Leading electronics maker Samsung is using old shipping containers to bring hi-tech education to remote African villages and towns. The program started by the South Korean maker of the popular Galaxy S III smartphone is called the Solar-Powered Internet Schools Initiative. Small African towns like Phomolong, which have populations of 5,000 to 10,000 people, benefit from the mobile classrooms and the many cutting edge electronics installed inside. The classroom is made possible by taking a shipping container and adding desks, 50-inch electronic board, Internet-enabled laptops, solar panels, Samsung Galaxy tablets and Wi-Fi cameras.
The innovative program from Samsung is having a profound effect on the children that are receiving an education and the ability to use the latest technologies to learn and progress. The Samsung Corporate Social Responsibility team created a video in which Lefa, a Phomolong Secondary School student says, “I have this motivation in me. It’s this need to just grow up and become something better in life and help others to become a success so that in South Africa, or in the whole continent of Africa, we can have a better life.”
The mobile classroom measure 12-meters and can support 21 students at one time. During classes the children are taught how to work with computers and use the internet. The experience is thrilling for the students who are using computer and similar technology for the first time. Samsung is making sure its program has a long lasting effect and is working alongside “local educators, content developers, school administration and management to integrate the Internet Schools into local communities.”
The initial goal of the Solar-Powered Internet Schools Initiative is to take their container classrooms to five countries including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan to offer education to children in grades K to 12. After the completion of its primary goals, Samsung hopes to expand and serve 2.5 million students in the continent by 2015.
Source: Mashable
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