Skip to main content

Developing World Libraries and Mobile Device Access

Lucky Us


When we consider what is available to us in our little section of the world, we should recognize just how privileged we are. We can pick up a book/e-reader, a phone, a computer/tablet and just move on as if it is nothing because, for us, it is a convenience that we take for granted. We have all grown up with the ability to grab information and move on without giving a second thought to how easy knowledge and access is available to us. When reading the literature that we received in our course resources about UNESCO's Moblie Learning Publications, it really does bring to light how lucky we are.

Around the World

There are quite a few initiatives within the global community to try and get literature and digital access to everyone across the globe, but I am only going to focus on two: Room to Read and SpaceX's Starlink satellites.

Room To Read  - This organization "seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond" (Room to Read, Homepage). I really like what I have read about this company and about how many children and girls, to be specific, that they have helped. 

They have many different initiatives within the company itself and I would like to talk about a few of them. The first is their Girl's Education in Secondary School. This is one of the main initiatives for Room to Read. They encourage young girls to stay in school and they provide a mentor and life skills education so that they can do this and become the strong educated women they are supposed to be. This initiative is also part of the Obama Foundation Partnership and Mrs. Obama has travelled to different countries to see what Room to Read has accomplished. 

Meet Some of the Girls here.

Another initiative that I became interested in during my research is Room to Read's Bookclub. I think it would be wonderful to introduce our students to students from around the world through a book club like this one. The things that everyone involved can learn from everyone else are just outstanding.

If you are interested in joining the book club, click here.

The final initiative I would like to talk about for Room to Read is their Get Active for Education initiative. This is basically their fundraising model and anyone can join. There are different areas that you can fundraise for as a school or class, and it is something that I am seriously thinking about because this is an organization that I can 100% get behind.

SpaceX's Starlink Satellites - While Elon Musk has been in the news lately for things other than his company, he is developing an interest network that will provide internet to many places across the globe. SpaceX started this endeavour when they launched their two prototypes Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b with a routine Falcon 9 launch in February of 2018. After the prototypes proved viable and stayed in orbit, SpaceX launched its first group of 60 on May 24, 2019. Since then they started launching 60 satellites into orbit at a time with the most recent, and 20th launch, being earlier this week (March 4, 2021).  

With the 60 satellites that are now in orbit, the current total is 1,124 satellites of the expected 4,425 by 2024, and 12,000 satellites total. There are two more planned launches of, once again, 60 satellites each on March 10th and 13th. A projected view of the Starlink satellites:

(https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/12/spacex-fundraising-exactly-covers-launch-of-800-starlink-satellites-for-minimum-service.html)

While this will inevitably make SpaceX quite a bit of money, it does open up the possibility of many rural nations gaining access to a digital world that may open up many avenues of learning for many people. The interesting thing to see will be if Musk's idea of free internet to all will actually be free for those who need it and charging those who can afford it...as rumour has it.

Final Thoughts

While both of these initiatives are very different, they can be seen through a common goal: getting education, literacy, and access to all. Hopefully, with a future of well-educated people and easier access for all, the literacy numbers will continue to rise and we will see a dramatic change in the future.

Works Cited

"Active for Education." Room To Read, 2021, https://give.roomtoread.org/campaign/active-for-education/c129549?c_src=Active-For-Education&c_src2=Website-Header-Start-A-Fundraiser. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

Duffy, Kate. "Watch SpaceX blast another 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, marking its 20th successful Starlink mission." Insider, 4 Mar. 2021, https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-launch-starlink-satellite-internet-falcon-9-rocket-2021-3. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

Grush, Loren. "SpaceX just launched two of its space internet satellites - the first of nearly 12,000." The Verge, 22 Feb. 2012, https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/15/17016208/spacex-falcon-9-launch-starlink-microsat-2a-2b-paz-watch-live. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

"ICT in Education." UNESCO, 7 May 2017, https://webarchive.unesco.org/20170507052904/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/themes/icts/m4ed/mobile-learning-resources/unescomobilelearningseries/. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

"Obama Foundation Partnership." Room to Read, 2019, https://www.roomtoread.org/obama-foundation-partnership/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

Room To Read. A program that invests in the future of children, 2019, https://www.roomtoread.org/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

Sheetz, Michael. "SpaceX looks to build next-generation Starlink internet satellites after launching 1,000 so far." CNBC, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/spacex-plans-next-generation-starlink-satellites-with-1000-launched.html#:~:text=SpaceX%20so%20far%20has%20been,consumers%20anywhere%20on%20the%20planet. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

Smith, Connell. "Elon Musk's satellite internet plan gets green light from Canadian regulator." CBC.ca, 20 Oct. 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/elon-musk-tesla-starlink-low-earth-orbit-high-speed-rural-internet-rockets-satellite-1.5768338. Accessed 5 Mar. 2021.

