An amazing transformation has occurred in the course of a generation. Young men and women in rural India are far surpassing their parents’ levels of education. Two generations ago, people in remote villages were largely unlettered: there were hardly any schools in remote areas. And it is still common to find low educational levels among village residents who are 40 years old and older. But the early-morning image of a rugged but illiterate peasant pulling a plow fades before the newer reality of village children walking to schools in the hundreds. As late as 2001, only a little over 25%…
Author: Loknath Das
MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) North America has launched a new Education, Technology, and Opportunity Competition that will support U.S. education leaders in identifying effective uses of education technology that can serve as models for how innovation can improve learning. Amid significant spending on education technology around the country, there is growing demand for rigorous evidence on which of these technologies truly help students learn. To meet this demand, the competition is inviting education agencies, school networks, post-secondary institutions, and nonprofits to partner with J-PAL North America to evaluate their most promising technology-based education programs, particularly those aimed at improving learning for disadvantaged…
According to a freshly updated map of community-owned networks, more than 750 communities across the United States have embraced operating their own broadband network, are served by local rural electric cooperatives, or have made at least some portion of a local fiber network publicly available. The map was created by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit that advocates for local economies. These networks have sprung up across the nation as a direct reflection of the country’s growing frustration with sub-par broadband speeds, high prices, and poor customer service. They’ve also emerged despite the fact that ISP lobbyists have convinced more than 20…
UPDATED WASHINGTON — AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is calling for Congress to pass an “Internet Bill of Rights” as a solution to the long debate over net neutrality, including provisions that would require that internet providers not discriminate in the way they treat online traffic. “Congressional action is needed to establish an ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ that applies to all internet companies and guarantees neutrality, transparency, openness, non-discrimination, and privacy protection for all internet users,” Stephenson wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. It also ran in an ad in major newspapers. The company pushed for the FCC’s repeal last month of the regulatory foundation for its net…
President Donald Trump’s pick for a top Commerce Department post privately assured Republican senators that he would look at reversing the Obama administration’s decision to give up U.S. oversight of the internet, according to documents newly obtained by POLITICO. David Redl, now the head of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, made the pledge last summer to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), who had condemned the move to international control as a giveaway that could empower authoritarian governments. Trump has also attacked former President Barack Obama’s handover, describing it as a “stupid” decision that would turn over…
Hey, good morning! Morning there! Ready to shop in Amazon’s store of the future? How about grabbing a cheap Windows laptop for your kid’s next semester? The Pulse Wave Velocity tracking will be deactivated on January 24th. Nokia will disable the key feature of its priciest scale Nokia will be disabling the headline feature of its Body Cardio scale in a software update. The scale was sold with the ability to track Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV), the speed at which your blood flows through your veins. The slower and more constant the speed, the healthier you are, and vice versa.…
Not only do vast numbers of young Indians face a dearth of decent jobs, it now turns out that many of them are unemployable too. That’s the stark message from the Annual Status of Education Report (Aser) published last week. Here are some highlights: after eight years of schooling, only 43% of 14-18-year-olds could do simple division; slightly less than half couldn’t add weights in kilograms; more than 40% couldn’t tell hours and minutes from a clock; 46% didn’t know which city was the capital of India. We’ve been so busy congratulating ourselves for herding these kids into school that…
Scientists have found no evidence to support the theory that video games make players more violent. In a series of experiments, with more than 3,000 participants, the researchers demonstrated that video game concepts do not ‘prime’ players to behave in certain ways and hat increasing the realism of violent video games does not necessarily increase aggression in game players. The dominant model of learning in games is built on the idea that exposing players to concepts, such as violence in a game, makes those concepts easier to use in ‘real life’. This is known as ‘priming’ and is thought to…
HIGHLIGHTS Microsoft Xbox One X price in India is Rs. 44,990 The console will go on sale in India from Tuesday itself It will be available from both online and offline stores Microsoft has finally announced the Xbox One X India price and release date at a media event in New Delhi on Tuesday. The company’s answer to the PS4 Pro will cost Rs. 44,990 (MSRP) and will be available starting Tuesday itself from Amazon, Flipkart, Croma, Landmark, and Microsoft India stores, apart from over 100 speciality gaming stores in the country. At the launch event, Priyadarshi Mohapatra, Country General Manager, Consumer & Devices Sales, Microsoft India,…
HIGHLIGHTS Samsung Corporate Privilege Programme sale lasts until January 31 It brings offers on various smartphones and consumer electronics products Samsung has built a dedicated online store section to offer various deals Samsung India on Tuesday launched its special sale under the Corporate Privilege Programme for over two million corporate employees from over 500 of the top companies in the country. The new sale, which will run until January 31, includes exclusive offers on various smartphone models including the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, Galaxy C9 Pro, Galaxy C7 Pro, Galaxy J7 Pro, Galaxy J7 Max, Galaxy Tab A 7.0, and the recently launched Galaxy A8+ (2018) and Galaxy On7…