This Thursday at Change we will have a discussion hosted by Rahul Banerjee and Dylan Price on the use of tablets in Education, focusing specifically on the recent $35 Aakash tablet released in India.
India recently introduced a cheap tablet computer, saying it would deliver modern technology to the countryside to help lift villagers out of poverty. The computer, called Aakash, or "sky" in Hindi, is the latest in a series of "world's cheapest" innovations in India that include a 100,000 rupee ($2,040) compact Nano car, a 750 rupee ($15) water purifier and $2,000 open-heart surgery. Developer Datawind is selling the tablets to the government for about $45 each, and subsidies will reduce that to $35 for students and teachers. In comparison, the cheapest Apple iPad tablet costs $499, while the recently announced Kindle Fire will sell for $199. Datawind says it can make about 100,000 units a month at the moment, not nearly enough to meet India's hope of getting its 220 million children online. Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal called the announcement a message to all children of the world. "This is not just for us. This is for all of you who are disempowered," he said. "This is for all those who live on the fringes of society." Please join us for sandwiches, and to discuss the use potential for tablets to cause both harm and good in education! *What:* Tablets in Education: The $35 Aakash tablet in India *When:* Thursday, Oct 27th at noon *Where:* Paul Allen Center, Room 203 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/private/change/attachments/20111024/e1570023/attachment.html>
