Remote Access to Remote Children

December 20, 2020

The digital revolution has swept the world. The urgent need for advanced computer skills in today's global workforce has become undeniable. Many third-world countries, like India, have turned into a hub for many global tech companies, including Cisco, HP, Dell, TCS, Infosys, Viacom, and Oracle. These countries have become top destinations for software outsourcing, serving not just local clients but reaching out worldwide.

And the technology sector is the only sector that does not care about your nationality, race, what social cast you belong to, the color of your skin, or what language you speak. They only want your expertise! Period. What an opportunity it is to train these children in computer science and get them ready for employment in these high-tech companies! This is the way they can pull themselves out of poverty.

All of this is great! Except that these opportunities do not include impoverished children in rural areas and villages of third-world countries. Most of these children don’t even have proper school buildings, nor have they even seen a computer, let alone have one. Even if we equip them with computers, there are no teachers in these small towns and villages that can teach computer science and advanced technologies, any that would be willing to come there, anyway!

Thus comes my vision and reason for getting a new degree. I already have much technical expertise, having worked for more than 20 years in the High-Tech industry. I have designed and taught eLearning courses for adults. I needed the understanding and expertise in designing remote learning curricula for children. Perhaps then they can take advantage of these opportunities and begin to pull themselves and their families out of extreme poverty.

This blog is about my personal experiences in Learning Experience Design, as well as challenges and solutions to providing remote education to these impoverished children in rural villages and remote areas of third-world countries.