3 successful cases of providing education for all through social tech

This post contributed by Sandesh R.S.

Poverty, hunger, access to schools, lack of qualified instructors are regarded as main stumbling blocks in providing education to all. Early last month, the Tech Museum announced the Tech Awards Laureates 2009, an international awards program that honours innovators from around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity. Of these, three organisations were selected as Microsoft Education Award Laureates - Akshaya Patra Foundation, GeoGebra and Salman Khan: Khan Academy.  These laureates are an example of how innovative technology can effectively address the obstacles to providing education to all.

GeoGebra and Khan Academy were recognised for their effective use of ICT in education. GeoGebra provides a free multi-platform dynamic software to teach and learn mathematics. It combines concepts in arithmetic, algebra, geometry and calculus and can be used for all levels of education. The project was started by Markus Hohenwarter in 2001. Since its inception, GeoGebra has won several awards. Khan Academy is a mammoth effort by a single person, Salman Khan, to provide high quality education to anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy has 900+ videos on youtube covering a range of topics from basic arithmetic and algebra to differential equations, physics, chemistry, biology and finance. The founder sees Khan Academy as becoming the world's first free, world-class virtual school where anyone can learn anything, for free.

Akshaya Patra Foundation has been recognised for its efforts in increasing enrolment, retention and attendance as well as for increasing the nutrition levels among school children. Akshaya Patra provides food to a million children and recently entered the Limca Book of Records as the largest school meal program in the world. Akshaya Patra is a public-private partnership and is augmenting the Mid Day Meal program started by the Indian Government in 1995. Akshaya Patra spends only $28 to provide fresh nutritious food to a child for an entire school year. The organisation had achieved this through good management, innovative use of technology and smart engineering. Though not directly related to teaching students, initiatives like Akshaya Patra are essential and important in achieving the goal of universal education.

Picture credit: flickr/pmorgan