A Portable and Sustainable Computer Education Project for Developing Countries-Phase 1
Jordi Ros, Christine Lee, Michael Bruce, Charlie Fan, Regina Quan, Henry Pai · International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship · 2006
Four members of Engineers without Borders UCLA (EWB-UCLA), constituting the Thinklab! team, collected eleven laptops from various personal and corporate donors to establish the Thinklab! computer laboratory. The project aspired to provide an education resource to encourage learning and creativity for a small children's center called El Buen Samaraitano, in Jocotenango, Guatemala. The team members tested each computer individually for functionality and installed Linux and OpenOffice, free alternatives to Microsoft Windows and Office. After setting up the units, approximately 25 students attended several weeks of typing, computing, and lab maintenance courses. Meanwhile, to address cultural impacts and logistical concerns, the Thinklab! team developed a close partnership with El Buen Samaritano directors. Design and implementation of the project covered eight main areas of focus: location, hardware and software, transportation, customs, Internet, classroom, benchmarking, and recycling. These main areas of focus, or modules, will be discussed in detail in this paper.