S06 CAF 3 2021 4G 5G_Layout 1 17/08/2021 06:37 Page 19
Remote learning
VSATS
Teaching techniques that go above and beyond Photo: Adobe Stock
Falling prices, more efficient technology and an undoubted need are driving the use of satellites and VSATs to support education and learning in some of Africa’s remote areas. The sector is still developing but, as Vaughan O’Grady found out, it already involves some very big names. Satellites are now helping to bring education to students in Africa’s remote areas.
G
IVEN ITS REACH, satellite technology would seem an ideal way of supporting the delivery of education to remote areas. But is it? In fact, it already does. As an example, back in 2015, Avanti Communications, a provider of satellite technology across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, began leading a consortium that delivers improved numeracy and literacy educational outcomes to marginalised schoolchildren in Kenya through a UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)funded project called iMlango. After five years the project had been implemented in 205 primary and 40 secondary schools across four regions in Kenya, reaching over 180,000 marginalised students. It showed exceptional learning outcomes for these children, doubling their numeracy
www.communicationsafrica.com
learning rates. The programme incorporates satellite broadband internet-based individualised learning which is supported by in-field technical support and by real-time monitoring based on sophisticated machine-to-machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies. Nor is this the only example of such inventive approaches to combining satellite communications and education. We asked three major players in satellite communications to tell us about their work in this field. First of all, we
Satellite can provide internet and broadcasting solutions to deliver e-lectures and virtual classrooms
asked, how can satellite communications can be an effective delivery system for remote learning in Africa? As Amir Cohen, VP of business development and engineering, Gilat Telecom, put it, such approaches are more cost-effective than they once were. He said, “Gilat satellite technology has changed a lot in the past five years. These changes mean we can now deliver communication to the most remote rural places at a reasonable cost. Many schools in rural Africa are not connected to any telecoms infrastructure, so satellite is the only solution to equip those regions and support e-learning and more.” Caroline De Vos, co-founder and COO / public relations at satellite service provide SatADSL pointed out that satellite communications can be very effective for delivering e-learning solutions and platforms in Special Anniversary Issue 2021
19
