Title: The Case of the Occasionally Cheap Computer: Low-cost Devices and Classrooms in the Developing World
Authors: Joyojeet Pal, Rabin Patra, Sergiu Nedevschi, Madelaine Plauche, Udai Singh Pawar
Pages: 16 pp.
ISSN: 1544-7529
e-ISSN: 1544-7537
Source: Information Technologies and International Development, Volume 5, Number 1, Spring 2009, 49–64
Publisher: USC Annenberg School for Communication
Date published: 2009
Date accessed: 26/06/2009
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
The quest for the low-cost computer has been one of the most significant pursuits of ICTD since the 1990s. This article examines the experiences of low-cost computing projects in developing regions and looks at some of the common entrepreneurial and technical problems faced by past and current initiatives. Focusing specifically on the domain of education, we look at the quest for low-cost devices and consider their economic and socio-cultural appropriateness to the typical classroom in the developing world. Using field studies and interviews conducted in rural Indian classrooms, we show that shared rather than single-user devices constitute a more realistic and sustainable approach for low-cost computing projects targeting children’s education.

Title: Warana Unwired: Replacing PCs with Mobile Phones in a Rural Sugarcane Cooperative
Authors: Rajesh Veeraraghavan, Naga Yasodhar, Kentaro Toyama
Pages: 16 pp.
ISSN: 1544-7529
e-ISSN: 1544-7537
Source: Information Technologies and International Development, Volume 5, Number 1, Spring 2009, 81–95
Publisher: USC Annenberg School for Communication
Date published: 2009
Date accessed: 26/06/2009
Type of information: research paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
In this article, we present what we believe to be the first documented experiment to replace an existing PC-based system—one that had a goal of “bridging the digital divide” for an agricultural district—with a mobile phone-based system in which a small, but relevant amount of data is transferred to farmers via SMS (short message service) text messaging. Rural PC projects meant to serve socio-economic development are plentiful, but, in many cases, the PCs are overkill and cost too much to maintain. Warana Unwired sought to replace just such a PC-based system for managing information in a sugarcane cooperative in rural Maharashtra with an SMS-based mobile phone system. In an eight-month trial involving seven villages, Warana Unwired successfully replicated all of the PC-based functionality and was found to be less expensive, more convenient, and more popular with farmers than the previous PC-based system. This article discusses the early investigations of the Warana Wired Village Project that led to the conception and implementation of the Warana Unwired project. The new system is described in detail, and results, both quantitative and qualitative, are analyzed.