23 Million Students & Teachers in Maharashtra to Get Google's Digital Learning Platform

Manish Singh, writing for Techcrunch:

The company, which recently announced plans to invest $10 billion in India, said it had partnered with the government of the western state of Maharashtra that will see 23 million students and teachers access Google’s education offering at no charge.

I recently learned from my cousin sister living in the small village of Matheran that their tiny school was now conducting online classes via Google Meet and how she had to keep convincing her dad to add mobile data plans to their single smartphone in the house.

Google deserves all the shit it gets for their privacy-invasive practices, but no other technology company has come close to localization and grassroots efforts in India. Google’s products are universal.

August 7, 2020 ✚ Permalink

Apple Partners with Malala Fund to Support Girls’ Education

Apple Partners with Malala Fund

Apple today announced that it is partnering with Malala Fund to help girls receive free, safe, and quality education. Apple will become the fund’s first Laureate partner, which will enable significant expansion of Malala’s effort to support girls’ education, according to the release issued by Apple today.

“We believe that education is a great equalising force, and we share Malala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,” said Tim Cook. “Malala is a courageous advocate for equality. She’s one of the most inspiring figures of our time, and we are honoured to help her extend the important work she is doing to empower girls around the world.”

Apple Partners with Malala Fund

(Photo: Apple / Karen Kasmauski)

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO will be joining the fund’s leadership council and Apple will be helping Malala Fund by assisting with technology, curriculum, and research into policy changes needed to help girls everywhere attend school and complete their education.

Malala Fund currently runs the Gulmakai Network initiative in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Nigeria and help push for girls’ education in these countries.

January 22, 2018 ✚ Permalink

iPads for India

Fraser Speirs, teacher, speaker, podcast host and an amazing human being has just announced a new project — iPads for India — an initiative that aims to send iPads to the Barefoot College in India. He writes,

My friend Srini Swaminathan recently asked me if we had any iPads that we could donate to the project he’s working with in India. We didn’t actually have any right then but we are coming up to the end of our lease at school and I thought there might be an opportunity.

Our lease requires that we either send the iPads back to the leasing company or buy the lease out. To buy out, we would need to pay back the fair market value of the iPads, which is currently about £100 per unit and we have 110.

And

Barefoot College, which was recently visited by Apple VP Lisa Jackson, is an organisation that trains women in rural India to build solar powered projects to help their villages. These projects include solar water heating, cooking, desalination and even data projectors for use in night schools.

Great initiative. The project goal is set at £10,158 and as of this writing, £870 have already been raised towards it by 17 generous backers.

If we over-shoot the funding goal, we will use the money to either buy other equipment that will help the Barefoot College mission (USB hubs, spare cables, chargers, etc) or we will donate the surplus directly to Barefoot College.

If we don’t make the target, Barefoot College will receive all donations.

You can (and should) donate at the link below:

June 5, 2016 ✚ Permalink