[ubuntu-my] Fwd: Macedonia rolls out 53, 000 Classmate PCs with Ubuntu

[Harisfazillah Jamel]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Prakash Advani <prakash at canonical.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 11:30 PM
Subject: Macedonia rolls out 53,000 Classmate PCs with Ubuntu
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Macedonia rolls out 53,000 Classmate PCs

Christopher Dawson

October 6, 2009

ZDNet Education



The government of Macedonia announced today that it was the first
Balkan country to

deploy a major 1:1 computing effort, deploying 53,000 Classmate PCs to
all of the

country’s first through third graders. Perhaps just as importantly,
the program also

provides all 22,000 teachers in grades 1-8 with an Asus Eee PC and extensive

professional development on the use of 1:1 resources in the classroom.

While the Macedonia government is supplying the hardware, according to the

company’s press release,



Intel’s contribution will include training 1,000 teachers to integrate
technology into the

curriculum, localizing and licensing teacher training materials,
providing teacher

guides, and qualifying master trainers for scaling the program
throughout Macedonia

As with other Intel Classmate programs, local service providers are
rolling out the

laptops (this program is using their clamshell design for cost-effectiveness and

ruggedness). These Classmates are actually being produced in Serbia by ComTrade,

which began selling its Minibook/Coolbook-branded Classmates in April.

According to Intel Spokesperson, Agnes Kwan, “Intel will also support
the government

in training teachers and providing licensing to the maths & science
online curriculum

skoool.com” (a partnership between Intel and SMART Technologies).



As early as 2007, Macedonia was piloting innovative technologies in
schools when they

rolled out 180,000 Edubuntu desktops (at the time, “the largest ‘pure’ Edubuntu

deployment” ever undertaken). Along these lines, all of the new
Classmates will be

loaded with Ubuntu, after the Edubuntu and other successful
Linux-based pilots in the

country.

"People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be."
 --  Abraham Lincoln



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