "When" Question
things as weather, distance from major cities, line of site to “When” do policy makers want to get started with this proc-
fixed transmitters and the type of land on which a school is ess? Costs change over time, often significantly. As most
built (flat, mountainous). Especially in developing countries, everyone knows, the rate of improvement and innovation in
legal and regulatory issues often also greatly complicate the the computer and telecommunications industries over the last
introduction of these types of solutions. Issues such as decade has been astonishing. One result of this phenomenon
VSAT and spread spectrum licensing, spectrum manage- has been the steady decrease in prices for hardware, software
ment, interconnection policies, and international gateway and Internet connectivity over increasingly short time frames.
regulations can greatly influence the options and costs for At the same time, new technologies emerge such as scanners,
connecting schools with the most cutting edge wireless solu- digital cameras, software programs, etc., for which schools
tions. have no room in their computer and connectivity budgets.
This dynamic -- decreasing prices coupled with new, unfore-
The "Who" Question seen needs -- often puts great strains on a school's budget for
computers and connectivity, and complicates the ability to
“Who” will do this work? Finding -- and keeping -- people
budget for these costs over a period of more than one or two
is a real challenge. Introducing computers and Internet con-
years. Moreover, the sequencing of a regional or national
nectivity in schools has a large human resource impact and
rollout can often confound education planners. World Links
can be a significant component cost of installing and main-
has discovered that it is important to begin with those cham-
taining Internet connectivity in schools. On one level, there
pion schools that can provide a demonstration effect and
may be additional needs for security guards and computer lab
have a vision and demand for use of the technology in their

schools. As experience and expertise is developed, these " Types/speed of lines available in country (is data sup-
schools can then act as hubs or centers of excellence for ported?)
neighboring schools to help them with their connectivity and " Are there x25 or frame relay services available?
training issues. Moreover, these schools are often used after " Percentage of digital exchanges in the country
school hours, on weekends and during holidays for commu-
nity access (including access by other schools) on a for-fee Competition in Telecommunications Sector
basis – spreading the recurrent cost among a larger user base.
In this way many countries have begun to develop their na- " Open competition in Internet connectivity?
tional “schoolnets.” " Open competition in value-added services?
" Competition in fixed line service?
Getting Started "
"
Companies involved (by region, if appropriate):
Competition in wireless service?
" Companies involved
Schools in developing countries, often woefully underfunded
and overtaxed with responsibilities, are increasingly con-
fronted with this new challenge: providing computers and Costs and Policy Environment
Internet connectivity to their staff, students and communities.
The variety of connectivity options available to a school can " What is the procedure for getting a telephone line in-
be quite overwhelming, especially with the emergence of stalled?
new wireless connectivity options, and will most likely " What is the typical waiting period for a new telephone
change quite a bit over time. However, unlike many schools line?
in North America, Europe and Japan, schools in developing " What are the installation fees for telephone service?
countries have no margin for error when attempting to assess " What are the fees for an additional telephone line?
the costs related to establishing and maintaining Internet " What are the monthly fixed charges for a phone line?
connectivity in their schools. With scarce resources to com- " Can the phone lines support data?
mit to address great challenges, the decision to introduce " What is the charge for a 3 minute local and regional
computers and Internet connectivity in a school in a devel- call?
oping country is not a decision to be taken lightly. " What is the charge for installation of a 64 kps leased line
over 10 km? 20km? 100km?
By first assessing their individual needs, however, schools " What are the monthly leased line charges for a 64kps
can greatly increase the odds of making good decisions re- over 10km? 20km? 100km?
garding their hardware, software, human resource and con- " What is duty on imported computers?
nectivity choices. By avoiding common mistakes and identi- " What is the procedure to obtain a VSAT license?
fying goals and uses for the technologies in their schools " What regulations for establishing spread spectrum or
before evaluating the technologies themselves, schools can other wireless connectivity solutions?
be in a position of much greater leverage when asking local " Are there any other relevant policy-related implications
vendors to make bids to provide solutions that best match the for the World Links program?
needs of the school. Ultimately, the technology solution im-
plemented in the school must meet the expected educational ISP Information
gains that Ministries of Education expect from this invest-
ment. " Names of ISPs in the country and location of primary
international link
" Capacity
" Speed of link to Internet
Technical Feasibility Checklist " Type of link to Internet
" Number of phone lines coming in
(A condensed World Links version) " Number of employees
" Wireless connectivity experience
General Overview of Telecommunications Envi- " Nodes outside location of international link
ronment " Communication software package
" Company reputation
" Total number of lines in country
" Telephone lines/100 inhabitants

of grades/levels, number of teachers, number of admin-
Connectivity Costs istrators, school fees)
" Location (city, region, urban/rural)
" Installation fee " Access to electricity (already electrified? reliability of
" Monthly rate for unlimited dial-up Internet use electricity? distance to electric grid? generators?)
" Monthly rate for 64kps leased line use " Number of phone lines (type of phone line, who has
" One hour of training per student in Internet basics phone lines)
" Monthly rate for hosting web pages " Can the phone lines support data?
" Monthly rate for hosting e-mail " Number and type of existing computers (include infor-
" Number of users mation on network configuration, network cards, print-
" Number of private sector users ers, UPS systems, modems, other peripherals, and soft-
" Number of education sector users ware)
" Are there any special rates for schools? " How are existing computers being used? By whom? If
" What type of servers is the ISP running? not, how will they be used, and by whom?
" What is the network software that is used? " Why does the school want to participate in the program?
" Do they support UUCP or gateway mail? " Total number buildings on campus and number of floors
" What is the recommended platform for schools? " Total number of classrooms in each building
" Is there a school library? (How big? Who administers
Equipment (include cost info) it?)
" Total number of rooms to be connected
" Physical size of room to be connected
" Names of local computer vendors
" Classroom quality (secure/safe, dry, dust-free)
" Names of workstations that they sell and support
" Electricity outlets
" Names of modems that they sell and support
" Does the community on evenings/weekends use the
" Surge suppressors that they sell and support
school?
" Back-ups that they sell and support
" Other relevant information
" Ethernet cards that they sell and support
" Ethernet cable (cat 5) that they sell and support
" Printers that they sell and support (Deskjet, Laserjet) Human Resources
" Other peripherals that they sell and support
" Network hubs that they sell and support " What languages are spoken? Is English spo-
" Routers that they sell and support ken/understood?
" Generators that sell and support " Teachers familiar with computers
" Champions in school (teachers, administrators, other)
Software " Students familiar with computers
" Administrators familiar with computers
" How did students/teachers/administrators develop their
" Network software that they sell and support
computer knowledge?
" Do they offer technical training on network manage-
" Is there a school computer club? Are there any extra-
ment?
curricular activities? How are these activities funded?
" Workstation software that they sell and support
" Is there a parent/teacher organization? If so, what do
" Is the software available in the local language?
they do?
" Do they offer training on computer literacy?
" Who would be responsible for administering/monitoring
the computer lab?
Individual School Information
" Are there special environmental concerns? (Wa-
ter/flooding/humidity, wind, heat, crime, insects)
" Names of schools " Other relevant information
" General information about school (including number of
students, gender, type of school, subjects taught, number

Educational Computer System Maintenance and Support
THEY COST MORE THAN YOU THINK!

Kurt D. Moses
Computer system maintenance and support, along with pro- computers, is really the largest single cost item of own-
fessional development (of teachers and administrators) are ing computers. Hardware continues to fall as a percent-
probably the most important factors in how well computers age of total cost of a computer system.
support educational activities. Computers, connections, or
services that do not work cannot support educational pur-
poses. CATEGORIES OF COST
Over the last 25 years, in both developing and so-called de-
As more computers appear in schools throughout the world,
veloped countries, we have learned some things about Main-
new computer configurations and more comprehensive ap-
tenance and Support in an educational setting:
proaches to making them useful have been developed. One
of the most important approaches, long used for assessing
• Maintenance and support are much more costly than
large computer installations is Total Cost of Ownership
originally thought. Keeping computers, connections,
(TCO). This approach looks at computer related invest-
and the necessary supplies in place can amount to be-
ments not only in terms of initial purchase, but all the costs
tween 30 and 50 percent of the total initial investment in
associated with keeping the investment running and sup-
computer hardware and software.
ported over the 5 to 7 year life of a computer system invest-
ment. The basic elements of computer system costs are:
• Most schools, be they primary, secondary or tertiary,
will trade off service level and convenience for cost. 1. Professional Development: these are all costs associ-
Schools will often tolerate computers not working for ated with training and retraining people to use a com-
weeks and months, because they have no money to fix puter investment.
them, in contrast with businesses that will not tolerate 2. Support: all costs associated with actually keeping the
lack of computer functioning for more than hours or a computers, software, and connections operating, as well
few days at most. as spare parts and other items for the computers.
3. Connectivity: costs for Internet or Email connections.
• Some “gifts” to schools will actually be more costly to 4. Software: all costs associated with initially obtaining
accept than to reject—because older or used equipment software and then upgrading it to stay current.
and software may require too much time, adaptation, and 5. Replacement Costs: costs to replace computers and
cost for upgrades to be useful. Most schools are not software--which have a working life—for most schools
used to turning down “gifts” even when they are too ex- it is 5-7 years, for businesses it is 1.5 to 3 years.
pensive to accept. 6. Retrofitting: the cost of modifying buildings, space,
electrical wiring, and network connections to make it
• The rise of the Internet for educational purposes adds a computer useful.
further source of ongoing cost. Many early installations
for computer laboratories or computer access in class- In simpler terms, when one purchases an automobile, the cost
rooms have not easily accommodated these costs. for using an automobile is not just the purchase price, but
gasoline, insurance, repairs, maintenance, and in some cases
• Even in countries with low labor costs, the cost of a driver. Similar operating costs are important elements of
trained, available personnel to service computers and the cost of having computer systems. Typically, the more
networks, and of training of staff to make good use of

features a computer system has, the more maintenance and group. At times, if the schools can cooperate well, money
support will cost. Most school systems, anywhere in the can be saved by this method. Using a so-called “thin client”
world, are always struggling to meet their costs. Most school solution, where students and teachers are at terminals (not
systems underbudget for these costs, thereby reducing the PCs) and all the computing power is centralized can reduce
educational effectiveness of their computer system invest- maintenance costs. Similarly, standardizing equipment and
ment. software can reduce maintenance and support costs—because
fewer, different things will go wrong and people will become
more adept at fixing routine problems.
COSTS FOR SUPPORT—LEVEL OF USE
Supplies
AND COST Computer supplies can be extremely costly. They include
items that might be called consumables such as paper (for
Computer Software and Hardware printers), ink and toner cartridges for printers, diskettes or
ZIP disks for transfer of data, and new virus software (either
Maintenance downloaded from the Internet or supplied via diskette to al-
These are costs, largely tied to personnel, to “fix” a computer low monthly or weekly updates of virus protection). The
that does not work, or to repair software that may have be- cost of supplies can be greatly affected by the exact equip-
come “corrupted” or does not operate. In many U.S. schools, ment and software chosen and level of use. For example,
where an ideal ratio would be one trained technician for laser printers costing about $1,200 use toner cartridges that
every 150 users, the schools tolerate ratios of one technician cost on average $120/cartridge to replace and generally pro-
to every 500-700 users. About 40% of recently surveyed vide 10,000 pages or $.012 per page. Inkjet printers costing
schools in the U.S. frequently used teachers to provide the $100 use cartridges that cost $24-30/cartridge for 1,000
majority of their support. In many developing countries, pages or about $.024 per page. When one adds color print-
there are no support personnel at all. Effective computer ing, the cost per page for cartridges increases about 3 to 4
software and hardware maintenance in these countries hovers times.
around 3-5% of the initial investment amount—even if the
investment was donated. Paper costs vary dramatically, from $.005 to $.02 per page,
and higher quality printers require higher quality paper.
Therefore, the produced cost of a single piece of paper from
For most situations, schools and administrators need a computer laboratory might be over $.06 per page. In many
to budget at least 15% of the original purchase price developing countries, even if money were available, just get-
(even if donated) for software and hardware mainte-
ting the supplies is a critical issue. Hence there is often the
nance—and preferably 20% if they can afford it.
need to stockpile supplies (requiring therefore, secure cabi-
nets, lockable space, and administration).
This amount needs to cover a technician at a minimum ratio Storage media such as “floppy disks,” ZIP disks, CDs, or
of 150 users per technician (as opposed to 50:1 that many cartridges vary in price from $.20/floppy to $1.00/CD.
businesses use) plus costs of spare parts (keyboards, hard
disks, mouse devices, computer monitors) and reasonable
costs for getting around if the computer sites are separated. Generally, schools need to budget at least 8-10% of
Additionally, depending upon the level of training, a portion original purchase prices for supplies to keep the sys-
of these funds can support a “Help Line” function—people tems going. The high end if heavy use is expected,
located nearby that can answer computer related questions the lower end if very little use is being made.
and possibly avoid a visit from the more expensive computer
technician.
What this supports? Budgeting funds at this level means
that computers and peripherals can be used for their intended
What this supports? This level of support will mean that a
purpose. In the case of using printers, it means that students
computer or network system when “broken” will be inopera-
can in fact make use of the equipment for instructional pur-
tive for only days, rather than weeks or months. For admin-
poses. Upper levels of schooling, such as secondary schools
istrative support within schools, it means that computers and
and instructional programs in the sciences can make exten-
systems will be inoperative only for hours and perhaps 2
sive demands on supplies budgets. Costs at this level can
days, rather than weeks.
easily approach the cost of 30 textbooks in a school, so a
school will definitely want to consider trade-offs.
Some innovations? Some schools and school systems out-
source this function to a private company or non-profit

Some innovations? Many school systems charge students These training components are directed at students, teachers
separately for supplies (thereby shifting costs to the student and administrators—and are separate from professional de-
and the parent) but this has serious consequences when stu- velopment costs (costs to learn how to make full use of the
dents are disadvantaged—which is the case in most of the computer tools for their professional task). Computer
world. Educational equity is strongly affected by these vari- training includes: keyboarding skills (learning and practicing
ous “user fees” which are applied to defray the cost of op- to type), operation of the computer (use of the devices and
eration. peripherals, navigating the operating system - such as Win-
dows), and first level use of the computer in instructional
Electricity and Utilities settings—use of word processing and spreadsheet programs.
All computer systems run on electricity. Often times the Studies completed with various teachers have indicated that
actual increase in use of electricity is not considered when teachers need anywhere from 20 to 32 hours of computer
“gifts” of computers are made. Typically, in many develop- training to feel comfortable with a new computer system. If
ing countries, there is insufficient electrical service to even teachers do not have any keyboarding skills, this amount of
support many new demands. Assuming that electricity is time could double. In many developing countries, this
available, and reasonably reliable, the average modern desk- training is just not given and it is expected that teachers and
top computer requires between 200 and 400 watts of power administrators will simply learn from others. Often times, if
(the amount of power consumed by 3 to 7, 60-watt light no or poor computer training takes place, more expensive
bulbs). Laser printers require 800 to 1000 watts, with inkjet technicians need to become involved to fix simple problems.
printers using 70 to 150 watts on average. Electricity costs
around the world vary considerably--$.06/kilowatt hour in To help estimate costs, in parts of southern Africa, training
some places, up to $.22/kilowatt hour on certain Indian costs of this type in medium sized groups are about $1.50 to
Ocean islands. At 10 cents per kilowatt hour, and using $3.00 per hour, excluding means and transport. For 32 hours
about 400 watts per computer, just one computer used 8 this means a cost of $48 to $96 per teacher or administrator
hours per day for 200 days per year will cost an additional for this most basic training. Student training costs could be
$64/year in electricity. A laboratory of 20 computers with- even lower if done in larger groups and by less senior per-
out a network server will cost the school an additional $ sonnel from the teaching staff. In schools with high turnover
1,280 per year in electricity. If there is any cooling done for of teachers, this training needs to be repeated at least annu-
the computer laboratory (air conditioning or high capacity ally.
fans) electricity costs could be double or triple these values.
In general, a range of 5% to 10% of original invest-
Depending upon the relative cost of electricity, ment cost needs to be set aside each year for com-
schools need to budget between 4% and 8% of initial puter training. This is particularly true in the first few
purchase price for annual electricity costs for each years of investment if no prior computer use has oc-
computer system. curred, and it will be necessary to repeat training and
provide some ongoing refresher training because of
staff and student turnover.
What this supports? Primarily this level of budgeting for

costs will support the actual use of computers. If electricity What this supports? A level of basic computer knowledge
planning is not done, then schools will be in for very un- so that teachers and certainly students can begin to make
pleasant surprises, usually cutting back other purchases or effective use of the tool. It will also ensure that the school
supplies just to pay the electricity bill. gets full benefit from expensive technical resources by
avoiding needless service calls or time wasting trips.
Some innovations? So-called “Green” or environmentally
friendly computers and peripherals have been rapidly intro- Some innovations? Typing or keyboarding instruction can
duced. These computers and printers require less total levels now be supported by simple software programs (Mavis Bea-
of electricity (less than ½ of older models) and also go into a con, for example) as well as CD-ROM based programs. The
“sleep” mode where power consumption is further reduced. same is true for introduction to basic computing and intro-
This can have a large effect on electricity costs particularly ductory courses for word processing and spreadsheets as well
for large groups of computers. as the Internet. If teachers and administrators can use these
instructional techniques, costs can be halved and they have
the advantage of being used over and over again for no addi-
Computer Training tional cost. Most of these self-instructional approaches do
not require Internet connection, since the techniques change
These are the costs associated with basic computer literacy
so little.
and ability to use the core programs available on a computer.