"Starlink, Launches." Wikipedia.com, 7 Mar. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink#Launches. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Aaron MuellerMar 9, 2021, 7:09:00 AM

    Very well done exploration post for this week's prompt! I really do appreciate the Room to Read iniative and program. Your highlight of the most impressive goals and results was inspiring to read about and they sound like a very powerful and impactful organization that is doing very good work. Your highlights and specific discussion of the ways they have been helping girls around the globe is very appreciated. As well, the developments that SpaceX and Starlink are bringing around the world are very impressive and will go a long way to supporting information access to many underserved places. Its a very helpful initiative and hopefully, like you said, it will be accessible to underserved places at free/affordable levels. (one side note, a lot of astronomers are quite concerned the satellites will intefere with star gazing!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TLNyquistMar 9, 2021, 4:35:00 PM

      The picture I uploaded with where the satellites will sit are concerning me too because star gazing is one of the things I do with my daughter on a regular basis!

      Delete
  2. Suzanne SimpsonMar 9, 2021, 8:57:00 AM

    Great examples of international initiatives Tiffany. I hadn't heard of all of them and learned some new things. Reading about the new program from Elon Musk to launch satellites and provide internet for hard-to-reach areas made me think about the concept of for-profit and government roles. Publicly owned organizations were created to provide equality of basic services to citizens and it concerns me how we are shifting these responsibilities to privately owned companies. This is particularly poignant at the moment at the Manitoba Government is considering privatizing Manitoba Hydro but also applies to internet accessibility. I think it can be argued that internet should be now seen as a right for all citizens, many Manitobans living in rural or northern areas have poor or no internet options and often must pay much more for this inadequate connection. Under a for-profit model, citizens are relying on people like Elon Musk to provide internet access only if it can translate into profit. I wonder if it's time for an international organization to take on this role instead - or at least a non-profit who can focus on providing equal access to all regardless of the size of the potential market and profit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TLNyquistMar 9, 2021, 4:38:00 PM

      Wow, I didn't know they were privatizing Manitoba Hydro...that is going to be interesting. One of the reasons that Elon Musk received his go on Starlink, if he really needed one, was his promise that those who can't afford to pay for internet wouldn't have to because those that could afford it, i.e. government and big business, would be charged enough that it will cover the payment that would have come from the others. I am hoping this stays true and that they actually do keep their promise to the 'little guys!'

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMar 12, 2021, 1:22:00 PM

    Hey Tiffany!
    Great post! I also looked at the Room to Read but didn't delve as far as you did. I appreciate it and seeing all of the wonderful things they are doing!
    It also never occurred to me about Elon Musk's satellites! It poses a lot of great possibilities but I don't think the whole idea of charging those who can afford and not charging those who can't will turn out well.
    - Chevon

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicole ReidMar 12, 2021, 4:00:00 PM

    Hi Tiffany,

    Thanks for sharing all of the information here on Room to Read. I really like the outreach component for schools to support and fundraise. This could be a great service activity to run in a school. I was curious how the book club operates. The site doesn't share too much about it, without signing up. I wonder if there are ways the book club can be used in our schools. I like how the Book Club shares voices from around the world. Nicole

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Supporting Teachers Learning with ICT: On-going Pro D

  Initial Thoughts This week's subject holds a special place in my heart. Within my school, I am both the Technology person and the Professional Development Rep. Finding ways to make sure that my staff is continually learning about ICT skills and have enough confidence to use them in the classroom is thought-provoking, time-consuming, and tricky. Quite a few of my colleagues are a little leery of using new technology within their classrooms as they are settled in their ways, but some are willing to try. As stated in my last blog, this past year was a learning curve for many of the teachers in my school and hopefully, it kick-starts some colleagues to learning some more skills on their own. Developing a "Bag of Tricks" There are a few ways that educators can learn to be more proficient and pro-active when it comes to learning new ICT skills. I recommend this video by Matthew Hains to find out where you are personally with ICT. This video is very heavily towards the Micros...
5 comments
Read more

Vison of the Future - Part Three

  Final Reflection - It's Done! ( https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/ginger-woman-having-bad-hair-day-holding-a-blank-board-gm177257870-19682387) This Vision of the Future project really was a labour of love. I truly enjoyed creating my project and I hope that it helps some teachers with the ability to use infographics in the classroom. I started working on this project with a simple idea in mind and, while the basis of the project is the same, it evolved as I found new infographics and tried to connect them to English curricular areas.  I struggled with honing down my ideas. Every time that I added something else to my project, I thought about something else that I could have added. I did add some of these ideas but I also put quite a few on the back burner for future personal use. I also struggled with choosing which themes that I would cover. I wanted to make sure that this was usable for all teachers. I was talking with my school colleagues and they helped me narrow down to...
1 comment
Read more

Vision of the Future - Part Two

  Learner Considerations The learners that I am focusing on are grade 9 English students, but the resource is meant for colleagues to help them teach with infographics.  This resource will be both information for the teacher and, possibly, a new medium to learn from for the students.  Colleagues I am hoping that with this resource, my colleagues will feel better about using an unfamiliar medium. I am hoping that with the curricular connections and the delivery suggestions within the resource, my colleagues will find it easier to use infographics in their classrooms. Within the slide presentation, each infographic will be located on its own with the following slide the curricular connection and some suggestions on what to ask, how to use, or even explaining the infographic (if needed). I will also include a slide on what information is usually included in infographics, a how-to teach with infographic slide, a how to develop your own infographics, a review on a site that yo...
3 comments
Read more