Among today’s many mobile device and PC apps you’ll find various educational offerings, but none that offer the depth and breadth of knowledge needed for school-age learners that’s available from just one place. Intel is aiming to change that by launching an initiative called the Intel Explore and Learn Marketplace, an online marketplace that provides access to free and low-cost digital textbooks as well as interactive learning materials for South African students.
The marketplace has materials that cover South African, Kenyan and Nigerian syllabi, and all of the information is arranged according to grade, covering Grade 0 all the way up to adult-level learning relevant to the completion of an MBA, and the entire repository is also fully searchable. The material is made up of textbooks, instructional videos and podcasts, and Intel has included a sharing mechanism that lets users share things they find interesting, useful or helpful. That makes it very easy for teachers to ensure students remain aware of the most relevant content, and students can share their own finds with friends. Since all shares come from trusted sources – parents, teachers, friends – the impact of each share is far more effective.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, though: there is a catch. You’ll need an Intel-based tablet, smartphone or PC to access and use the portal. This is, after all, an Intel initiative and it makes sense the company would leverage it for marketing as well as educational purposes, but it does put a dent in the plans of any school rolling out a “Bring your own device” programme considering the huge popularity of non Intel-based tablets and smartphones in the country.
To see what’s on offer, fire up your Intel-based tablet or smartphone and download the app from your device’s marketplace, or point your PC’s browser to Intel.com/exploreandlearn, download the Windows app and fire it up. You’ll need to register and give Intel your cell number to confirm your registration, and we were promised at the launch event yesterday that Intel will not use your details for anything other than confirming downloads. Once you’ve done that, you’ll get to browse and download the already-available content to your device.
All of the educational content you will download is available to you even if you’re not connected to the internet, and Intel told us that there are more educational content providers that will be joining the Explore and Learn initiative in the future and adding their own material to the platform.
We like what Intel is doing here: the world needs more educational initiatives than it needs ringtones and wallpapers, and Intel’s Explore and Learn initiative is a step in the right direction, even if it is a bit restrictive in terms of how it can be accessed right now.