Connectivity infrastructure. With proper planning, schools will benefit
from all of these commercial and public improvements.
These are costs associated with linking one or many comput- Technological improvements that are increasing capacity and
ers to a local area network or to a wide area network such as lowering cost include: more use of satellite accessed Internet
the Internet. Connectivity costs depend dramatically on the (traditional and low earth orbiting satellites), wireless terres-
amount of “bandwidth” (how much capacity is purchased) trial networks, more fiber optic cable in urban areas, and
and the local, regional, and national infrastructure. Adding deregulation of Internet Service Providers.
Internet capacity to a school computer laboratory or into a
classroom in the U.S. can add 14% to 20% to overall support
costs. Connections into rural areas will generally be much
more expensive than connections within urban areas.
SUMMARY
Considering only ongoing Support and Maintenance costs,
Connectivity costs also will vary dramatically depending
the needed annual expenditures (without a network) for a
upon how much connection is being used for the instruc-
healthy education computer system can range from 30% to
tional program. Fairly constant connection, for Internet
50% of the initial investment in computer hardware and
searches as an example, will raise costs considerably. Infre-
software. Even if these items are donated, an educational
quent access for support of specific parts of the curriculum
institution needs to carefully consider what it will require to
will often be much less costly (using “dial-up” connections
keep this investment productive. Educational institutions all
for instance). These costs will be measured in, for example,
over the world have successfully and creatively used com-
$3 to $12/hour for connection for a teacher.
puter systems to enrich, revitalize, and reform their educa-
tional activity. The best ones have done it with good plan-
Because of the wide variation in level of use and infrastruc-
ning and the rapid inclusion of these very real additional
ture costs, it is difficult to set a reasonable value. This por-
costs into the annual budgeting. The majority of schools are
tion of the estimated operating costs needs to be carefully
getting less than they need for this Support function, and
worked out, often on a trial basis, within the specific setting.
many “corners are being cut” because the advantages of
computers and the Internet in instruction appear so obvious
What is clear is that for any school, but particularly ones at
in the modern age…worth making the sacrifice. All too fre-
the secondary and university level, reasonable access to the
quently, the sacrifice is being made by teachers—who are
Internet is absolutely essential for a modern education, and
already asked to do a great deal more.
will become increasingly so with each passing year.
The issue for education systems is not whether to integrate
Some innovations? Internet access is becoming cheaper
computers and connectivity into their educational programs,
every year in virtually every country. Bandwidth available is
but how to do it effectively and at levels that yield a true
rising geometrically, and more and more countries under-
educational benefit.
stand how to make it a part of their basic communications
References:
Several excellent references for medium to advanced educational computer environments at the K-12 grade school level in-
clude:
• www.classroomtco.org
• www.cosn.org
• www.mff.org/edtech
• “White Paper on Total Cost of Ownership” from the Consortium for School Networking, 2001.
• “A School Administrator’s Guide to Planning for the Total Cost of New Technology,” Consortium for School Networking,
2000.
• “Long-Range State Technology Plan,” State of North Carolina, 1996.

The Costs of Computers in Classrooms:
Data from Developing Countries
Marianne Bakia, mbakia@fas.org
Estimating the Costs of Computer Projects issues related to computer use as an instrument of curricular
reform. In most cases, computer technology was introduced
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a concept used among for some combination of three purposes: to increase tech-
American businesses today to estimate what a computer is nology skills, to reform pedagogy and curriculum, and to
likely to cost over the life of the investment. It has also been increase access to resources and information. Despite these
applied to technology projects in education, although rarely common objectives, the projects varied considerably in scope
to the unique set of circumstances facing developing coun- and scale, and as a result, in total and unit costs. Table 1
tries. In the cost tables presented here, expenditures in four summarizes the allocation of costs by category as well as
countries, Barbados, Turkey, Chile, and Egypt, are cited reports total costs per school, per student, and per computer.
most often because it was for these countries that the most
detailed information was available. The first two countries, One of the interesting facts that emerged from this analysis is
Barbados and Turkey, are grouped together because the per- that over time, countries appear to be purchasing computers
centages are of total project costs. The estimates were de- in the $1,000 - $2,000 price range, despite decreases in com-
veloped from the perspective of the central ministry. Esti- puter prices, holding computer power constant. Further, an-
mates in the second two countries, Chile and Egypt, are from nual costs per computer also hovered in the $1,000 – 2,000
the perspective of individual schools, and so do not include range, suggesting that initial hardware costs represent only a
centralized costs.
The analysis for Table 1: Summary of Cost by Project1
these two countries National Estimates School-based Estimates
therefore excludes Cost Category Barbados Turkey Chile Egypt
central management (1998) (1999) (1995) (1998)
and planning or Central Management 11% 2% N/A N/A
monitoring and (planning and recurrent)
evaluation. When
Hardware 33% 31% 49% 24%
percentages are in-
(annualized investment per school) ($150,000) ($ 6,800) ( $ 5,540) ($ 10,950)
cluded, they are of
these school-based Software 13% 6% 2% 2%
costs, not total proj- (annualized investment per school) ($ 56,000) ($ 1,240) ($ 171) ($ 749)
ect costs. All esti- Facilities and Renovation 19% 5% 3% 7%
mates, unless other- (annualized investment per school) ($ 85,000) ($ 985) ($ 350) ($ 3,100)
wise specified, as- Connectivity 10% 5% 10% 6%
sume that the ma- (recurrent) ($ 85,000) ($ 960) ($ 1,165) ($ 3,000)
jority of computers Maintenance and Tech Sup 18% 42% N/A 4%
are grouped in a (recurrent including personnel)
single "laboratory" Professional Development 4% 2% 13% 29%
or classroom. (annualized investment and recurrent) ($ 18,430) ($ 535) ($ 1,445) ($ 13,275)
Overview of Total Annual Cost $30,279,100 $54,206,336 N/A N/A

Total Costs Total Annual Cost Per School $ 451,930 $ 21,685 $ 11,215 $ 45,045
The projects pre-
Total Annual Cost Per Student $ 646 $ 32 $ 56 $ 75
sented here had
compatible objec- Total Annual Cost Per Computer $ 1,938 $ 1,280 N/A $ 2,048
tives; all addressed

fraction of total, annual project costs. Clearly, a successful computers in K-12 schools does not require state of the art
computer project must budget for additional costs beyond the hardware.2 While it has been conventional wisdom for sev-
price of hardware and software. eral years to talk about the declining costs of hardware and
computing power, evidence suggests that institutions consis-
Discussion of Findings by Category tently pay $1,000 - 2,000 per computer, at least over the last
5 years. While the computers being purchased today for
The following discussion provides further detail by cost $1,500 may be more powerful than the computers purchased
category about how these costs were derived and the impli- 5 years ago for $1,500, off the shelf software applications
cations for these findings. The discussion highlights four often require newer hardware without providing measured
main cost categories: hardware, software, connectivity and educational improvements. Two alternatives to this dilemma
support and maintenance. (A more detailed discussion of are emerging although neither has been widely tested: soft-
these findings can be found at www.cosn.org/tco). ware that takes advantage of lower-grade computers and
"networked computers."
Hardware Networked Computers. Some efforts are being initiated
Equipment costs consume 17% - 49% of total project costs,
to use low-cost equipment such as Network Computers
NOT including servers and connectivity hardware, which are
(NCs, also known as thin clients and dummy terminals).
included under the categories, " Facilities and Renovation"
Network computers do not have hard drives, so are unable to
and "Connectivity." (See Table 1 for a breakdown of hard-
store data or applications on the computer. Instead, NC users
ware costs by project). Hardware costs typically include
access through their local server or, in some cases, the Inter-
computers for students, teachers, and/or administrators,
net. NC's have three major advantages:
printers, CD-ROM's, and scanners.
• They cost less than personal computers.
The largest proportion of these hardware costs is for student • They require very little maintenance or technical support
computers. Student computers specifically represented 14 - since they are much simpler machines.
32% of total project budgets. Perhaps surprisingly, this num- • They do not need to be discarded and replaced by newer,
ber is actually a bit lower than some estimates for schools in more powerful computers every few years. Instead, up-
the United States. One might expect that the higher salary grades are simply provided to the server.
rates in the United States would take up a larger share of the
budget and thus hardware would consume a smaller percent- There are three main drawbacks to network computers.
age of total resources than where salary rates are low. It ap- • There is need for more technically proficient network
pears that the much lower computer-student ratio in the administrators, although fewer network administrators
United States, resulting from greater numbers of purchased may be needed overall.
computers, is responsible for driving up total hardware costs • Processing speed of terminals are greatly reduced when
in the United States. A 1995 study of 8 hi-tech schools in network traffic is heavy, as is likely to be the case when
the United States found that schools were spending 30 - 67% a class goes to the lab for an organized computer ses-
on hardware (Keltner and Ross 1995 as cited in Melmed, A. sion.
et al 1995). • Should the server go down, all computers connected to
the server lose almost all functionality, rather than just
Should schools be prepared to replace a computer every five networked services.
years? The rapid evolution and relatively short life of com-
puters suggest that they become a line item in recurring The impact of NCs on project costs is not yet well docu-
budgets. The short life of computers and software also sug- mented, although several projects are underway. A South
gests that if computers are not available later in school-life, African distance education consortium has started using
lower school investments are not likely to be valuable. Is- Sun's NCs for its computer centers, and Sun also is working
sues that affect the exact cost of hardware include function- with a number of school districts in the United States to pilot
ality of hardware, how many units, and the configuration of their NC systems. Sun's NC is currently retailing at about
units. $499 and can be leased in the United States for $9.99 per
month with a 5 year contract.
The functionality of a computer -- processor speed, hard
drive space, and memory -- affect unit cost of a computer. Student-Computer Ratios. The total number of comput-
Age indirectly affects costs because older computers often ers purchased also influences the magnitude of total project
have lower functionality. What kinds of computers are nec- costs. Student-computer ratios in developing countries differ
essary for a given project depend on the type and intensity of dramatically. In Costa Rica, the reported average was about
use. High-powered computers cost more, although high- 53 - 73 students per computer, and in Chile the ratio was
powered computers are not always necessary. Typical use of much higher with 68 to 137 students per computer reported

(Alvarez et al 1998). The range for in-country estimates to centralized instruction, maintenance, and security. It has
depends on several factors influencing how computers are been argued that a centralized model does not encourage
allocated. Where computers are provided centrally, labora- curricular integration among classroom teachers and so many
tory size is often set at given increments. In the case of valuable uses are lost. A 1995 McKinsey & Co. study found
Chile, for example, 3 computers were offered to schools with that a classroom model with a computer for every 5 students
under 100 students, 6 computers to schools with under 300, and a high-speed T-1 connection would cost about four times
and 9 computers to all schools larger than 300 students. as much as a computer lab model in up-front investments and
These computer-student ratios are not equivalent. Often- a little more than 3 times the per student recurrent cost.
times, localities are expected to provide some computers, and Project analysis in Egypt found that significant economies of
in these instances, poorer and/or remote localities fall pre- scale were possible if larger laboratories were used. In-
dictably behind. Thus, planners of large-scale projects creasing laboratory size to 22 computers from 14 resulted in
should pay particular attention to addressing needs of poor 28% lower total per student costs and 35% less recurrent
and rural areas in order to encourage equity among K-12 costs (Human Development Group Project Appraisal Docu-
schools. In Egypt, the planned student to computer ratio was ment, p. 40, 1999).
27 to 1 (computed from Secondary Education Enhancement
Project PAD), and in Turkey the ratio is 40 to 1. Barbados Beware of Donations. It is important to note that donated
planned on the lowest student-computer ratio at an eventual computers are not free. Donations are likely to generate ex-
3:1. See Table 2. penses, although very little has been documented in this area.
Many donated computers are likely to require memory and
hard drive upgrades to run newer software. Such upgrades
Table 2: Student-Computer Ratios can be expected to cost between $50 - 500 per computer.
in Developing Country Projects Further, at least one country in Africa has charged as much
as $200 per donated computer for Import Duties.
Country Student-Computer
Ratio Software and Content
Costa Rica 68-137:1 The intended uses of the computer will also dramatically
Chile 53-73:1 impact upon software costs. A library of software resources
Turkey 40:1 can allow teachers greater flexibility in their use of technol-
Egypt 27:1 ogy. But hosting a wide range of software applications can
increase not just the amount spent on software, but the
Barbados 3:1
amount needed for training and support as well. At one end
Jamaica n/a of the spectrum, "freeware" (for generic applications) exists
and much of it can be found on the Internet at little direct
cost to potential users (except telephone charges for down-
In the United States, student-computer ratio has been con- loading material as they may apply in specific countries). At
sistently falling for at least the last 15 years from 125:1 in the other end, there is custom-made and/or specialized soft-
1983 to 9:1 in 1996. ware. Specialized software, such as that for scientific pur-
poses, is typically very expensive with some packages cost-
There are few guidelines available to help determine optimal ing thousands of dollars. Similarly, software in languages
computer-student ratios. A general tendency has been "the other than English is more difficult to obtain. Countries in-
more the better." Administrators can estimate the likely need terested in using computers in other languages may face lin-
for computers by assessing what students will do with com- guistic hurdles, and thus incur additional costs for translation
puters, how long it will take them to do it, whether students and new programming. Economies of scale can be realized
will work alone or in groups, and the number of hours that by centralizing the storage of CD-ROM's and other resources
computers will be available in a school day or week. Where in a central place, such as a library, for use by many class-
only a few computers are to be deployed in a school, admin- rooms or sometimes across schools. Jamaica, for instance,
istrators and the library are generally the first recipients. created "Software Centers," within a reasonable distance of
Where these few computers are used for instructional pur- several schools. The Software Centers were used for teacher
poses, they are generally used as presentational aids. training and as a means of trying out new software before
local purchase.
In addition to the specific type and number of computers,
how computers are configured will impact on cost. The In the United States, experts had recommended that school
choice is typically between a centralized, "laboratory" model systems allocate approximately $100 per student for software
and the more diffuse "classroom" model. Computer labs (President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technol-
typically have from 10 - 50 terminals. They are well suited ogy 1997). Schools typically fall well short of this figure,

