Bringing Kindles Into Developing Countries- Worldreader.org
Promoting literacy to children of developing countries is an incredibly important task. There is no substitute for education, and improving literacy is the cornerstone of that effort. The Worldreader organization has undertaken the promotion of literacy, and is using e-books with electronic readers as the vehicle to stimulate the desire to read in children of the world.
Worldreader has just completed a trial program in Ghana, where 20 Kindles donated by Amazon were distributed in a classroom to determine how effective they could be promoting literacy. The program was a smashing success, so much so Worldreader is rolling out a larger program later this year.
This work is quite impressive, and is worth following as the program gets going in earnest. The Kindle turns out to be an effective tool for such a program, given its long battery life and GSM connectivity. Worldreader is working with local organizations to digitize books for distribution to students in the program. Worldreader was founded by former Amazon executive David Risher.
Image credit Worldreader
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Programs like this one and OLPC are and would bring new opportunities to these new generations. Really enjoy that you guys are looking at how electronic devices can play a role in environment and education. Keep up the good work guys :)
Thanks for highlighting this effort, James. As someone who loves tech but worries the environmental impact of our embrace of “disposable” (or at least rapidly replaceable) gadgets, it’s always great to hear stories of tech making a real difference, especially with kids. Thanks for bringing us stories like this one.
I am going to recommend that Apple start offering iPads to complement this Kindle initiative.
Big Al
Just like the developing world leapfrogged directly to mobile telephony, this is a great opportunity for them to leapfrog to digital books. Brilliant initiative by worldreader.org to address this. Innovative way of levelling the educational/literacy playing field. Best of luck!