SolarSPELL: Peace Corps, Arizona State University Partner to Provide Digital Libraries Across the Globe
From the Peace Corps:
The Peace Corps and Arizona State University today announced a new strategic partnership agreement that will advance their shared interest in meeting the needs of learners in remote, offline communities globally by leveraging ASU’s innovative technology, SolarSPELL, a tool to build information literacy and to advance high-quality education.
ASU SolarSPELL (Solar Powered Educational Learning Library) delivers a digital library that mimics the online experience by generating its own offline Wi-Fi hotspot to which any Wi-Fi-capable device can connect, so that users can freely surf the library’s expansive, yet localized, content. As technology meant for populations in remote and rural locations, Peace Corps volunteers can take SolarSPELL into the communities they serve to improve educational outcomes in schools and support ongoing technology training.
[Clip]
Currently, SolarSPELL has 365 digital libraries in 8 countries across the Pacific Islands and East Africa. Through this partnership, SolarSPELL will equip hundreds, and eventually thousands, more Peace Corps volunteers with localized, offline, digital libraries filled with 20,000+ educational resources. PCVs will use the technology to build capacities of rural, remote communities around the world.
Read the Complete Announcement
Learn More About SolarSPELL
Filed under: Digital Collections, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
ADVERTISEMENT
Archives
ADVERTISEMENT