although Barbados estimates hit it precisely. Quality Educa- age of physical plant and previous technology investments,
tion Data reports that the average school in the United States [school size and computer student ratio] will determine the
spent about $11.00 per student on instructional software in precise figure," (Taking TCO to the Classroom, available at
the 1998-1999 school year. Other research in the United www.cosn.org/tco). Preparing a school for connectivity will
States suggests that 10% or less of a school's technology often require renovations within a building. A building must
budget is typically spent on software (Melmed et al 1995, have sufficient electrical capacity, from available power to
and International Data Corporation number of outlets, adequate temperature control and ventila-
www.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/LSWTF/IDC1.ht tion, and security. These costs can often be reduced if they
ml ). Costs in developing countries for software appear to are considered when new buildings are being constructed.
also fall within this lower range. See Table 1 for the total There is also a wide range of wireless solutions emerging,
annualized per school software cost and software costs as a which could further reduce the burden of some wiring costs.
percent of annualized total costs. Per school estimates vary
considerably; additional work will need to be done to deter- Equipment costs associated with connectivity depend heavily
mine the causes of such dramatic fluctuation. on the type of connectivity made available to schools. Low-
bandwidth connections are generally less expensive but by
The software estimates are made of two types of invest- definition reduce the capacity of the network and how it can
ments: software for instruction and network, and server and be used. Downloading materials in a slow network can be
other administrative software. Instructional software is usu- very costly in staff time. The California Department of Edu-
ally a much greater expense than administrative software. In cation has produced a document to help planners determine
Barbados, investments in instructional software are expected the level and costs of connectivity called "Going Beyond
to account for 9% of total expenditures, whereas in Turkey your Local Area Network" and is available at
software expenditures are less than 1%. Turkey continues to http://www.cde.ca.gov/ftabranch/retdiv/k12/ISDN.html. In
investigate the costs of creating specialized software and Egypt, connectivity and telecommunications equipment cost
appears inclined to rely on basic "office packages" and an estimated $4,600, or $1,200 in annualized costs per
freeware at least in the short-term. Similarly Egypt and school, and 3% of total school costs. In Barbados, where
Chile software expenses are reported at around 2% of total budgeting was done for the entire national project, $8.8 mil-
project costs, or US$2,000 and $350 per school, respectively. lion was planned for networking equipment, or $2.3 million
Chile's program benefited from freeware, most notably "La in annualized costs, and 8% of total project costs. Although
Plaza" a graphical interface for mail, document storage, and these figures were not reported by school, it appears that
other computer applications (Potashnik 1996). about $34,000 in annualized costs was budgeted per school.
Budgeters and planners must also keep in mind the need for Telephone companies charge for the use of a telephone line
network software. Although smaller, administrative software in many countries, even for a local call. Thus schools will be
costs are not negligible. Estimates for networking software paying two different types of charges: one for the use of a
also range considerably, from $700 per school (Egypt) to telephone line and another for Internet service provision.
$16,000 per school (Barbados). No specific estimates for Where telecommunications are still operated by monopolies,
networking software were found for other projects. these prices can be quite steep. The additional cost of the
telephone line can dramatically influence total costs. For
Connectivity instance, in Turkey, a single, dedicated telephone line per
All of the projects included funds to connect computers school is likely to cost $80 per month, resulting in an esti-
within a school and to connect computers across schools mated $2,400,000 per year (or 4% of total annualized project
through the Internet. The costs of connectivity rely heavily costs). The World Links Project in Ghana reports that
on three factors: the cost to prepare a building for connec- schools are paying an average of about $86 a month per
tivity, the costs of equipment and installation, and recurrent school in telephone dial-up charges for the Internet in addi-
connectivity charges. tion to an Internet subscription fee of $100 per school. Plan-
ners in contexts such as these must think carefully about how
Some of the costs necessary to prepare a building for con- many telephone lines per school are needed and balance cost
nectivity would also be necessary for computer projects that and performance issues.
did not have connectivity -- such as heating, ventilation and
air conditioning, as well as security and power requirements. Strategies to provide low-cost Internet access are emerging.
We group them here under one heading because they are Some costs may be mitigated, at least in the short term, dur-
often inter-related. "Several studies [in the United States] ing the bidding process. For instance, firms supply free
have projected the cost of building local area networks and Internet service for one year as part of an arrangement in
wiring classrooms to the Internet to be roughly about $500 Turkey. Further, the major investment necessary for access--
per student per year. However, many factors, including the -country gateways and university nodes---already exists in
most countries.

Teacher Association) is typically to raise funds for computer
Wireless is also emerging as a viable solution. Wireless up-grades, computer personnel, and supplies. In both Chile
systems can be terrestrial, when radio frequencies are used, and Costa Rica, "parents and other private individuals or
or by satellite. High-speed data-links can cost less than locally-based companies have provided telephone lines, air
$2,000 for a simple point to point connection over a mile or conditioning, and other equipment free of charge to the
two, and these links can cost less for lower-bandwidth schools" (Alvarez 1998, p. 9). In addition, students have
(IDRC 1999). Cost-components of a wireless system in- contributed to basic trouble-shooting and can be trained to
clude: capital costs, recurring costs, and usage costs. IDRC participate in the upkeep of computers. "The Chilean com-
(1999) offers the following checklist to "ensure the success puter program has encouraged schools to appoint older stu-
of a project including wireless:" dents with a special interest in computers as 'monitors' or
computer assistants" (Alvarez 1998, p. 15).
• How much traffic needs to be transported?
Inadequate support costs schools too. A detailed cost analy-
• How reliable does the link have to be? sis was undertaken in Fairfax County, VA. "Fairfax County
• Are there any other potential users of the system in is a large district in the suburbs of Washington, DC, with
the area that can help defray the set-up or operating 155,000 students and 26,000 employees. It calculated that if
costs? every teacher spends at least one hour a week trying to fix
their own computer problems, that equals 307 full-time
• What are the characteristics of the terrain where the equivalent positions, at a cost to the district of $15.3 million
equipment is to be used? in lost teaching time. In addition, if 5 percent of teachers are
• What is the required distance of the link? regarded as 'technical wizards' by their peers, and are asked
to provide 1.5 hours a week of informal support, which
• Is a license required? equals 23 full-time equivalent positions, at a cost of $1.2
million. Thus, the district concluded that its 'hidden' costs
for technical support could amount to an estimated $16.5
Support and Maintenance million" (, http://www.cosn.org/tco/checklist/support.html ).
Once computers are installed in schools, users will need
regular support. Also, hardware and software will require Conclusions
regular maintenance. The number of support staff required
depends on several factors, including the number of comput-
Two main conclusions are apparent from the review of data.
ers, the number of software applications, and the ability of
First, hardware is not like other capitol goods because it has
users. Schools and ministries have often been innovative in
a much shorter life span than typical capital goods. As a
the way they provide support and maintenance. In Chile,
result, hardware should appear as a line item in school-
engineering school faculty from a nearby University largely
authority budgets. Next, while little guidance is available, it
provided technical support. Maintenance costs were esti-
is clear that hardware is just a fraction of the total costs of
mated at 10% of equipment costs, or 9% of the total annual-
computer projects. Budgeting authorities must be aware of
ized budget per school. Turkey has included maintenance in
these hidden costs for computer projects to be successful.
its hardware bids. Bidding vendors have budgeted for be-
tween 3 and 7% of total hardware costs over a 5-year con-
Policy-makers everywhere need more solid information
tract. Similarly, a flat rate of 5% of equipment costs was
about models of technology deployment in education and
budgeted for maintenance costs in the Barbados project. No
their related costs. The apparent paucity of good, compara-
information was available regarding how these funds would
ble data on donor financing of technology projects and their
be deployed. In Egypt, maintenance costs were anticipated
impact suggests a fruitful area for future donor collaboration.
at 4% of total costs, or $300 per machine per year. Again, no
Research activities ought to seek answers to three primary
information was available regarding how these funds would
questions: What are the investment and recurrent costs asso-
be deployed. Jamaica estimated that $25,220 was spent to
ciated with the use of learning materials in formal education
maintain computers in 23 schools over two years, or about
systems around the world today? How are these costs likely
$550 per school per year.
to vary across regions and countries at different stages of
development? What do we know about the relative cost-
Students and their parents also have a role to play in main-
effectiveness of learning materials in particular settings?
taining equipment. For instance, the role of the PTA (Parent

Bibliography
Alverez, Maria Ines, Francisca Roman et al (1998). Computers in Schools: A Qualitative Study of Chile and Costa Rica. Edu-
cation and Technology Series: Special Issue. Washington: The World Bank.
Becker, Henry J (1994). Analysis and Trends of School Use of New Information Technologies, report prepared for the Office
of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress, Washington D.C.
Burns, P.K. and Bozeman, W.C. (1981). "Computer-assisted instruction and mathematics achievement: IS there a relation-
ship?" Educational Technology 21, pp. 32 - 39.
Cobbe, J. and Steven Klees (1998). Edutech 2000: An Economic Assessment. Prepared for the Inter-American Development
Bank.
Consortium for School Networking (1999). Taking TCO to the Classroom: A School Administrator's Guide to Planning for the
Total Cost of New Technology. Washington: Consortium for School Networking.
Dwyer, D. (1994). "Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow: What we've learned," Educational Leadership 51, pp. 4 - 10.
Education Week on the Web in collaboration with The Milken Exchange on Education Technology (1998). Technology
Counts '98: Putting School Technology to the Test. Available at: www.edweek.com/sreports/tc98.
Harrington-Lueker, D. (1997). "Technology Works Best When It Serves Clear Educational Goals: Putting learning first is the
key to using technology effectively." The Harvard Education Letter, Vol. 8, No. 6. November/December.
Human Development Group, Middle East and North Africa Region (1999). Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Credit
in the Amount of SDR 35.8 Million (US $50.0 Million Equivalent) to the Arab Republic of Egypt for a Secondary Edu-
cation Enhancement Project. Report No: 18923-EGT. Washington: The World Bank.
International Research Development Centre (IDRC) (January 1999). The Wireless Toolbox: A Guide To Using Low-cost Radio
Communication Systems for Telecommunication in Developing Countries - An African Perspective . Available at:
http://www.idrc.ca/acacia/03866/wireless/
Kulik, J. "Meta-Analytic Studies of Finding on Computer-Based Instruction," in Technology Assessment in Education and
Training, ed. E. L. Baker, and H.F. O'Neil, Jr. (1994). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Levin, H.M. and Meister, P.J. (2000). Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Methods and Applications. California: Sage Publications.
Levin, H. M. Glass, G. V. and Meister G. (1984). Cost-effectiveness of Four Educational Interventions. Project Report 84 -
A11. School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford CERAS.
Melmed, A. et al (1995) "The Costs and Effectiveness of Educational Technology" California: RAND. Available at:
http://www.ed.gov/technology/Plan/RAND/Costs/.
Potashnik, M. and Douglas Adkins (1996). Cost Analysis of Information Technology Projects in Education: Experiences from
Developing Countries. Education and Technology Series: Vol. 1; No. 3. Washington: The World Bank.
President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology: Panel on Educational Technology (1997). Report to the
President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States. Washington, DC.
Puetz, J. (September 1996). "Wireless Internet and Multimedia Connections."
Republic of Turkey, Ministry of National Education (1999). Policy Paper for IT Component of Basic Education Program.
Turkey.
Software & Information Industry Association (1999). A Second Decade of Technology in K-12 Schools: 1990-2000. Available
at: http://www.siia.net/store/default.asp .
Wolff, Lawrence (1999). "Costa Rica: Are Computers in School cost-effective?" TechKnowLogia: International Journal of
Technologies for the Advancement of Knowledge and Learning. Vol. 1, No. 2. November/December 1999. Available
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Wright, Cream (2000). Issues in Education & Technology: Policy Guidelines and Strategies. London, Commonwealth Secre-
tariat.
1
All currencies were converted into US$ using exchange rates that were either the average exchange rate for the year of expenditure or a
current exchange rate for on-going, recurrent, or contemporary expenditures. Using the ingredients approach specified in Levin (1983), in-
puts for each project were specified, and then market prices were associated with each item. Capital and other investment costs were annu-
alized at a rate of 10%. While 10% might appear high for many countries, it is becoming a somewhat standard proxy in the field of cost
analysis.
2
The World Bank has compiled generic procurement specifications for hardware at
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/telecoms/procurement/hw_config.htm. Although not education specific, the pages may be helpful in that
they "contain equipment specifications that World Bank borrowers can use in preparing bidding documents for procurement under World
Bank guidelines. They also contain direct links to the offerings of the IT industry. As equipment specifications and product life cycles are
quite short in the IT industry, we propose that the industry commits to review the generic specifications and suggest changes that may be due
from time to time. The industry will have the option of adding links to sites where Bank borrowers can find information on actual offerings
for each product category and price ranges (for budgeting purposes)."

