Intel's Eduwise Unveiled

At the World Congress on Information Technology in Austin, Intel's Paul Otellini rolled out more details about Intel's plans for worldwide education and showed a prototype of the new, low-cost, Eduwise computer.

Speaking at the event, Otellini cited Intel founders gordon Moore and Andy Grove, explaining that Moore's law (doubling computing power every 18 months) and Grove's vision of a billion interconnected PCs worldwide are coming to fruition.

“Moore’s Law and volume economics made PC technology broadly accessible, and Andy understood the tremendous additive force of the Internet. But this power is still out of reach for most of the world’s people. The World Ahead Program, which integrates Intel’s efforts in accessibility, connectivity and education, seeks a multiplier effect to accelerate the next wave of gains.”
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Part of Intel's World Ahead program includes the Eduwise PC, which Otellini announced a month ago with a target price of $400. Today, he showed off a prototype. Specs are still sketchy, but Otellini did say that the machine will include wireless networking, collaborative tools, and will be able to run Windows or Linux operating systems.

From a press release on Intel's site:
"With students using the Eduwise notebook in class, a teacher can make presentations, control what a student has access to, and interact individually with each student in giving tests or providing feedback. The Intel-developed education application integrates with other non-computing learning tasks such as note taking and handwriting with wireless pen attachments. Because it is a fully featured PC, the Eduwise design can accommodate other standard software and tools for additional needs and uses.
Otellini also announced that Intel and the Mexican government have reached an agreement to make Intel’s new low-cost, fully featured PC available to 300,000 teachers by year’s end. The systems, unveiled last month in Mexico by Otellini as part of Intel’s Discover the PC initiative, provide an easy-to-use, fully functional PC for first-time users. Intel also plans to extend teacher training to 400,000 teachers in Mexico through the Intel Teach to the Future program by 2010."

Big plans. And while Intel's ambition is commendable, the rush to such noble goals is not without its' mercenary aspects. Intel is playing a game of catch-up, to a certain extent, with OLPC, or One Laptop Per Child, a program launched and then spun off by MIT Media Labs and headed by entrepreneur Nicholas Negroponte.

Intel's Otellini has been derisive of the OLPC concept, which aspires to $100 lower-end machines that can be powered by hand crank and which run open-source firmware and software, and operate as nodes on a mesh network platform. In his remarks today, Otellini took a thinly-veiled shot at OLPC, saying "nobody wants to cross the digital divide using yesterday's technology."

While the Intel chief's statement may be true on the surface, his rivalry with OLPC may be misplaced. In fact, the OLPC program is specifically targeting developing markets where a lack of infrastructure may prevent a higher-end machine like Intel's from crossing that digital divide. Otellini's vision depends on basic requirements such as power and established network hardware, whereas the OLPC unit assumes that infrastructure is BYON (build your own network).

Whether these rivals go mano-a-mano in developing countries, or they each find and fill their own niche in that digital divide, one thing is clear: computing for the masses is coming soon to students who are currently left out of the global information economy. That's a good thing, no matter which model(s) gain critical mass. Cool, huh?

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Net Neutrality and the Broadcast Flag-- Oh, NO!!

Ted Stevens, the senator from Alaska, has put forth a new bill that basically trashes the rights of the common dudes and dudettes in favor of corporate bigs.

Not normally known for its' political rantings, WTKSC is taking a moment to foray into the realm of politics to URGE you to look into this issue and ACT ON IT.

The new bill is a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at the broadcasting, communications, music, and movie industries. The bill has lost what little it originally had in it as protection for Joe Sixpack when it came to the internets. Major telecom players-- think AT&T, for example-- want the right to sell your place in the flow of traffic over the internets. In essence, they'd sell the rights to "priority" traffic, so that companies and individuals who don't pay up get their content squeezed through whatever tiny amount of pipe is left. Think of it this way: e-mail could take hours or days to arrive at its' destination. "Instant" messages? Not so much. See, companies would pay so that their sites, their traffic, their information, gets to travel in a fast lane on the information highway. The rest of us schlubs who pay monthly fees for the privilege of internet access would have our content shoved to the shoulder, plodding along like a dray in a drag race with a dodge.

Search companies would have to pay through the nose to serve you your results. Sites like this one, small, independent blogs-- gone. There's no way they could ever cough up the cash to stay competitive with "real" (read: high-budget) information sites run by giant corporations.

In essence, this is a way for companies who own the networks over which all the internets' traffic travels to charge double: They charge you for your access to the information, but they'd also charge the information providers for delivering the information to your browser. Without Net Neutrality, the big telcos and infrastructure companies can regulate whose content moves and whose doesn't. They can literally stop the flow of information for lack of toll charges. But add this to the mix: information publishers would have to pay many tolls to many companies; the traffic flow of the internets use pathways through many companies' wires. In essence, the publishers would have to pay tolls for using any and all possible pathways to their end user's browser, just to ensure that their content gets there.

