Bridging The Digital Divide With C3 Micro-Cloud
Leveraging the global learning even in challenging environments
Nowhere is the Digital Divide more evident than in education. Many urban schools already have wireless, high speed digital networks and students either own their own computers or have access to the Internet outside of school hours. In contrast, millions of rural students undergo schooling in dilapidated buildings, with no electricity, running water, or access to technology.
Students who can access the Internet have unfair competitive advantage over those who don’t and it can be reflected in their future professional lives. They have access to the latest technology and get access to the best available learning aids. As a result, they have a better opportunity to achieve excellence in education while the poor are more likely to stagnate, glued to obsolete old ideas.
Aware of this, ministries of education have tried to allocate fundings and some technology companies have donated equipment to schools, but there are often infrastructure limitations and unstable power conditions.
At Critical Links, we are working to address this global imperative and we want to help bridge the Digital Divide by developing the C3 Micro-Cloud.
With the C3 Micro-Cloud students connect on a local Wi-Fi that appears to be an internet connection, hence the ability to use a cloud-based e-Learning paradigm. They progress through the learning process without needing internet connectivity.
The C3 Micro-Cloud has several features that improve the learning process:
Local Wi-Fi Access Point – The C3 Micro-Cloud has a Wi-Fi Access Point functionality to allow easy connection to locally cached resources. Students connect from their device, removing the dependency on either the school’s internal network or the ‘upstream’ internet connection.
Embedded LMS – The LMS is the classroom/school’s application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses or training programs. It is resident on the local micro-cloud so that it’s always available to teachers/students, regardless of network availability.
Locally Cached Content and Websites – If content such as texts, subject media, guides, tests, and other resources are cached on the micro-cloud, they are always available regardless of ‘upstream’ network connectivity.
Enterprise-grade Networking & Security – Edtech should bring benefit, without increasing risk. With the C3 Micro-Cloud students can navigate
Internet sites/content safely, without straining resources.
Centralized Curation & Management – In times of information overload it is important that the right person gets the right information at the right
time on the right device, presented in the right way with a minimum of effort. C3 Cloud Control gives school systems a cloud-based administration of curriculum, content, & management of all authorized schools/classrooms.
Resilient – The C3 Micro-Cloud has battery backup to enable it to ‘ride out’ power outages without disrupting the e-learning process. Localized
caching of apps and content means that students can learn without interruption, even when signal quality is weak or momentarily nonexistent.
Universal Access – The C3 Micro-Cloud is compatible with virtually any student device. They can access the micro-cloud in their schools/classrooms from all types of intelligent devices with a browser, including laptop PCs, Chromebooks, tablets, and even smartphones.
With the C3 Micro-Cloud teachers can better prepare their students for the world, the workforce, or higher education and students get the chance to
experience the world without leaving the classrooms!
The C3 Micro-Clouds are installed across the globe, on almost every continent, even in some of the most remote and infrastructure challenged parts of the world.
We help schools cross the Digital Divide worldwide in our quest of global equality in education!
Digital Divide is the the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don’t or have restricted access.
By Critical Links #connectingstudentstoknowledge