Virus Protection and Security:
What Is It and How Do We Respond?
*
Compiled by Glenn Strachan
Along with the arrival of virtually universal telecommunica-

tions and networking, organizations and end-users have de- Entry Points for
veloped a tremendous sense of unease about network security
issues. The growth of extensive inter-company communica- Viruses
tions, wide scale intra-company networking, and universal
Internet access have also heightened awareness of the possi-
Following are the entry points
bilities of unwelcome intrusions and attacks upon internal
for viruses that any organiza-
networks. Although much has been said about network es-
tion can understand, and create some form of protection
pionage, hacker attacks, and other high-profile security is-
strategy to combat.
sues, the most profound cause for concern comes not from
high tech security probes and intrusions, but from the wide-
spread promulgation of viruses. According to recent surveys,
viral infections represent the great majority of all security
Email
incidents, and have created tremendous problems for busi-
nesses of all sizes. An overwhelmingly large proportion of infections today is
caused by infected email attachments. The ease with which a
The number of known viruses surpassed 50,000 in August user can click on an attachment and launch an application is
2000. A large majority of those (74%) are parasitic viruses a significant factor in the spread of email-borne viruses. If
(attacking “.exe” or executable files). Second are macro vi- the email content is sufficiently inviting (e.g. 'kindly check
ruses (19%) and 7% is boot sector viruses. In May 2000, the attached LOVELETTER coming from me.') and the visi-
88% of reported infections were due to macro viruses, 9% ble attachment extension sufficiently innocent in the eyes of
due to parasitic viruses and only 3% due to boot sector vi- an average user (e.g. LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT.vbs -
ruses. The number of new viruses discovered every month text files cannot carry an infection, can they?), the temptation
continues to increase. for a user can become overwhelming. The danger of infec-
tion through attachments is, of course, not confined to email.
Sophisticated virus attacks have been known to paralyze Newsgroup postings are also capable of carrying attachments
major computer networks (example, Microsoft, Yahoo, vari- and the number of new infected attachments currently dis-
ous Banks) for hours and even days, destroy financial infor- covered by automated newsgroup scanners is around 10 per
mation and confidential records, “bring down” desktops and day.
their files for days and weeks, compromise passwords and
access codes, and almost completely erase poorly protected
hard drive files—thereby requiring expensive and time-
World Wide Web
consuming reconstruction or recovery efforts. In academic
settings, untrapped viruses have paralyzed email networks The web is crawling with sites carrying virus-infected mate-
for days and disrupted routine administrative support opera- rial. Desktop access to the web is not only technologically
tions. possible but also viewed as 'expected' in today's workplace.
Downloading potentially infected files is too easy. Several

organizations have, however, found that providing physically tiveness of gateway scanning is still high. This will steadily
separate PCs to access the web is a much better arrangement. decline in the future.
Not only is the web physically separated from the company's
main network, but employees tend to waste much less time
'surfing' non work-related sites, since it is obvious when they Servers
are not seated at their desks.
Using anti-virus software on servers to scan centrally held
Floppy Disks and CDs files has several advantages over trying to scan the servers
from a workstation. First, network traffic is minimized since
the scanning process runs locally on the server. Second, any
The use of floppy disks (called “stiffys” in Europe and virus stealth mechanisms are not effective since the virus is
southern Africa) has decreased radically with the advent of never 'active' on the server. Most organizations deploy anti-
networks, but most PCs still come with a floppy drive fitted virus software to scan their servers at regular intervals, usu-
as standard. Three percent (3%) of all infections are due to ally during periods of low user activity.
boot sector viruses, which are launched easily from floppy
disks…Clearly, floppy disks are not dead (yet). CDs (espe-
cially magazine cover CDs) have also been shown to be rela- Desktop
tively frequent virus carriers.
Virus scanning on the desktop is probably the most important
Anti-virus Soft- part of the three-point scanning strategy. Even if the virus
penetrates the Internet gateway scanner by arriving in an
ware Deployment encrypted email; even if the server scanner (which does not
scan email) does not catch it; it can be caught at the desktop
Points before it is allowed to infect.
It is often the case that keeping desktop anti-virus software

up to date is one of the hardest tasks faced by the system
There are three main points where it
administrator. This is especially the case on the desktops not
makes sense to deploy anti-virus
permanently connected: such as laptops with docking sta-
software: on the Internet gateway, on
tions.
servers, and on the desktop.
Internet Gateway Anti-virus Soft-

The Internet gateway is the point that connects the Internet to
ware Administra-
internal institutional or company networks. It is a good place
to install anti-virus software that will check incoming and
tion
outgoing email attachments. Since the effectiveness of anti-virus
software in use today depends on
The main advantage of using anti-virus software on the frequent updates, it is very important
gateway is that infected attachments sent to multiple email that effective tools are available to
addresses will generate a single virus alert (on the gateway) deploy, upgrade, and administer anti-
instead of multiple ones if the infected email is allowed to virus software throughout the organi-
get through to the desktop. zation.
The main disadvantage of using anti-virus software on the

gateway is the slower speed of emails through this bottle- Updates over the Internet
neck.
Automatically updating anti-virus software over the Internet
One of the biggest emerging problems of using anti-virus is an attractive (zero workload) concept for system adminis-
software on a gateway, which is important to bear in mind, is trators. It does, however, have deep implications for the
the increasing use of encryption. There is no point in check- overall security of the organization since it effectively out-
ing encrypted attachments since viruses will be safely hidden sources the control and the decision-making process over
inside the encryption envelope. At the moment, only rela- what software gets installed on the company network to the
tively small numbers of emails are encrypted and the effec- anti-virus software supplier. Few organizations are happy

with this, preferring to place a human specialist in the loop.
The specialist can then decide what, how and when to deploy Having company-standard software installations, possibly
the updates. Any new software can also be tested before be- supplemented by disk imaging software, can be very helpful
ing deployed company-wide. in restoring infected workstations.
Administration Conclusion
The administrator of a large anti-virus software installation Enterprise-wide virus protection demands a comprehensive
needs the tools to communicate with the anti-virus software and uniform plan, with:
effectively (admin->software->admin). The software needs • centralized approach and control,
to be kept updated (admin->software) while the administrator • automated processes,
needs regular feedback, both virus and non-virus related
• user transparency (or at least minimal interference
(software->admin).
with users),
• statistics reporting, and
Three main techniques are used to distribute updates over the
company network: push, pull and combined push/pull. Each • support for multiple platforms, protocols, and file
has its advantages and disadvantages and the decision on types.
which is best will depend heavily on the network structure,
speed of connections, network usage patterns, etc. Virus protection is as much a strategy or an attitude as it is a
collection of information and related software.
Recovery from Effective deployment of enterprise-wide anti-virus software

requires ongoing effort and vigilance, and reflects the grow-
Virus Attack ing complexity and proliferation of the lines of communica-
tion within and between organizations in today's world. Al-
though experts with arcane knowledge and powerful soft-
Should the unthinkable happen and a ware must support an anti-virus strategy, the ultimate respon-
virus manages to penetrate all the sibility for maintaining a virus-free enterprise ultimately rests
defenses put in its path, the user must on the network administrator.
have effective procedures to be able
to contain the infection on as few Countries that have a limited number of trained personnel to
PCs as possible, as well as restoring support the security needs of companies and institutions run
these PCs to their pre-infection state. This is a relatively the greatest risk of exposure to an ever-increasing array of
complex subject with no easy solutions. destructive viruses. It is paradoxical that as Internet access
works its way to more distant points, it brings with it the pos-
Such virus penetration usually occurs when the anti-virus sibility of virus destruction not present in the early stages of
software used does not recognize a particular virus. Culti- computerization, when there were only isolated, non-
vating a good relationship with the anti-virus software sup- connected computer systems throughout the developing
plier and knowing that they will jump in an emergency is an world. Because of this, organizations must take this threat
important factor in the company's anti-virus strategy. seriously, and be prepared to spend the resources (both hu-
man and financial) to ensure against virus destruction. Even a
Dealing with a virus that has been allowed to enter an insti- small amount of money spent to provide for an effective
tution or company will be orders of magnitude more expen- gateway and centralized scanning of files on a network or a
sive than the cost of any anti-virus software. The main ex- single computer system would go a long way towards pro-
pense will be time, since it will probably be necessary to visit tecting any organization from the loss of data.
every infected workstation to perform the disinfection and its
restoration to the pre-infection state.
*
Excerpts from "Deploying Enterprise-wide Virus Protection," produced and published by techguide.com -
http://techguide.zdnet.com/html/virprot/viprot_Intro.shtml

Intelligent Tu
Tutoring Systems
Gregg B. Jackson1
"Consider again the example of books: they have certainly out-

performed people in the precision and permanence of their mem-
ory, and the reliability of their patience. For this reason,
they have been invaluable to humankind. Now imagine active
books that can interact with the reader to communicate knowl-
edge at the appropriate level, selectively highlighting the in-
terconnectedness and ramification of items, recalling relevant
information, probing understanding, explaining difficult areas
in more depth, skipping over seemingly known material..." (Wen-
ger, 1987, p. 6)
From Computer-Assisted (Ong and Ramachandran, 2000, Urban-Lurain, undated;

Instruction to Intelligent Woolf and Regian, 2000)
Tutors
An intelligent tutoring system generates customized instruc-
It is often observed that various industrial production proc- tion, problems, hints, help, and feedback, drawing upon these
esses are often two, three, and even ten times more produc- three databases. It usually updates the three databases as a
tive than they were 100 years ago, but education--even in result of the learner’s responses, thus allowing adaptation to
developed countries --is no more efficient. A new breed of the learner’s needs as the tutoring progresses. It usually
instructional engineers hopes to change that by applying arti- keeps track of error rates and sometimes even response de-
ficial intelligence to computer assisted instruction. lays.
Computer assisted instruction has been around for fifty years The transition from early computer assisted instruction to
since the commercialization of mainframe computers. Ini- intelligent tutors has involved two related paradigm shifts.
tially, it was comprised of instructional text with interspersed The early instruction was usually based on behaviorist prin-
multiple-choice problems. All students worked their way ciples while the latter is usually based on cognitive science.
through the same text and problems. It had two modest ad- In addition, the former tended to focus on developing recall
vantages over textbooks. Immediately after responding to a and discrete skills, whereas the latter focuses on the applica-
problem, the student would receive feedback or his/her an- tion of complex skills. (Urban-Lurain, undated)
swer and the student’s progress was automatically recorded
for the teacher to review. (Thomas, undated) It was very
expensive at the time, because of the high cost of computers, Examples of Intelligent
and the results were often only little better than classroom Tutors
instruction.
The “Mathematics Tutor” of Beal, Beck and Woolf (1998)
Today’s instructional engineers are developing “intelligent teaches students how to solve word problems that make use
tutoring systems” that aim to optimize learning by drawing of fractions, decimals, and percentages. The domain exper-
upon three bodies of information: domain expertise, peda- tise classifies problems by the mathematical operations, by
gogical theory, and characteristics of the individual learner. subskills required to solve them, and by complexity. As the
The domain expertise usually includes facts, relationships, student works problems, the tutor records both success rates
procedures, common misconceptions, skills, and the strate- for various operations and subskills and the time needed to
gies used by those who are expert in the domain. Pedagogi- solve problems. It selects subsequent problems that are pre-
cal theory indicates the ways that learning is generally most dicted to challenge the student moderately and likely to be
effective for given types of knowledge or skills. The char- answered within a desirable time. The desirable time will be
acteristics of the learner include proficiency with the domain relatively short for students who are not very proficient, lack
expertise, misconceptions about the domain, confidence in confidence in their abilities, or give up readily, but will be
their abilities, personal interests, and learning proclivities. longer for students with high proficiency and confidence.

More than 40 variables are used in selecting the problems, lar computer assisted learning and by 55 percent in studies of
hints, and help provided to an individual student. three intelligent tutors.
Lajoie and Lesgold’s (1989) “SHERLOCK” trains Air Force An evaluation of SHERLOCK found that the average novice
electronic technicians to diagnose problems in a complex technician needed only 20-25 hours of use to achieve the
device used to service the avionics of F-15 jets. The troubleshooting proficiencies of senior technicians with years
SHERLOCK computer screen presents a depiction of the of experience. (Lesgold, 1994). Its efficiency is attributed to
device, schematic diagrams of the electrical circuits, and the speed with which the simulations can be worked, to the
system documentation. The tutor “creates” a fault in one or “intelligent” sequencing of problems designed to optimize
more of the circuits of the device, and asks the trainee to lo- learning, and to the fact that some of the simulated problems
cate the problem. The trainee selects the circuit diagram he are so infrequently encountered in actual work that some
or she thinks should be tested, marks where the probes of the senior technicians have never encountered them.
diagnostic equipment are to be placed, “activates” the
equipment, and receives simulated readouts. After consid- An evaluation of the Cardiac Tutor found that it facilitated
ering the readouts, the trainee decides whether there is a fault learning at about the same rate and quality as when a student
in that tested part of the circuit. The process is usually re- works one-on-one with a physician expert in these tech-
peated many times, attaching the probes to various circuits, niques. Obviously that one-on-one training is very expensive
until the trainee determines the location of the fault. If the and difficult to arrange in small communities.
trainee is clearly misdirected or proceeding inefficiently, the
computer provides feedback and guidance. In addition, What is the Catch?
whenever the trainee wants help, the computer will provide
it. SHERLOCK sequences the various simulated faults in a If intelligent tutors are so smart, why haven’t they taken over
manner to optimize each trainee’s learning. computer-assisted instruction? There are two main answers.
First, they require more computing power and speed than
The “Cardiac Tutor” of Eliot and Woolf (1994) trains medi- was available in microcomputers until a few years ago. Sec-
cal personnel in advanced cardiac life support techniques. It ond, they are many times more complex to design than con-
consists of a screen-based simulation of the patient’s ECG ventional computer assisted instruction, and that has made
trace, blood gases, and vital signs, and a tutor that provides them far more expensive to develop.
clues, spoken advice, and feedback. The domain database
and the student characteristics database are used to present More than a decade ago Rosenberg (1987) warned that intel-
cardiac problems likely to optimize a given student’s learn- ligent tutors tended to be developed by computer scientists
ing. The simulated patient presents indications of various without consulting teachers and students. He also noted that
cardiac problems, and the student selects various interven- many of the tutors had not been rigorously evaluated, if
tions to correct the problem and save the patient’s life. At the evaluated at all. There are now some notable examples that
end of the simulation (the patient either dies or is stabilized), avoid both of those problems, but the state of the art is so
the student can review the entire simulation and his or her complex that multi-person, interdisciplinary teams are neces-
responses, receive a critique of the correct and incorrect re- sary to develop the tutors. (Ong and Ramachandran, 2000)
sponses, and request more information about the presented
cardiac problems and appropriate interventions. “Authoring tools” were developed a decade ago to ease and
speed the development of conventional computer assisted
Do Intelligent Tutors Work? instruction, but the quest for general purpose authoring tools
for intelligent tutors has proven far more difficult. Most ef-
It is well established that individual tutoring is often dramati- forts to date have either focused on one broad field of knowl-
cally more effective than group instruction. How about these edge, have had limited capabilities, or have been difficult to
new computer-based intelligent tutors? In a recent analysis, learn. Tom Murry’s “Eon” (1998) is one of the most recent
Woolf and Regian (2000) found that 233 studies of regular authoring tools and has been used to prepare intelligent tutors
computer assisted instruction without “intelligent” adapta- in subjects as diverse as science and Japanese language, but
tions to the learner's needs increase learning by an average of its use has required a collaboration of the subject matter ex-
.4 standard deviations which is equivalent to raising per- pert and experts in the use of Eon.
formance from the 50th percentile to 65th percentile. On the
other hand, three intelligent tutors raised performance by an Prospects for the Future
average of 1.0 standard deviations, which is equivalent to
going from 50th percentile to 84th percentile. These authors Faced with a prospect of dumb tutors or intelligent tutors,
also found that learning time to mastery of objectives de- most learners will opt for the latter. Computer assisted in-
ceased by an average of 29 percent in 55 studies using regu- struction will almost certainly become more “intelligent” in
the future. The computing power needed for many applica-

tions is already widely available. The biggest hurdle is the
difficulty of developing intelligent tutors. There is growing There are at least two other recent developments that might
demand for computer and Web mediated learning, and intel- substantially affect intelligent tutors. Some developers are
ligent tutors have great potential for increasing the efficiency striving for tutors that could be easily adapted by teachers, in
and effectiveness of such instruction. There will surely be the hopes that this will make them more attractive to those
advances in the authoring tools that ease the development of who control classrooms. Several developers are working on
intelligent tutors, just as there have been advances in all other Web-based tutors, and authoring tools to ease the develop-
areas of application software. Some computer scientists are ment of such tutors. Further advances in information tech-
now striving for simple-minded intelligence that would be nologies may open other possibilities.
easier to develop and perhaps only marginally inferior to
full-fledged intelligent tutors.
References
Beal, C. R., Beck, J., & Woolf, B. (1998). Impact of intelligent computer instruction on girls' math self concept and beliefs in
the value of math. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, 1998.
Eliot, C., & Woolf, B. (1994). Reasoning about the user within a simulation-based real-time training system. In Proceedings of
the fourth international conference on user modeling, 121-126.
Lajoie, S. F. & Lesgold, A. (1989). Apprenticeship training in the workplace: Computer-coached practice environment as a
new form of apprenticeship. Machine-Mediated Learning, 3, 7-28.
Lesgold, A. (1994). Assessment of intelligent technology. In E. L. Baker and H. F. O’Neil (Eds.), Technology assessment in
education and training. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Murry, T. (1998). Authoring knowledge based tutors: Tools for content, instructional strategy, student model, and interface
design. Journal of Learning Sciences, 7(1), 5-64.
Ong, J. & Ramachandran, S. (2000, February). Intelligent tutoring systems: The what and how. ASTD Learning Circuits. Re-
trieved 11/24/2001 from www.learningcircuits.org/feb2000/ong.html.
Rosenberg, R. (1987). A critical analysis of research on intelligent tutoring systems. Educational Technology, 27(11), 7-13.
Thomas, E. (undated). Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS). Retrieved 11/24/2001 from

http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/Articles/tutoringsystem/start.htm.
Urban-Lurain, M. (undated). Intelligent tutoring systems: An historic review in the context of the development of artificial in-
telligence and educational psychology. Retrieved 11/24/2001 from http://aral.cse.msu.edu/Publications/ITS/its.htm.
Wenger, E. (1987). Artificial intelligence and tutoring systems: Computational and cognitive approaches to the communication
of knowledge. Los Altos, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
Woolf, B. P. & Regian, J. W. (2000). Knowledge-based training systems and the engineering of instruction. In S. Tobias & J.
D. Fletcher (Eds.), Training and Retraining: A handbook for business, industry, government, and the military (pp. 339-356).
New York, MacMillan.
1
Gregg B. Jackson is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Education Policy Program at The George Washington University.

