A computer on a stick

The Challenge

Why computer labs in developing countries fail:

• Lack of experienced teachers to deal with maintenance and rampant computer viruses
• Expensive, inaccessible and outdated hardware and software
• Lack of stable operating conditions

Can technology be made easier to use, stable, affordable and accessible to everyone?

The Initiative

We provide school math clubs with USB drives that have Ubuntu (Linux) and a suite of open source applications pre-installed, Students plug the stick into any computer and have a secure environment in which to work anywhere – a school lab, classroom, cybercafé or at home.

Implementation

The USB drives have a suite of mathematical, programming and office applications pre-installed, including GeoGebra, Scratch, GapMinder, Python, SAGE ,LibreOffice and CAST that have been shown to improve student performance in the secondary school curriculum. Students can carry their whole operating system and all their files in their pocket.

Initiative influenced by

Initiative has influenced

The following people worked on this initiative

Zach Mbasu,