Without Net Neutrality, you could find yourself in the middle of a turf war between, say, AT&T and Verizon. Let's say AT&T forms a strategic partnership with Micro$oft. And to stay competitive, Verizon inks a deal with Google. If you're an AT&T customer, you won't be able to do a Google search, you could be forced to use only MSN. "But wait," you say, "I'm a cable internet subscriber." Ah, well, you'll use the search engine that your service provider tells you to. And the news sites they allow through their network. And only the blogs they collect from. And only the shopping sites who pay up. It goes on and on.

Without Net Neutrality, internet traffic becomes subject to the mercenary whims of the network owners. Rather than being "on call" to your browser whenver you want it, site such-and-such will have to pay a fee for every hit you make to their site. And if they don't pay up, you won't be able to see that site any more. Your e-mail-- freemail accounts not through your ISP-- would be subject to delivery fees. Your monthly subscription will not cover "out of network" services. (Sound familiar? "Out of network" translates to "expensive," whether it's a dentist or a website.)

The other, more lovely little piece of dastardly darwinism gets buried deep inside the bill, and will enable content providers to tag their content with a "broadcast flag." Intended to protect the rights of the likes of the RIAA and MPAA, the broadcast flag will prevent consumers from recording content. No TiVo, no VCR, no taping FM radio to hear your favorite classic rock tunes on your own schedule. No place-shifting, no time-shifting. Nada. Zip.

You either watch CSI "live" when it's first broadcast to your TV via your ($50+) cable or satellite service, or you miss it and pay another fee to see it later. No matter that your kids need your help to finish up that social studies project Thursday night, no matter that you ran late at the grocery store and missed the first segment. No more taping or TiVo-ing. You snoozed, you lost. Now cough up more bucks to see what you missed.

(Note that the going rate is $1.99 per TV episode on iTunes Music Store.)

Your husband wants to watch the playoffs during Desperate Housewives? You're buyin' it tomorrow, baby, you can't tape or TiVo your way to marital bliss.

Broadcast flag: BAD.
Net Neutrality: Good.

E-mail your congressional representative. (No, seriously. Do it.)

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Carolina Takes First Steps to Virtual Schools

"Dum Spiro Spero," the state motto goes, "while I breathe, I hope." Well, don't hold your breath, but for those hoping for a cyberschool in South Carolina, the Palmetto State has taken its' first steps down the road to virtual schools. Governor Mark Sanford signed a bill today that creates a statewide charter district for an eventual virtual charter school.

While the idea of studying on Myrtle Beach may sound fun, there's still quite some distance to travel before an online school can kick off. The legislature has not defined what a virtual school would look like, and while the bill today sets forth the potential for a statewide setup, it will be years before an actual institution gets rolling.

Still, the progress is encouraging, and mad props go to the bill's authors and sponsors. Apparently a few out-of-state entities have approached the state about creating the eventual virtual school, and the new bill provides for a single statewide district so that each individual school district doesn't have to create a virtual offering from the ground up. That means a more streamlined process to the finish line, as well as a system and (one would hope) curriculum that meets or exceeds those in the local districts. It also means that the state won't have to dole out money for virtual schools in dribs and drabs to various districts; they'll be able to dump the money into one bucket, resulting in a system that serves students across the entire state.

Cool, huh?

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Hopefully they won't make that "doink doink" mnemonic Intel sound when they boot ... .

And from yet another post at Engadget (here), comes another story about another "affordable" computer for the emerging world. From none other than Intel, who apparently believes that if you're going to develop cheap computers, you'd better customize them by region.

Otellini et al. announced this time that they're going to create a "Community PC" for rural areas in India. This one is expected to come from local manufacturers HCL and Wipro on the subcontinent and is targeting a street value of about $550.

The Community PC is intended as exactly that: a shared desktop box that can serve as its' own little internet cafe, apparently, and will run on 12v car batteries or regular juice, in addition to sporting a ruggedized case that will protect it from harm if Parminder spills his latte.

Not to be confused with the more personal Edu-Wise model announced in Brazil, the Community PC is expected to launch any day now. Intel didn't talk about how/whether the Community PC will be wired or unwired to connect to the Internets, but one would presume that unless there's a whole lotta word processin' goin' on in Agra, the machines will be hooked up with the worldwide webness. Just how that will be accomplished in the impoverished and presumably remote rural areas of India remains to be seen.

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No Price Range Left Behind

From a post (here) at Engadget, comes a new twist in the unfolding saga of the affordable school computer. Last month, Intel announced their new Edu-Wise, a $400 little number destined for schools ... well ... someplace. The goal, according to Intel's Paul Otellini, is to put "real" computers in the hands of students.

The announcement came in Sao Paolo, Brazil, so it's possible that Otellini's plan is to target more industrialized markets rather than go head-to-head with Nicholas Negroponte's hand-cranked OLPC project in the poorest nations of the world.

Otellini's presentation was short on specs and long on potential, and it's worth noting that his announcement came at roughly the same time that Intel was unveiling a series of smaller tablet-esque ultra-mobile PCs (UMPC) that were expected to come in at around the $500 range. Since the hype has settled a bit, it's also worth noting that most UMPCs that have actually become real products instead of pre-production prototypes are falling in the $1,000 - $1,500 range. (Doesn't say much for Otellini's $400 target for the Edu-Wise, does it?)

