Vietnam’s first Mobile Internet library launched
Vietnam’s first mobile Internet library has been launched to serve rural and suburban areas.The library will have a multimedia room with a computer network, CD-ROMs, 1,500 scientific documentaries, special documentaries for the blind, and others. Korea based LG Electronics Corp., has granted US$85,000 to the library. The library is especially meant to serve people, youth without any charges.
Computers with home-grown CPU debut on Chinese market
The first batch of 80 computers powered by home-grown Chinese CPUs are undergoing user tests,The computer, which uses a Linux operating system, comes with a 40-gigabyte hard drive and 256 megabytes of memory. It costs 1,599 yuan (about 200 U.S. dollars), and users have to buy the monitor, keyboard and mouse separately.
China started CPU research and development in 2001, and the first chip, Godson I, came out in September 2002, bringing the country’s microprocessor industry a step closer to the world leading manufacturers in the United States and Japan. China has since developed three more generations of the Godsongenerations of the Godson — Godson II B, Godson II C and Godson II E. The latter models triple the computing speed of the previous ones.
US commits $100m for Pak education
Pakistan and the US announced an elaborate programme to promote education at all levels in Pakistan with the US committing another $100 million in 2007 in addition to $200 million already provided. The seven points to expand educational opportunities for the people of Pakistan include: teacher training programmes; promotion of teacher, student and faculty exchanges; improvement of secondary-level science and math studies; administrative capacitybuilding, including school infrastructure; vocational/ workforce education and training to meet Pakistan’s labor needs; public/private sector partnerships; and the establishment of linkages between the higher education academic and research institutions of ur two countries and training of Pakistani academics in US institutions.
Majority of Sri Lanka’s teachers
lack computer literacy! The Ministry of Education says a new government survey shows that only a third of the teachers or (32.5 percent) in Sri Lanka are computer literate. Goverment hopes to establish 35 centers that will teach ICT and English literacy to teachers. The preliminary report of the Census on Computer Literacy of Teachers conducted among, government schools approved private schools and Pirivenas shows that Sri Lanka’s computer literacy among teachers varying within 30 to 40 percent across districts. Ministry of Education say literacy in English is also a factor contributing to teachers’ literacy in ICT where only 53.7 percent of teachers in schools and Pirivenas or temple based schools have the ability to read and understand documents written in English. Of the 200,000 teachers, 28 percent are graduates, but they are not computer literate. From the facilities related to ICT, only 76 percent of schools and Pirivenas have electricity, 26.2 percent havetelecommunication facilities and less than ten percent have internet facilities. The ministry hasalready given 100 computer laboratories that run on solar energyto schools without electricity, and 500 are scheduled to be built in 2007.