Open Source Software: No Free Lunch?
Eric Rusten & Kurt D. Moses
One of the most hotly debated topics in the field of educational technology
today surrounds the question of whether it is better for school systems to
Is Open Source Soft- use open source software (OSS) or commercial software products. There
ware a savior for cash- are no simple answers to this question since they involve policy, commer-
cial, technical, and educational concerns. This article will not attempt to
strapped schools and provide just one simple answer. Rather, we will highlight the more critical
national governments? elements that are important to consider when deciding whether or not to
use open source software in educational computer systems.
Education Tends to Lag the Com

Commercial Sector the computer code and redistribute it to others. Linux, part of
the family of UNIX-based operating systems is one of the
An important factor for educational computer investments is most popular open source software used for operating sys-
that, with rare exception, education follows the ebb and flows tems (the master programs guiding computer operation).
of the commercial sector—often making its investments after While other open source software, such as BDS and Berkeley
commercially developed products have matured and the cost UNIX are well known, Linux, supported by such groups as
structure has reduced to below commercial levels. Educa- Caldera Systems, MandrakeSoft, Red Hat, and SuSE, is now
tion historically takes advantage of the mistakes and the in- at the center of the open source debate in education.
vestments that the commercial sector has made on newer
products and then makes adaptations and uses suited to its Linux, The Center of the OSS debate
own purposes. On rare occasions, the education sector com-
mands such a large part of the initial market that it actually Depending on how one calculates, studies have shown that
spawns computer solutions—but usually not for long. Linux is the first or second most popular operating system
software for Internet servers--accounting for about 30 percent
The Function & Uses Are the Key Basis of all web servers. Microsoft Windows NT, a commercial
for Tech
Technology Decisions product, accounts for about 50 percent of the market of web
server software by IP address and 24 percent of the market
For education in particular, the functions to be supported and by domain names. Studies have also shown that Linux’s
the needs of end users are the most important factors in popularity for Internet servers is growing faster than any
making technology decisions. If the software and hardware other server operating system. Linux is also becoming in-
solutions do not ultimately serve the teaching and learning creasingly common on servers in corporate and university
process, then even “inexpensive” investments can be very computer networks. In contrast, however, Linux is rarely
costly, educationally. If key educational programs cannot be used as a client operating system (on the end terminal or PC
used on computer systems with “free” software, then “free” at the user’s desk). Only about 4 percent of client or end user
could actually become very expensive. Similarly, educa- computers use Linux compared with over 87 percent of client
tional uses and needs for computers are different from those systems using some version of Microsoft Windows operating
of corporations—and decision making about technology system software. The primary reason for this is that there are
choices needs to reflect these differences. very few software applications, such as word processing, that
can be used on computers running Linux. The exception is
WordPerfect’s and Sun’s StarOffice’s application suite (now
Open Source Software Defined called OpenOffice since it was released as an OSS applica-
tion). Recently, technology planners for pre-university school
Open source software is software usually available on the systems have shown increasing interest in the potential of
Internet that people can freely use and run without cost or using Linux on their computer systems. Because of the
restrictions. Users of open source software can also modify growing importance of Linux and its exemplarity as Open

Source Software, this article will focus its discussion of OSS software for a specific platform and configuration. It is
in education around the question of using Linux. important to note that the results from performance tests
are very sensitive to the overall conditions surrounding
In Support of Open Source Software such tests and specific computer configurations.
Proponents of open source software (OSS) often emphasize • Scalability: Because Linux’s code can be optimized for
the technical benefits of using this category of software as different size platforms, it is said to be more scalable
well as the low or negligible initial costs to acquire the soft- than Microsoft NT. Also, Linux can be used on a wider
ware. In addition, people who use OSS highlight the fact that range of computer platforms than any other operating
using OSS is free from the constraints of complex licenses system. The combination of these two factors makes Li-
that control how commercial software can be used. nux a far more scalable operating system than many al-
ternatives. Institutions can use Linux on a small com-
The technical benefits of OSS are generally discussed in puter system and expand the system while continuing to
terms of the software’s reliability, performance, scalability, use Linux with no loss of performance or reliability. (At
security and its open code. The best way to evaluate the cost the corporate level, Linux suffers some on scalability
issue surrounding OSS is to look at the total cost of owner- measures compared to other Unix products.)
ship (TCO). TCO assessment seeks to evaluate the range of
lifetime costs involved in acquiring, installing, configuring, • Security: Even though it is difficult to quantitatively
supporting, maintaining, training users, using, and upgrading determine if one software package is more secure than
the software. Using Linux as an example of operating sys- another, there is a general consensus that Linux is more
tem software used on servers, each of these technical consid- secure than Microsoft NT, primarily because of the large
erations and the TCO question will be briefly described be- number of developers around the world working to
low.1 identify and correct security problems. One measure of
the security of Internet server software involves the
number of web sites that are broken into by hackers and
• Reliability: A variety of comparison tests between Li-
defaced. Studies of defaced web sites show that “most
nux and other server software applications have shown
that servers running Linux crash less often than servers defaced web sites are hosted by Windows, and Windows
running Microsoft NT as well as other commercial and sites are disproportionately defaced more often than ex-
OSS operating systems software. The higher reliability plained by its market share.” (David A. Wheeler,
12/3/01)
ratings for Linux are often explained by the fact that de-
velopers working in different server environments can
modify Linux’s source code to optimize the software for • Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Determining the total
specific hardware platforms and diverse systems, thus life-time cost involved in purchasing, supporting, con-
improving Linux’s overall reliability. Taking advantage figuring, training users, upgrading and using software is
of this feature of OSS obviously requires a high degree difficult. Underlying assumptions, the local technical
of sophisticated technical expertise, a level of skill that is and market environment in which software is used and
not often present in poorer and smaller schools and the availability and cost of computer technicians with the
school systems. necessary skills easily influences TCO calculations.
• Performance: In comparison tests, Linux has also been As shown in the tables below, Linux and other open source
shown to be the best performing server operating system software usually have significantly lower initial costs than
commercial operating system software such as Microsoft
in comparison to Microsoft NT and other commercial
Windows 2000. (Wheeler, 12/3/01)
and OSS applications. Again, this higher level of per-
formance is explained by Linux’s open software code
that enables people with the needed skills to optimize the
Microsoft Windows 2000 (Sample

Red Hat Linux
U.S. Retail Prices)
$29 (standard), $76 deluxe, $156 pro-
Operating System $1510 (25 client)
fessional (all unlimited)
Email Server $1300 (10 client) included (unlimited)
RDBMS Server $2100 (10 CALs) included (unlimited)
C++ Development $500 included

OSS/FS (GNU/Linux) Initial Savings by using
Microsoft Solution
Solution GNU/Linux
Company A (50 users) $69,987 $80 $69,907
Company B (100 users) $136,734 $80 $136,654
Company C (250 users) $282,974 $80 $282,894
Many businesses have saved thousands or millions of dollars modifications and additions to major OSS applications such
by switching from commercial server software to Linux and as Linux. However, as the popularity of Linux grows and the
other open source applications. Much of these savings are number of programmers in countries around the world who
possible because these companies have the technical staff work on Linux increases, the potential for serious problems
needed to install, configure, locate or develop drivers re- caused by the lack of centrally controlled standards will
quired to use peripherals, track and install revisions and likely increase. This may eventually result in the evolution of
patches (small packets of code developed to solve problems Linux into versions that are incompatible with each other.
and enhance the software), develop and modify applications, Decisions to use Linux must carefully consider problems and
and provide on-going technical support. In most cases, it costs that may result from having to maintain and support
appears that a vast majority of businesses that switch to Li- OSS in a dynamic and changing environment.
nux and other OSS only deploy this software on servers and
not on end user client systems. When is Free Software the
More Expensive Choice?
There are three main reasons for this limitation in how Linux
is deployed in institutions: Proponents of using OSS in educational computer environ-
ments often emphasize the fact that OSS is “free” and that
• As mentioned above, there are few client software appli- the savings of money from not having to purchase operating
cations available that can be used on Linux or other OSS system software is a sufficient reason to use Linux. Unfortu-
operating systems without using special software emu- nately, this argument is seriously flawed. Operating system
lators; software only accounts for about 5 to 8 percent of the total
• Few end users are familiar with using Linux and pro- cost of buying a client computer system. In contrast, the on-
viding the needed training to large numbers of end users going costs to train teachers to integrate technology into
often is very expensive; and, teaching and learning and to support and keep computer
• The lack of end user skills translates into significantly systems running from year to year can be many times greater
higher costs to support and maintain Linux on large than the original purchase cost of the computer. In many
numbers of distributed client computers than is need to cases, school systems will spend in two years as much for
support Microsoft Windows or Apple’s Mac operating operations as was spent initially to purchase and install a
system software. system that is expected to last for five years. As mentioned
above, it is therefore more important to carefully consider the
Software Standards and OSS -- TCO of educational computer systems when evaluating the
One Person’s Bene
Benefit is Another’s Loss! real costs of using different types of operating system soft-
ware. An important feature of TCO studies is that they need
One of the important benefits of OSS, especially for pro- to be customized to the unique conditions and circumstances
grams as popular as Linux, is that software programmers of the school system and country where the computer sys-
around the world are free to modify the source code (the core tems will be used. The results of a TCO study carried out in
instructions for operation) and develop new features. This one country will most likely be significantly different from a
results in a high level of creativity and, as mentioned above, study carried out in another country. Even within countries,
is partly responsible for making Linux more stable, scaleable TCO studies can be significantly different. It is also impor-
and secure than competing programs. The open source de- tant to emphasize that TCO studies carried out for corpora-
velopment environment that is responsible for the many tions cannot and should not be used to justify purchase deci-
benefits of OSS is also responsible for one of the major sions for educational systems. There are special and critical
challenges facing OSS; the lack of centrally controlled stan- differences between the needs and uses of computers in edu-
dards that stop the release of poor software code and prevent cation and corporations.
different modifications from causing software conflicts. To
address these problems, the OSS movement has developed Governments and schools decide to invest in computer sys-
an “honor code” and volunteer groups that police and certify tems for schools because they believe that using computers

and the Internet in schools will result in important educa- If the government of Brazil were to develop a TCO model to
tional benefits for their students and teachers. At a mini- evaluate the costs of switching from a Microsoft Windows
mum, these benefits include ensuring that students gain the operating system for client, end-user computers that are cur-
computer literacy skills they will need to find employment rently used in schools to Linux, they would have to include
and perform well in post-secondary education. More impor- the costs of rebuilding the skills and confidence to use com-
tantly, educators seek to improve the quality of teaching and puters in thousands of teachers across the country. Similarly,
learning in schools by integrating the use of technology. it would be necessary to account for the costs of not having
Buying and installing computer systems in schools is a nec- students use computers in schools for several years that
essary condition for realizing these potential benefits. How- would result as teachers without needed skills and confidence
ever, simply putting computers in schools is not a sufficient would stop making effective use of computers in their
condition to ensure that education will be improved. The teaching. It is likely that the costs associated with these hu-
most important factor in realizing the potential educational man capacity development losses among trainers, teachers
benefits of technology is how teachers and students use com- and students would be several thousand times larger then the
puters and the Internet in learning activities. Consequently, savings realized by using Linux rather than Windows on cli-
the most important COST factors in TCO studies of technol- ent systems.
ogy in education are linked to the use and application of
technology to teaching and learning. Therefore, when evalu- Technical Support Considerations: Even though the human
ating the use of OSS in education it is essential to assess how capacity development cost factors discussed above are the
different software decisions will effect how teachers and most important elements of a TCO calculation for education
students use technology. systems, they are not the only ones that need careful consid-
eration. One of the lessons from Brazil’s ProInfo program is
Human Capacity Development Considerations: The largest that technical support to keep school computer systems run-
and most important investment in educational computer sys- ning and to help teachers implement their learning projects
tems is building and strengthening the capacity of teachers to with technology is essential. Without this support, small
integrate the use of technology in to their teaching routines. technical problems can prevent effective use. More impor-
Building this capacity requires a long-term investment in tantly, the lack of support can cause teachers to not use com-
training and on-going pedagogical support. In Brazil’s Pro- puters for fear that they experience embarrassing problems
Info program,2 for example, over 40 percent of the pro- that they cannot solve. A shift from Windows to Linux
gram’s budget was dedicated to initial teacher professional would require states, municipalities and schools to spend
development and training. In addition to the initial invest- thousands of dollars and years rebuilding the technical sup-
ments in building teachers’ computer literacy skills and an port capacity essential to making effective use of computers
understanding of sound pedagogical uses of technology, Pro- in education.
Info staff at the federal, state and local levels have made sig-
nificant and continual investments in building teachers’ con- Matching Skills to Needs: Windows is the operating system
fidence to use computers and the Internet in their teaching. used on 80 to 90 percent of all client computers in business,
Program staff, teachers and schools involved in ProInfo have government and the non-profit sectors of the economy. If
also invested significant time and resources in developing students were to use computers in schools with Linux, some
successful project-based learning strategies that make effec- would likely not gain needed skills and experience with
tive use of computers and the Internet and which are starting Windows that perspective employers would demand. There-
to have important impacts on the quality of student learning. fore, TCO calculations for education systems considering
The financial value of these investments in the educational Linux would need to consider the costs that students and
capacity of the trainers, teachers, students and schools in- companies would likely incur to train workers to use Win-
volved in ProInfo are several hundred times greater than dows.
the initial cost of the computers and several thousand times
greater than the cost of the operating system software used Educational Software Applications: The lack of educational
on these computers. software applications that can operate on Linux and the loss
of current investments in Windows applications that could
The momentum of the ProInfo program is now accelerating not be used on Linux would also need to be considered in
the process of enabling more and more teachers across Brazil TCO calculations. Furthermore, many schools, especially
to learn to use computers and the Internet and to integrate the those in developing countries, have very small budgets to
use of these tools into their teaching. It has taken over five purchase additional software for their computer systems. A
years to reach the point where there is a critical mass of shift to Linux would make some current investments useless
teachers and schools actively using technology in teaching and replacing the software with versions to run on Linux, if
and learning that is now driving the process forward at an available, would drain scarce resources. Also, some critical
exponential rate of growth. applications, such as software used in special needs educa-