Still, this is another player in the mix, along with OLPC and Chairman Gates's yet-to-be-implemented handheld phone-based concept for educational computing in the developing world. And as we all know, the more players there are, the better it is for the consumers in the end. This may not turn into a dogfight of competing standards, as there's a great deal of performance disparity between OLPC and Edu-Wise (for now). But props all around for a bunch of rich guys who are looking for ways to put some pc power in the hands of the world's students. With a range of models and price points from which to choose, it's all good, really.

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Overdue Books

Schools struggle and strain to meet budgetary restraints every day, so it should come as no surprise that some fall behind in updating certain educational materials, right? Well according to a story published in mid-April by the Chicago Tribune (here), schools are failing to supply what they called "the most basic tool of learning: a current book in good condition."

Seems they did a survey of 50 schools-- so let's not holla 'bout statistical relevance here-- and found that 80% of those schools had textbooks in use that were more than eight (8) years old.

For you home-gamers, it's worth noting that most textbooks operate on a five-to-six-year revision cycle.

In other words, it's conceivable that students are schlepping social studies stacks that don't know the outcome of the 2000 election (which doesn't explain why so many adults don't know it, either, but still ...). We hear constantly about a "pre-nine-eleven world" and a "post-nine-eleven-world," but we're using pre-nine-eleven books? Biology texts that don't know about cloning or stem cell research? Math texts that ... well, OK, the new math isn't that new and two plus two still equals five ... but come on.

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to save a few bucks, is this really the right way to do it? Consider the fact that textbooks and similar educational materials (workbooks, homework sheets, manipulatives, maps, globes, etc.) typically account for a national average of about five or six percent of a school's budget, and one must wonder ... is this the right place to save money? In other words, if you went a whole year without buying ANY materials at all, you'd save about 5% of your budget. That's barely enough to "move the needle," as my boss's boss's boss might say.

Sure, there may be perfectly good textbooks whose content doesn't age, evergreen subjects where the life cycle of the book is determined more by the condition of the cover than the content. So students are lugging around six pounds of ragged, incomplete, defaced, and outdated textbook? The textbook publishing industry takes plenty of heat for "overpriced" books and "unnecessary" materials. But the whole industry only accounts for 6% of school spending. (And by the way, blame NASTA for the six-pound tome!) Educational publishers would LOVE to move out of color and paper and cardboard, producing lighter and less expensive black-and-white print materials that complement an online or CD-based "core text." But state committees and federal guidelines and this group and that consortium say "pshaw!" to that approach. Your kids schlep a newer version of the same product you used in gradeschool, and it's not because the publishing industry hasn't figured out a better way. It's because the educational system is largely the same as it was when you went to school.

Don't even get me started.

But back to the Trib story-- they claim that 22% of their surveyed schools are using materials that are more than fifteen (15) years old. Fifteen. A DECADE-AND-A-HALF. Of course, in that social studies book, the president is still George Bush. And there's still a reference to war with Iraq.

Is it time to show up at the local school board meeting, ya think? Maybe ask your kid's principal when they're ordering new books? Here's a hint: take a look at your kid's textbooks. The copyright page is the one on the back of the title page. Look at the copyright date. Subtract at least one year, because books are published a year ahead of their copyright year (books coming out now are copyright 2007). If the copyright is earlier than about 2001, it's time to update.

Fifteen years. Sheesh! Fifteen years, indeed!

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Blue Devils Have Less to Cheer About

Ah, remember the heady days of old, when you showed up on campus for your orientation and got the little care package? School spirit pencil and notepad ... check. Campus map ... check. Promotional info from the bookstore ... check. iPod ... wait, huh?

Yes, that's right, kiddies. The edge-cutters at Duke have dismantled the no-child-left-unipodded program. Seems after a year of handing out iPods to the inbound frosh crop, the Blue Devils' bursar has deemed the program prohibitively expensive (story here at Inside Higher Ed). Duke will no longer give an iPod to incoming freshmen, but they will loan you one. Students enrolled in courses participating in Duke's iPod initiative will have the opportunity to borrow an iPod for the semester or full year (depending on the course). There's probably some kind of security deposit involved, and let's hope Dukesters know better than to loan out the all-too-easily-marred nano, but there are no more freebies. Sorry kids. Suddenly that alternative at NC State maybe looks a little better, no? But if Devils fans have a little less about which to be wild, they should be sure to look for that $400 reduction in tuition, though, mmkay?

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WTKSC Went Dark

OK, facts is facts: WTKSC went dark for a full month. Not intentionally, but because a bunch of real-world issues crowded out all of the "free" time required to maintain a blog like this one with meaningful posts.

The blackout, hopefully, has ended, though it is likely that multi-post days are a thing of the past ... or perhaps one or two multi-post days scattered through the week with a few days of relative silence will ensue.

At any rate, stop back here often and check to see whether WTKSC has managed to revive itself after a month-long hiatus. Thanks for reading. Hey ... now that we're back online, why not check out some of the older posts (there are several evergreens in there) and PASS ALONG the blog to friends, co-workers, loved ones ... . It would be really nice to see some traffic pick up again now that the dry spell is over. Thanks!

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