太阳能图书馆远程帮助学生

Solar Powered Library Helps Remote Students 太阳能图书馆远程帮助学生

Alexis Cullen works as a volunteer in Vanuatu, one of the Peace Corp's most remote postings. 

In the village where she works, called Naviso, some people have never heard of the Internet. That is not uncommon¹ in the South Pacific, where some people have limited access to learning resources. 

"Nobody has ever seen the Internet. People don't know what the Internet is. … Some of them are very separated out from what the rest of the world is doing."

And without the Internet, says Cullen, people in these areas are falling behind. It is not likely they will be able to access the Internet in the near future. 

"As you sit and you wait, there are just the villages that get further and further behind. And how can you ever communicate, or be part of a global society, if people are waiting for you to get connected?” 

The SolarSPELL unit

To help with that problem, Dr. Laura Hosman, a professor at California Polytechnic² State University, and her students developed a mobile library. It is called SolarSPELL. 

Dr. Hosman says she wanted to get educational content to rural places. She wanted to create a digital library that would not be ruined in bad weather. 

The SolarSPELL unit, which is powered by the sun, creates a WiFi hotspot. Although it does not use the Internet, it creates a similar experience. 

"So, any device that can connect to the Internet can connect to our library,” Hosman says. “And it seems like they are on the Internet, even though they are not. So it's an offline website that really feels like you are online."

It lets users practice using the Internet on a smaller scale.

A digital library 

Each SolarSPELL unit comes with a memory card, a small plug-in device that holds the educational content in a computer. 

It only uses a small amount of space, and does not rely on power cables or electricity networks. 

Hosman and her students worked hard to find content to put in the library. They wanted to choose content appealing to people who live in rural areas in the South Pacific, such as Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia.

"I wanted the students to be able to see themselves in the curriculum³."

Partnership⁴ with the Peace Corps⁵

The SolarSPELL team has partnered with the Peace Corps in Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia. The Peace Corps has used about 50 SolarSPELL units. 

The village where Alexis Cullen works, Naviso, has one unit. Alexis says that about 200 students have used it. 

Using the SolarSPELL unit in other countries?

Hosman says SolarSPELL units could be used in other countries in the South Pacific. 

Gabriel Krieshok is the Information and Communication Technologies for Development Program Officer at the Peace Corps. He says some technologies are appropriate to some areas, but not to others. 

"I think one of the big challenges that we have is that there is this tendency to want tohave a one size-fits-all solution… And while it's really tempting⁶ to go down that road, it never works. I have yet to see a place where you can have one thing that works for everyone."

The challenge, he says, is balancing new technologies with what people need. 

"How can I take what you guys have done here – like with, SolarSPELL is a really good example – and, you know, translate that to a post in East Africa or something like that?"

Words in This Story

posting – n. the act of sending someone to a place to work for a long period of time as part of a job

access – n. a way of being able to use or get something

mobile – adj. able to move from one place to another

digital – adj  using or characterized⁷ by computer technology

appropriate – adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation

1 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

2 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

3 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

7 characterized   

adj.[医]具有特征的v.是…的特征( characterize的过去式和过去分词 )；以…为特征；描述（人或物）的特性；使…具有特点（或最引人注目的特征）

参考例句：

• Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity. 莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The world situation is characterized by turbulence and intranquility. 世界局势动荡不安。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》