tion, is not presently available for the Linux operating system Concluding Considerations for
and a shift to Linux could prevent some students and schools Educational Com
Computer Programs
from making any use of their computers.
When considering the technical specifications of educational
Optimizing Investments in computer systems, especially regarding the use of OSS, it is
Educational Computer Systems critical that the primary goals and objectives of such systems
– significantly improving the quality and equity of teaching
Even though it may be far too costly for educational systems and learning – must remain the principal focus of decision
to consider using Linux or other OSS programs on client or making. If decisions to use OSS are made for short-term or
end user systems, education planners can likely discover how immediate cost savings, it is possible that the long term
to benefit most from using OSS by mirroring how the corpo- costs, both financially and educationally, may become exces-
rations and businesses have capitalized on the benefits of sive. As described above, the development of TCO models
OSS. As described above, the dominant use of Linux in cor- to assist decision making must be developed to reflect unique
porations is on Internet servers followed by running Linux on local realities and include the significant hidden costs associ-
office network servers. Since servers are usually set up and ated with building the capacity of educators to effectively
maintained by skilled technicians, it becomes less of a prob- integrate the use of computers and the Internet into routine
lem to train them to install and maintain a new operating teaching and learning.
system. However, care should be given to evaluate which
level of school networks should use new server software that At the same time, the definite benefits and advantages from
is not well known by technicians. Schools in smaller com- the strategic use of OSS should be used in educational sys-
munities with a few technicians skilled in the use of Unix or tems. Because there is little quantitative information about
Linux may incur greater support and training costs than they the use of OSS in educational computing systems, it could be
would save from using the OSS options. This situation will very useful if universities, government agencies, NGOs and
differ from place to place. For example, in Namibia there are the private companies would plan and carryout pilot projects,
more computer technicians and companies with Unix/Linux in collaboration with schools, to evaluate the use of OSS,
skills than those with Microsoft Windows NT skills. There- especially Linux, in school computing environments. Such
fore, it may make economic sense for schools to use Linux pilot projects could evaluate the impact and potential cost
for their servers than to use Microsoft products. In Brazil, savings of using Linux in specific school, local and national
however, the opposite is true. Technicians skilled in environments. The results from pilot projects could then be
Unix/Linux operating systems on servers are only present in used to both assist education planners in making decisions
relatively low numbers in the largest cities and universities. about how to use OSS in schools and to encourage the devel-
opment of OSS applications targeted at the needs of educa-
If investments are being made to build completely new edu- tion.
cational computer systems in schools with no legacy sys-
tems, then the TCO model will likely favor OSS when used Clearly, the OSS movement will continue to grow and pro-
strategically. With completely new educational computer vide new options for educators—in part as an outgrowth of
systems, the issue of losing past investments in training and the benefits accruing to the commercial sector from OSS.
software will likely not exist and it can become economically Educators will need to follow and participate in these devel-
beneficial, in the short and long term, to consider imple- opments to ensure that strategic benefits for teachers and
menting Linux or other OSS at the level of Internet and students can be realized. Just as with the first introduction of
school network servers. the PC to supplant the mainframe computer, in the near fu-
ture the answer to the question, "Is Open Source Software a
savior for cash-strapped schools and national governments?"
becomes more obvious.
1
Much of the information about the technical aspects of Linux was extracted from David A. Wheeler’s excellent article, “Why
Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS)? Look at the Numbers!” (12/3/01).
http://www.dwheeler.com/oss_fs_why.html
2
ProInfo is a national program in Brazil, started in 1997, that works in partnership with state and local authorities to establish a
network of teacher training and technology resource centers across the country, build computer labs in public primary and sec-
ondary schools in all states, and train thousands of trainers and teachers to integrate technology into all aspects of the curricu-
lum.

This issue offers a
selection of web sites
that deal with current
innovations and
future trends in
information technology.
Selected by Sonia Jurich
Trends in technology
http://www.aacc.cc.md.us/CALT/trends_part_b.htm
This web site, from the Center for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) at Anne Arundel Commu-
nity College, has a series of links to sites describing new technologies. The links are divided into: General, Commentaries (on-
line journals), bandwidth, convergence, appliances, hardware, software, peer to peer, speech and translation, and open sources.
It has also a list of books on technology. Most of the information is dated 1999-2000 but still relevant.
The Millennium Project

http://www.geocities.com/~acunu//millennium/demogrscen.html
The Millennium Project of the American Council for the United Nations University “is a global participatory fu-
tures research think tank of futurists, scholars, business planners, and policy makers who work for international organizations,
governments, corporations, NGOs, and universities.” The site collects information about technology and its impact on human
life throughout the globe. This international perspective, in contrast to most sites on the topic that focused only on the highly
industrialized nations, makes the site worthy of note. It includes scenarios for the future and articles about technology and so-
ciety.
Future Technologies
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/features/future/index.html
This section from PC Magazine online describes future trends in technology that, like many futuristic proposals,
must be considered with care.
The Future of Network Technology for Learning

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/
This site includes a variety of papers commissioned by the Department of Education's Office of Educational Tech-
nology and also invites the reader to express his or her view of the topic.
Technology Review.com
http://www.techreview.com/index.asp
An online journal from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) presents articles on current and future
technologies. Registration is free. The journal has sections dedicated to information technology, biotechnology,
nanotechnology and others. The December 2001 issue has an article discussing the next generation of computer interface.

Virtual Reality History, Applications, Technology and Future
http://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/TR/96/TR-186-2-96-06Abstract.html
This is a paper by Tomasz Mazuryk, Michael Gervautz of the Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms,
Vienna University of Technology. Although it is quite old in technology years (1996), it provides the non-expert with a clear
and in-depth analysis of virtual reality that is worth reading. The page also contains the address for the Institute, the different
research areas being pursued and a list of research reports on technologies for the future.
MagPortal .com
http://www.magportal.com/sitemap.html
The site is owned and operated by Hot Neuron LLC, an R&D company for software and Internet development.
The site is divided into many sections, one of which is about “Science & Technology/Future Trends.” It reproduces articles
from different journals and magazines, including Scientific American, Smart Computing and PC World, on upcoming tech-
nologies and their social impact. Look for the category Science & Technology, and then Future Trends.
Advanced Computer Technology Website

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/p.boughton/default.htm
This site describes a number of innovations in computer-related technologies, including hardware, software, and
the Internet. It also has links to the Microsoft Research website and to Nanozine, an online magazine dedicated to research on
nanotechnology.
IBM Journal of Research and Development

http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rdimg.html
This online journal is dedicated to research beyond computer-related technology, but from time to time presents
articles of interest on this topic. Volume 44, no. 6 is dedicated to microprocessor designs with articles, such as: “Bandwidth
problems in high-speed networks,” “The next generation of Power PC processors,” and “A performance methodology for
commercial servers.” Volume 44 no. 3 is on information technology and includes articles on future trends in storage, semicon-
ductor and display technologies. One section of the journal is dedicated to new patents. The articles are written by and for
experts.
Intel Technology Journal

http://www.intel.com/technology/itj/index.htm
Another online journal dedicated to research in technology, Intel does not limit articles to its own research and
products, although they predominate. The Q3 issue (August 2001) is dedicated to (and written by) women who are at the fore-
front of technology development. The issue has an interesting and easy to read ethnographic research on the use of technology.
Q1 issue (February 2001) is about microprocessors and, of course, the diverse Pentium product – old and new. Preparing for
the end of the year holidays, the November issue is all about the new generation of smart toys.
Education World – Technology in the Classroom

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/
This site, dedicated to teachers, provides information about new software that helps teachers enhance their lesson
plans or manage their multi-task jobs. It is dedicated to elementary and high-school teachers.

Technologies for Education:
Looking into the Future
Sonia Jurich
Futurism is a dangerous exercise, threatened by too many unknown and uncontrollable variables, human unpredictable
behavior being one of them. Yet, in our need to control the uncontrollable – environment, life, and future – human be-
ings have tried a variety of devices to predict the future, from reading the shape of tea leaves, to talking to gods, to using
complex probability equations and well-educated guesses.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are among the topics that have energized and defeated futuristic
statements. Within half a century, computers lost their place as esoteric tools of a few “initiated” and became a child’s
toy. From metallic dragons that required large and carefully refrigerated rooms, computers shrunk into flat briefcases
carried around by even the most delicate damsels. On the other hand, education has changed little. Indeed, for more
than a century, children have gone to schools, sat in classrooms, and worked under the supervision of more or less
trained adults. Although specific content has somewhat changed, reading, writing and mathematics are still the central
areas of learning, as they were 200 years ago. The interaction of these two apparently opposite forces – one based on
continuous change and the other relying on tradition and continuity – is the futuristic challenge that this article at-
tempts.
A 1996 article mentioned the following technologies “that will change our lives:” on-line
The banking, fax modems, edutainment (educational/entertaining) software, scanners, high
New capacity disks (100 megabytes zip disk), the Internet, and cable modems, which were an-
nounced as “coming soon.”1 One small part of this prevision was not realized. On-line
Generations banking, although popular, does not appear to have significantly changed the way banks
of work. Most of the list, though, sounds like an archaeological treaty. It is now almost im-
possible to find 100 megabytes zip disks in U.S. stores. CDs have taken their place. One
Computing line of the article stated that “systems are being developed now that will allow you to
safely make purchases over the Internet.” Many of us would swear that we have been
shopping on the Internet for most of our lives, rather than five years. Computers that re-
spond to human voices were objects of a comic scene in one “Start Trek” movie. In the
scene, the engineer from a distant future tries to talk to a computer under the puzzled face
of the 20th Century engineer. However, 20th Century users already are familiar with voice-
activated computers. On the other hand, a computer with fears and revengeful feelings, as
Kubrick envisioned in his movie “2001: A Space Odyssey,” is fortunately still a vision.
With few exceptions, most computers are dumb machines that do what they are com-
manded to do, and whose behavior seems less human and more like that of a donkey, stop-
ping at the most unexpected moments, with total disregard to the owner’s needs, anger and
despair.
Artificial We must recognize though that the claim of computers as dumb machines will be soon part
of the technological nostalgia. Research on “intelligent” systems started about 30 years
Intelligence ago with the ambitious goal of understanding human mental abilities and translating them
into machine behavior. Neurologists and psychologists have teamed up with computer
experts and engineers to decipher the roles of perception, emotions, and cognition in prob-
lem solving and other complex thinking processes. Linguists are helping decode how lan-
guage works to gather, manipulate and transmit information. This knowledge is being used
to create a new generation of machines, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, which have
the ability to perceive problems, find solutions and learn from mistakes. A few years ago
one of these machines – IBM’s RS/6000 supercomputer, nicknamed “Deep Blue” – de-
feated the best player in the world in a game of chess, a game that requires the ability to
plan ahead and make inferences about the opponent’s behavior.

AI systems are being used in aeronautics, space exploration, medical research, computer
games, speech recognition, Web search agents, and many areas of industry and commerce.
The systems are still very expensive, limiting the use to large corporations and powerful re-
search centers. As it happened with other areas of computer-related technologies, the costs
of AI systems will certainly come down as their utility and popularity increase.
Laboratories are one of the many environments where AI systems have become an essen-
tial component. Their speed, accuracy and ability to undertake very complex tasks simul-
taneously make them an essential helper for research and production. Classrooms
equipped with “intelligent” computers may be the next generation of school laboratories.
With the help of these sophisticated machines, students will be able to conduct real ex-
periments, rather than the poorly performed repetition of meaningless tasks that character-
ized our personal experiences in school labs (not to mention the killing of innocent frogs
for no good reason). Through Web connections, students will learn directly from real sci-
entists, and become research assistants in the process. Using less sophisticated equipment,
projects like GLOBE are already making these important connections between classroom
and real life research.2 AI systems will enable schools to participate in larger and more
complex projects, thus eliminating the dichotomy between schoolwork and real life work.
Natural Another area of research on “intelligent” computers is natural computing3 – systems that
can perceive and interpret commands through voice, gestures and movement. The goal in
Computing this case is to produce machine interfaces that mimic the natural ways human beings use to
communicate. The system presents multi-modal interfaces that include speech recognition
software and embedded cameras. The cameras transmit images to a central process that
interprets the movements through a system of complex algorithms.
Natural computing suggests a future of active classrooms, where children move around,
interacting with each other and with the machines in a flawless way. Each student may
have his or her computer-pal, no bigger than a wristwatch, with which they talk, share con-
fidences, in addition to doing complex mathematical modeling. Writing may become as
awkward as carving runes in stone, or part of an artistic repertoire, like the art of calligra-
phy in China and Japan. For children and youth with disabilities, these machines open new
possibilities of a more productive life, where many of today’s limitations will become mi-
nor obstacles.
Intelligent For researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, isolated machines capable of
intelligent behavior are no longer the goal. Their research has taken them to intelligent
Rooms spaces or IR (intelligent rooms).4 Different from traditional computers, which maintain a
one-on-one interaction with the user, these rooms will handle multiple users with different
demands sharing the same environment.
When entering the room, the users will interact with a multi-modal Help System that pro-
vides information about the room’s resources and guides the user on how to utilize these
resources. The room will be equipped with a number of sensors and other audiovisual
hardware and software with high computational power and dynamic capability to adjust
their operation to the preferences of diverse users. A special infrastructure (Metaglue) en-
ables the multi-user, multi-spatial functioning of the room. Systems of coordination man-
age the interactions among the elements, and respond to the users’ demand. A system of
information retrieval connects the room to the web. Among the sub-projects related to the
IR is SAM, which aims at providing an “expressive and responsive user interface” to the
room. If not in 2001, but a little later, H.A.L. will no longer be the fruit of a genial movie
director’s imagination, but the doorman of a new world.

