Mobile Learning Lab
September, 2019 A Mobile Learning Lab (MLL) for the Laos Buffalo Dairy. An MLL consisting of a RACHEL micro-server and 13 Amazon tablets with headphones was donated to the Laos Buffalo Dairy (LBD) located just south of Luang Prabang. Each tablet is loaded with 8 English language apps and one math app. The LBD offers after-school English classes to disadvantaged local kids, with a snack included, and some fun educational activities.
Susie Martin, the CEO of the Dairy, has suggested bringing small groups of kids from Phoumieng for one-week camps during the summer. We were hoping to test this out in 2020 but Covid intervened. If conditions permit, we may make another attempt in 2021. Read more about the LBD, 60 Million Girls, and MLLs
The first four photos show students at work on the tablets, the 5th photo shows the large gazebo which is the Dairy schoolhouse.
October 10th, 2019 The kids were enjoying the shade under a huge umbrella at the LBD . Temperatures that day were forecast at 33 C (91 F); an idyllic, carefree scene. The young guy in photo 5 scored 10/10 on his math quiz, and two of his classmates were engaged in a math duel on the tablets in photo 7. Still, not everything is electronic – old school tactile sensations in a scrabble-type game are evident in the last photo.
December 3rd, 2020 Photos & video The LBD after-school program has expanded, as is clear in the 1st photo. The second item in the carousel is a short video of happy kids using the tablets. I enjoyed the smile on the girl in the next photo, wonder what she's listening to? The last photo is similar, but if you zoom in on the notebook at the bottom right you can see how their English skills are coming along.
A further two tablets accompanied Patsy Godley back to Sri Lanka. The young woman in the photo is the first in her village to go to university and will be taking a tablet with her. This was her first encounter with the internet. The video shows kids in Patsy's class using the tablets.