New As machines become more complex, so does the workplace. In the 18th Century, most jobs
would require a little more than some reading and writing skills. In the beginning of the
Technologies 20th Century, the requirement included the completion of elementary school. By the mid-
For dle of the Century, good jobs in industrialized countries demanded at least a high school
Old education. Now, in the United States, a person without some higher education cannot ex-
pect to find a job that pays a reasonable wage. The pressure for more and in-depth educa-
Education? tion is mounting. Countries must find ways to educate their populations or miss the op-
portunity to become part of the modern world.
The school of the future may be a very different enterprise – global, streamlined, efficient,
and most of all, focusing on higher-order thinking skills, rather than basic knowledge.
Countries that have no resources to build schools and train teachers may rent “education
hours” from non-profit organizations dedicated to bring the highest level of education to
any place in the world. Basic education can be provided through intelligent machines, able
to understand questions, respond to students’ emotions, and do multiple tasks at one time.
Since machines do not get tired, nor charge more for more work, there can be an increase
in school days, weeks and years to accommodate a system of shifts. This system will make
it possible for more students to be educated without the need for building more schools or
hiring more personnel, the two largest expenses in education. Science classes will be pro-
vided by renowned scientists who interact with thousands of youth dispersed in hundreds
of computer-centers across the world. Students in any part of the globe will be able to
learn a variety of languages from native speakers living in distant places, or look at the
stars through virtual telescopes, and conduct laboratory experiments in coordination with
astronauts in space.
Except for the teacher-machine, technology already permits most of these proposals. Due
to the economies of scale, the proposals are cost effective and results may prove excellent,
since the students will interact with exponents in their fields, rather than poorly trained
teachers. Indeed, the technological advances of the last century have given educators the
ability to offer curricula tailored to each individual student, move the classroom to where it
is needed the most, and break the barriers between the classroom and the world.5 However,
even in highly industrialized countries, the potential of ICTs for education is yet to be re-
alized. In most countries where students have access to computers, including the United
States, they remain extraneous to the classroom, used mostly for word processing and in-
troductory courses on computer use. Although virtual schools are multiplying, they present
no threats to traditional schools.
Are It is not necessary to read tea leaves, talk to the gods, or conduct complex equations to
understand that educational systems will have to change. As computer-related technolo-
We gies penetrate every aspect of society, and education becomes a priced commodity, schools
There will have to break with tradition to respond to the demand for more and better education.
We know that the future of technology is limitless due to human intelligence and innova-
Yet? tion. But will the future of education continue to be limited due to human tradition and
inertia?
1
McKinght, Rich (1996). New Trends in technology that will change our lives. Available at
http://www.knightstar.com/articles/1996_06.htm.
2
For information on this project, see “Learning by Doing Science: Two Internet-Based Cases” in TechKnowLogia,
March/April 2001.
3
For more information, see http://www.research.ibm.com
4
Information on Intelligent Room (Project e21) can be found at
http://www.ai.mit.edu/research/abstracts/abstracts2001/index.shtml.
5
A more in-depth discussion on this topic is found in Haddad, W. & Jurich, S. “The potential of technologies for the en-
hancement of science and mathematics teaching and learning,” TechKnowLogia, March/April, 2001.

RiverWalk-Brazil
Virtual Journey, Real Learning
Arati Singh,1 Dr. Eric Rusten,2 and Vera Suguri3
Overview RiverWalk: Making a Splash at the University

of Michigan
International educational technology initiatives are beginning The RiverWalk Project is a collaborative activity in which
to produce exciting stories demonstrating the impact of com- students and teachers from six countries—including the
puters and the Internet on student learning. A key element to group of Brazilian students mentioned above—research and
the RiverWalk-Brazil “success story” featured here is an share information about rivers in their communities. The
equitable partnership between actors in Brazil and the United project was born out of a desire of Japan’s Ministry of Land,
States. The essential players from Brazil include teachers Infrastructure, and Transport to develop an international edu-
and students in eleven schools and Vera Suguri, a pedagogi- cation program on rivers. This Ministry asked the Interactive
cal coordinator with the Ministry of Education. Key partners Communications & Simulations (ICS) group at the Univer-
in the United States include Eduardo Junqueira and col- sity of Michigan’s College of Education to develop an online
leagues involved in the RiverWalk initiative at University of program to foster education about world rivers. With Japa-
Michigan’s Interactive Communications & Simulations nese government funding and support from the University of
group (ICS) and Eric Rusten, who directs the U.S./Brazil Michigan, Jeff Kupperman and his colleagues from the ICS
Learning Technologies Network (LTNet) project at the group launched the RiverWalk project in November 2000.
Academy for Educational Development (AED). This part-
nership forms the scaffold for RiverWalk-Brazil, an interdis- Visiting the multilingual RiverWalk website4 allows one to
ciplinary project that enables Brazilian schoolchildren and access the results of project and problem-based learning, as
teachers to become scientists, activists, and reporters on their well as an integrated set of easy-to-use tools for publishing
physical environment. Described below are the two main work and carrying out discussions. The website features
thrusts of the project: The RiverWalk online publishing and student-published tours (mini-websites) presenting projects
planning forum for students (developed by ICS), and an on- about their local rivers, accompanying discussion boards,
line professional development and collaborative learning virtual backpacks that allow participants to take and synthe-
environment for Brazilian teachers involved in RiverWalk size material from each other’s online tours, online
(developed by Vera Suguri and Eric Rusten on LTNet). mentoring from staff at the University of Michigan, and a
downloadable manual. Currently, funding from Japan makes
it possible for schools to participate free of charge. While
Evolution of River- many web tours are publicly accessible, some portions are
Walk-Brazil password protected.
Some of the big questions RiverWalk students are encour-

Imagine…Naoko, a twelve-year old girl in Japan, wanders
aged to explore include:
through the Internet and stumbles upon an online account
from a group of Brazilian youth trying to save their local
river. As Naoko explores the digital photos and journal-like • What does it mean for a river to be “clean” or “pol-
text that the children published, she gets a glimpse of the luted?”
cultural, economic, and ecological issues that their town • What happens when countries or communities compete
faces. She learns about washerwomen who unintentionally for limited water sources?
pollute the river with their detergent, and about how the chil- • What needs to be done to gain benefits from rivers while
dren attempt to solve the problem by publishing river educa- preventing their destruction?
tion booklets and encouraging the city council to build a
public laundry. Naoko begins thinking about the river that One RiverWalk partner, Vera Suguri, captures the project’s
flows by her own neighborhood… potential impact with the following observation:

For students to learn about conservation, it isn’t
enough to talk about the problem, show the situa-
tion via TV and videos, or by providing informa-
tion in a traditional manner. Working with proj-
ects like RiverWalk, the students become active
participants. Teachers and students decide to-
gether about what river to study and how to study
it… In one school, students took a field trip and
interviewed local fishermen who had lived on the
river's banks for over two decades. The reality of
river dependence was seen and felt. After viewing
other schools’ projects, our students realized the
extent of river problems in our country as well as
others.
Brazil Dives In with Something New

Students from Japan, Taiwan, the U.S., Canada, and Israel
were already participating in RiverWalk when Eduardo Jun-
queira, a Brazilian journalist studying5 at the University of
Michigan, began recruiting schools from his homeland to
join the project. Junqueira asked Vera Suguri from the Pro-
Info program6 in Brazil’s Ministry of Education to help
identify and encourage teachers from fourteen public schools
to join the RiverWalk project. The fourteen schools were Step-by-step instructions for teachers partici-
strategically selected to represent the diverse economic, geo- pating in the professional development River-
graphic, and cultural diversity of the country and to ensure Walk community developed by LTNet and Pro-
the inclusion of Brazil’s major rivers. The common thread Info
among the selected sites is that each has a highly motivated
teacher leader and access to Internet technology in the school contribute to the schools during the learning process. Re-
or at a local computer resource lab (NTE) developed under garding this feature, Suguri comments, “It is not usual for
the ProInfo program. teachers and students to accept contributions from outsiders
during the learning and teaching process. I think that this
With RiverWalk, Suguri saw an opportunity not only to get aspect is very innovative. Through the AAC, this collabora-
Brazil’s schoolchildren and teachers involved in an interna- tion is achieving a larger return on the investment of the
tional, cross-curricular educational technology project, but work of the eleven8 participating Brazilian schools than
also to develop a meaningful, web-enabled form of profes- would be possible without the AAC.”
sional development for the teachers within and outside the
project. To enable this professional development, Suguri A visit to the teachers’ collaborative AAC gives one a taste
brought in the U.S./Brazil Learning Technologies Network of the sometimes messy process involved in adopting new
(LTNet), part of the U. S. Agency for International Devel- learning technologies. The AAC's webfolio offers four ques-
opment-funded LearnLink project at AED, to help develop a tions to guide teachers as they plan activities and share the
web-based collaborative learning environment (AAC - Ambi- project’s process:9
ente de Aprendizagem Colaborativa).
• What do we know?
7
The AAC in the LTNet website, while separate from the • What do we want to learn?
RiverWalk website, advances RiverWalk’s goals by provid- • What did we learn?
ing an environment for professional development tailored for • How did we do it?
the Brazilian teachers involved in RiverWalk. The additional
benefit of the AAC is that it is completely accessible to any- To help teachers explore these questions, the AAC also pro-
one, whether or not they are officially involved in River- vides the following technologies: a listserv, chat rooms, a
Walk. ProInfo’s Suguri sees this feature as a way to model photo gallery, and a user-friendly webfolio where teachers
good professional practice and to help teachers who are just upload text and graphics. Teacher trainers from two of the
beginning to use technology learn to develop and participate schools, Lourdes Matos of Montes Claros and Noara Re-
in collaborative projects. Moreover, the site is accessible to sende of Belo Horizonte were selected by Suguri to be ma-
researchers and environmental specialists to allow them to drinhas (literally, godmothers) or activity coordinators for

the teachers in the other sites. The madrinhas were trained, ever, it is not uncommon for teachers with higher
mostly online, to use the technologies in the collaborative computing skills to assist those with less experi-
learning environment by LTNet staff in the U. S. and by ence, for teachers to send encouraging e-mails to
Suguri in Brazil. They in turn trained the rest of the partici- each other, or to bounce ideas off of colleagues
pating teachers to use their environment. online.
The culture of the AAC is marked by teacher autonomy in Rowing Together

decision-making, while maintaining a highly cooperative
According to one project developer, the dynamic learning
work environment. According to Suguri, teachers
that RiverWalk nurtures requires “many actors.” It was re-
ported that without a balanced human and technical infra-
weren’t obliged to follow any pre-determined
structure, the project would have suffered. Table 1 delineates
structure. They decided what river to study, num-
the roles of each of the partners in the RiverWalk-Brazil
ber, grade and level of participants, who would be
project.
interviewed, what places or institutions to visit, the
size and feature of their own project, etc. How-
Table 1: Roles of Partners

Partner Roles
Teachers and students at the • Collaborate and publish work on the RiverWalk website and the
eleven participating schools in teachers’ collaborative learning environment (AAC).
Brazil and their related resource • Organize educational activities and field trips to explore their riv-
labs (NTE’s) ers.
• The teacher trainer/coordinators at the ProInfo NTEs provide tech-
nical and logistical support to the schools.
RiverWalk-Brazil coordinator Edu- • Developed the RiverWalk framework and website
ardo Junqueira and staff at ICS at (http://www.riversproject.org).
the University of Michigan’s Col- • Provide a common space for Brazilian schools to present their
lege of Education work in an international forum.
• Facilitate and coordinate day to day communications.
• Build trust with Brazilian teachers.
Vera Suguri, a pedagogical coor- • Used ProInfo’s network of NTE’s and participating schools to iden-
dinator at ProInfo in Brazil’s Min- tify participants for the project.
istry of Education. • Facilitates communication among teachers, encourages active par-
ticipation and coordinates project efforts.
• Brings innovation and pedagogical input into the project, including
co-designing the teachers’ AAC.
• Gives a national presence to the project by presenting it at confer-
ences and building relationships with important national and local
stakeholders.
Eric Rusten, Director of the • Developed and maintains the AAC where teachers collaborate as
U.S./Brazil Learning Technologies they implement the RiverWalk project
Network (LTNet), part of Learn- (http://www.ltnet.org/SchoolLinks/VEE/RiverWalk/P-AAC-RW-
Link at AED Base.htm).
• Brings technical and pedagogical innovation to the project.
• Acts as a strong equitable partner with Brazil’s Ministry of Educa-
tion.
Local Brazilian communities • Companies, forestry organizations, museums, families, and non-
governmental agencies lend support to the project in a variety of
ways—from making lunches for student field trips to serving as sub-
ject matter experts for students and teachers.

ALs emphasize the social components of learning, as well as
A Strong Pedagogical the authenticity of the context in which this learning takes
Current place. Analyzing both components of RiverWalk-Brazil in
the REAL framework helps show why this particular project
has more pedagogical muscle than many similar endeavors.
“REAL” Rivers Table 2 shows how RiverWalk-Brazil exemplifies the six
Grabinger (1996) presented a Framework of Rich Environ- attributes of REALs.
ments for Active Learning (REALs). It can be used to evalu-
ate the educational elements of the RiverWalk project. RE-
Table 2: Application of REALs to RiverWalk (Technology tools are in bold blue)

Attributes of REALs Examples from ICS’s STUDENT- Examples from Pro-
focused RiverWalk framework Info’s/LTNet’s TEACHER-focused
Collaborative Learning Envi-
ronment (AAC)
Constructivist influences: Cross-curricular connections encourage The webfolio allows teachers to in-
People learn by making connec- deep learning. For example, measuring stantly publish text and graphics on the
tions between old and new knowl- the effect of droughts on rivers can in- Internet to create mini webpages that
edge, indexing and making gener- clude math (e.g., measuring river depth) document the process of the project.
alizations from new knowledge, and social studies (e.g., analyzing eco- The “add a comment” function pro-
and developing common under- nomic impact). Easy to use publishing vides a forum where others can ar-
standings of new knowledge tools and simple moderated discussion ticulate the new connections their col-
through social interaction. boards allow students to focus on content leagues’ webfolio page helps them
synthesis rather than on technical tasks. make.
Authentic learning contexts: Students work in virtual workgroups to The questions and concerns teachers
Learning that takes place in an identify, analyze, and/or resolve river express to each other and to peer train-
authentic, non-simulated context is issues in their own communities, much ers (madrinhas) via e-mail discussion
relevant to students’ lives, can like scientists, government agencies, and lists and chat are based on real, si-
develop richer cognitive connec- concerned citizens do. multaneous classroom experiences.
tions, and support collaboration.
Student responsibility and ini- A virtual backpack feature allows stu- Analyzing and discussing each other’s
tiative: dents to borrow graphics, sound, and text webfolios helps teachers reflect on and
Students participate in intentional, from others’ web tours to include in or devise strategies to improve their own
goal-directed learning, reflect on help inform their own web tours. learning
their work, and develop metacog-
nitive skills.
Cooperative learning: The workgroup interface, discussion Chat events give teachers the immedi-
Students work together to solve boards, and “virtual backpack” give ate back-and-forth conversation they
problems, and take on multiple students multiple ways to lend their ex- need, while the listserv provides a
roles and work through difficul- pertise and support each other in the convenient way to send questions,
ties. learning process. share results and schedule other online
activities with the group.
Generative learning activities: The Internet allows students to freely The site contains a variety of re-
Students actively use tools to in- search other external online resources sources, including instant publishing
vestigate problems and seek solu- in their quest for excavating important tools that help teachers take ownership
tions to problems. In these situa- river issues. of the environment and generate ideas,
tions, students are often co- as well as links to other sites that sup-
designers of instruction with port their online experimenting and
teachers. exploring.
Authentic assessment: The online medium captures and pre- The online medium exposes the
There is a focus on process as well serves students’ published web tours as teachers’ learning process, thereby
as product in student learning. well as their participation in online dis- making it easier to evaluate their level
cussions. of participation and professional
growth.

When explaining why it was important to have a broad spec-
Where the Oar Touches trum of Brazilian schools involved, Rusten states:
the Water
By enabling different types of schools to partici-
The following collection of quotations from project participate, more innovation is possible. One teacher,
pants helps illustrate what it is like to be part of RiverWalk- for example, used what we called “scooter net” to
Brazil. enable her students to have their content pub-
lished in the RiverWalk website. After the stu-
dents created their narratives and selected images
Teacher Growth for their tour, the teacher drove her scooter to the
Eduardo Junqueira, the coordinator-mentor for RiverWalk- NTE in a nearby city and uploaded the files to the
Brazil, said that when the Brazilian teachers were first ap- website and printed copies so that her students
proached about the RiverWalk project, could see the results of their effort. The message
is: ‘You don’t have to be from the capital; you
The teachers were very proud to join the project, don’t have to be rich to be involved.’
but very scared that they might not succeed. They
asked, ‘Are you sure I can do this?’ I told them, Project madrinha Noara Resende, who serves as a trainer and
‘If we don’t try, we’ll never know.’ They slowly facilitator for teachers, makes an observation on the role of
started trusting. They had experiences in the past local support for RiverWalk:
with foreign partners; in some cases they had bad
memories. How did I gain their trust? I an- Other important partners are the school directors
swered their e-mail, gave feedback, tried solving and the students' parents. Many of the directors
their problems. Once trust was established, they reacted positively and got the whole school com-
started their projects. munity involved. Many of the parents have sent
me thank you messages, and even want to see
One teacher shared her perceptions of her own skill growth some of the student work published on the Inter-
during the course of the project: net. Everyone’s collaboration makes it easier for
teachers and students.
When I started participating in the RiverWalk
project, I didn’t know even to type, and now, I am Project madrinha Lourdes Matos comments on the impor-
learning to scan pictures, to navigate in the Inter- tance of evaluation in RiverWalk-Brazil.
net and many other things in computing.
A final evaluation will assess student learning,
One teacher, commenting on the impact of RiverWalk par- and help students and teachers reflect on the pro-
ticipation on him and his students, states: cess, as both parties are responsible for the
knowledge produced during the course of this
Participation brought great advances in the project.
teaching and learning process and helped develop
the ecological consciousness and citizenship in Student Growth
our students…When I showed the RiverWalk
project to the city council, they were very embar- Junqueira describes students’ initial reactions to the project:
rassed with the pollution of the River Jaguaribe
and tried to justify [overlooking it]. Students said, ‘Wow, so now we have the oppor-
tunity to interact with students across the country.
They can see the results of our work.’ The other
Programmatic Issues thing is, they loved the field trip to rivers. There
LTNet’s Director, Eric Rusten shares some light on critical are animals, there are trees, they have each other,
elements contributing to the effectiveness of the teachers’ they have a picnic. Many are from poor schools,
collaborative learning environment (AAC): so they don’t do this very often.
The AAC used for RiverWalk was not entirely One teacher for at-risk students observed that:
predetermined. Teachers could request changes.
Being responsive to participant needs and sug- This project had elevated the self-esteem of the
gestions builds a strong sense of ownership and kids because they realized that they could do the
helps sustain enthusiasm and project momentum. same work as others. Their pictures and research
are on the Internet, so they are “important citi-

zens” who are contributing to the future genera-
tions. Conclusion
Two teachers, Maria Sakete of Campo Grande and Sergio “Through RiverWalk-Brazil, our schools have opened the
Barreto from Ceara, commented how the project tied in with windows to the world,” states ProInfo’s Vera Suguri. This
thematic topics: project demonstrates that forming and using partnerships are
integral to this type of educational innovation. Many times,
"...the students had raised some questions information and communications technology can bolster
around the bridges. In this opportunity we studied learning environments such as RiverWalk. However, while
"volume and proportion" exploring the concept technology can help learners do things that may have been
or mass, capacity, extent, size and mass." impossible earlier, technology does not automatically im-
prove learning partnerships. Only people can do that.
Finally—and perhaps most importantly—are the chat ex-
cerpts from participating Brazilian school children them- Brazilian Schools Participating in RiverWalk-Brazil
selves, below:
Manaus - Amazonas
…Now, we are concerned with pollution issues, E.M. Carlos Gomes
and before throwing trash away on the street, we E.M. Armando de Souza Mendes
will think first. Jaguaribe - Ceará
E.E.F.M. Cornélio Diógenes
…If the trash from here goes there, the trash Brasília - Distrito Federal
from there comes here. Indirectly, we are helping PROEM
to preserve Sao Francisco River because our Montes Claros – Minas Gerais
school has collected 10,000 disposable bottles, Escola Antônio Canela
which surely would have gotten there through E.E. Capelo Gaivota
Velha’s River. Campo Grande - Mato Grosso do Sul
E.M. Barão do Rio Branco - Pólo
It was great to visit the river because it helped us E.M. Oito de Dezembro - Pólo
to raise questions and learn more on subjects Campos - Rio de Janeiro
which before the visit, we didn’t really care about. C.E. Dom Otaviano de Albuquerque
Tapera-Rio Grande do Sul
E.E Oito de Maio
Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais
E.M. Hilda Rabello Matta
References Notes
Grabinger, S. R. (1996). Rich Environments for Active The RiverWalk project is funded and supported by Japan's
Learning. In D. H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook Of Research Ministry of Land, Transport, and Infrastructure; the School
for Educational Communications And Technology (pp. 665- of Education and Center for Japanese Studies at the Univer-
692). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. sity of Michigan; and the Spencer Foundation.
The Rivers Project 2001. (2001) RiverWalk Guidebook Brazil’s ProInfo program is funded by Brazil’s Ministry of
[Online] Available: Education. Local NTEs are funded by local, state, and mu-
http://www.riversproject.org/guidebook/guidebook.html. nicipal governments.
RiverWalk Project website. (2001) [Online] Available: AED’s U. S./Brazil Learning Technologies Network (LTNet)
http://www.riversproject.org. is funded by the U. S. Agency for International Develop-
ment.
U. S./Brazil Learning Technologies Network’s Collaborative
Learning Environment for RiverWalk. (2001) [Online] Special thanks to RiverWalk developer Jeff Kupperman and
Available: RiverWalk-Brazil coordinator/mentor Eduardo Junqueira for
http://www.ltnet.org/SchoolLinks/VEE/RiverWalk/P-AAC- their contributions to this article.
RW-Base.htm.

Brazil’s
TV - Escola Ministry of Web Sites
Education
ProInfo
RiverWalk
Project 11 Public
Univ. of Schools:
Park Rang- State & Mu-
Michigan nicipal
Special Needs
NTE’s: Libraries
State Secre-
tary of teacher training
Edu tion and technology
resource centers
Government Of-
fi i l
Family &
Local Com- Municipal Sec-
retary of Edu-
munity LTNet
AED
USAID Environmental
Museums
A graphic representation of all the actors
involved in RiverWalk-Brazil.
1
Acting Director, Academy for Educational Development Technology Center, AED
2
Director, US/Brazil Learning Technologies Network, AED
3
Pedagogical Coordinator, ProInfo, Ministry of Education Brazil
4
http://www.riversproject.org
5
Junqueira was a visiting student with the University of Michigan Journalism Fellows Program at the time.
6
ProInfo is a national program, started in 1997, that works in partnership with state and local authorities to establish a network
of teacher training and technology resource centers across the country (NTEs), build computer labs in public primary and sec-
ondary schools in all states, and train thousands of trainers and teachers to integrate technology into all aspects of the curricu-
lum.
7
http://www.ltnet.org/SchoolLinks/VEE/RiverWalk/P-AAC-RW-Base.htm
8
Initially, Junqueira and Suguri recruited fourteen Brazilian schools to participate. During the project, three of the schools
stopped participating.
9
The first three questions are based on the KWL technique developed by Professor Donna M. Ogle at National-Louis Univer-
sity. Junqueira had originally asked teachers to answer these questions on paper, and it was later suggested that putting them in
a public online format would benefit all teachers in and outside the project.

Digital Opportunity: USAID’s New IT Initiative
Mary Fontaine
Academy for Educational Development
In late fall, 2001, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a
major information and communication technology (IT) initiative. The Digital Oppor-
tunity through Technology and Communication program, known as the DOT-COM
Alliance, represents one of the country’s latest and largest foreign aid commitments to
closing the digital divide.
cant experience and expertise in both IT and international

The year before, USAID established IT as a cross-cutting
development. Within the Alliance, three consortia each focus
Agency theme, stating that “enabling more widespread par-
ticipation and empowerment in the global information soci- on a critical IT area: dot-GOV on policy and regulatory re-
form, dot-ORG on access and applications, and dot-EDU on
ety is an important development result in its own right.”1
education and learning systems.
DOT-COM joins a series of USAID-supported IT programs
designed to increase access of developing countries to IT and
the potential opportunities it provides. Indeed, in celebrating
dot-GOV
its launch, those involved in the program announced it as The DOT-COM program for policy, called "dot-GOV," un-
“DOT-COM: The potential to change everything.” dertakes assessments and provides training and technical
assistance on telecommunications and electronic commerce
The program’s scale, scope, and focus are broad. Geo- policy and regulatory reform. Ranging from IT policy de-
graphically, the program will be implemented worldwide, velopment and impact assessment to media law and e-
with core funding coming from USAID’s Global Bureau commerce trade policy, dot-GOV’s purpose is to help devel-
Center for Human Capacity Development (G/HCD) and the oping countries reform and restructure telecommunications
Office of Women in Development (G/WID). The program and Internet policies so as to increase access for all popula-
also crosses all sectors—education, economic growth, tions, including underserved minorities, women, and the ru-
women in development, agriculture, trade, health, environ- ral poor.
ment, and telecommunications/e-commerce policy. Its three
critical IT areas of concern are: promoting policy and regu- Led by Internews, dot-GOV is implemented and adminis-
latory reform, increasing access and applications, and using tered by a team of organizations with expertise in this area,
IT to strengthen education and learning systems. including the Center for Democracy & Technology, Com-
puter Frontiers Incorporated, Associates for Rural Develop-
The program’s resource base is also broad, especially its hu- ment, and the University of Maryland. Bolstering the core
man resources, implementation expertise, and partnerships. team are nine additional resource partners plus private sector
Indeed, The DOT-COM Alliance unites a large number of companies, all of which make up the dot-GOV consortium.
leading businesses and nonprofit organizations with signifi-

dot-EDU Winrock International, as well as a host of resource organi-
zations from universities, NGOs, foundations, and the private
The DOT-COM program on education and learning systems, sector.
known as "dot-EDU," provides technical assistance and in-
stitutional support for the use of IT in learning systems. dot-ORG also runs the DOT-COM Secretariat, which works
With a focus on improving quality, expanding access, and to “connect the three dots.” Facilitating coordination among
enhancing equity in learning systems, dot-EDU develops and the three programs is among the Secretariat’s key functions,
implements IT-assisted applications of digital and broad- as is synthesizing and disseminating experience, lessons
casting technologies. Some of the interventions dot-EDU learned, and successful strategies for USAID and external
undertakes include training for administrators and teachers, audiences.
facilitating online learning in schools, developing multimedia
curricula, establishing school-to-work centers, and designing Building on the strategies of the African Leland Initiative,
educational management systems. the worldwide Internet for Economic Development Initiative,
and the Global Communications and Learning Systems
The Education Development Center (EDC) leads the pro- (LearnLink) Initiative—major US IT programs—the DOT-
gram, with the Academy for Educational Development COM Alliance undertakes pilot projects and works with
(AED) as its primary partner and an array of private sector USAID missions around the world to apply IT tools to help
companies, universities, US PVOs, and regional institutions achieve strategic objectives in virtually any sector. These
as its implementing partners. activities may involve all three of the DOT-COM groups or
some combination of the three. In addition, each member of
the DOT-COM Alliance conducts pilot projects in its area of
dot-ORG expertise.
Also in the DOT-COM Alliance is dot-ORG, which focuses Throughout, DOT-COM places emphasis on gender equity
on IT access and application. dot-ORG implements pilots and collaboration with private sector IT firms. Indeed,
and provides technical assistance and institutional support to USAID’s Women In Development (WID) office is a major
increase access to and use of IT around the world. Ranging contributor to the program, and private sector companies
from expanding connectivity for voice and data to promoting make up a significant number of the resource partners.
useful applications and building end user capacity, key work
in this area includes extending infrastructure, improving “off Together, the DOT-COM Alliance provides USAID with
grid” connectivity, ensuring ISP/telecenter business viability, access to fifteen grantee institutions and over 75 resource
training users, and supporting local content and applications partners available to work on IT-for-development efforts. By
development. bringing this wealth of expertise to bear on reaching out to
the under-served, it is expected that, at the conclusion of the
Led by the Academy for Educational Development, dot- five-year activity, DOT-COM will have caused a significant
ORG’s primary partners include the Educational Develop- bridging of the digital divide.
ment Center (EDC), Research Triangle Institute (RTI), and
1
USAID’s revised Strategic Plan 2000

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Volume 4, Issue 1 January - March 2002

This issue is co-sponsored by:

Thematic Focus: The Technologies for Education and Learning

7 Configuration of School Technology: Strategies and Options

13 Solving the Connectivity Problem

! 1 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

21 Uganda: Wireless School Internet Connectivity

26 VITA-Connect: A Unique, Low-cost Data Communications System

30 Digital Satellite Radio for International Development

How to start your own computer recycling program.

38 Pedagogical Uses of Web-based Chat: A Pilot Activity in Brazil

! 2 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

54 Getting a School On-line in a Developing Country: Common Mistakes, Technology

63 The Costs of Computers in Classrooms: Data from Developing Countries

69 Virus Protection and Security: What Is It and How Do We Respond?

72 Intelligent Tutoring Systems

! 3 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

82 Technologies for Education: Looking into the Future

85 RiverWalk - Brazil: Virtual Journey, Real Learning

92 Digital Opportunity: USAID's New IT Initiative

Year 2002 Editorial Calendar

January - March 2002 The Technologies for Education and Learning

April - June 2002 Virtual Systems of Education and Learning

July - September 2002 Technology for All - Issues of Equity

October - December 2002 Technologies for Teacher Training

! 4 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Technologies for Education and Learning:

! 5 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

8. Supporting Infrastructure EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

We call on the International Development Community GENERAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

! 6 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 7 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 8 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 9 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Challenges: Peer-to-Peer Networking

Computers in Libraries and Teach

! 10 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

A major disadvantage for some thin-client/server networks is

! 11 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 12 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 13 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Store-and-Forward Messaging: Volunteers in Technical Other Technologies

! 14 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 15 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

• To change management development from a one-time

! 16 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 17 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

By Pedro Sáenz, Norma García and Laurence Wolff

allows two-way communications between two VSAT sites.

W hat is VSAT and why is it important?

! 18 ! TechKnowLogia, January -March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 19 ! TechKnowLogia, January -March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

C olombia and VSAT potential benefits

! 20 ! TechKnowLogia, January -March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

Monkeys and Technology!

While they (the monkeys) probably don’t

World Links2 and

! 21 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 22 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

! 23 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

In a school-based telecenter, the schools’ labs serve students

! 24 ! TechKnowLogia, January - March 2002 © Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. www.TechKnowLogia.org

6748&#9(4'&7$7#1$(:%8&97# on teaching and learning and in carrying out interdisci-