While the roll-out of Digital Doorways has been slow, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) says the project is running on schedule.
Following the opening of the Digital Doorway project in Orange Farm last week, the CSIR says it's implementing another 50 stations across the country. The focus will be on rural and township areas when deploying additional units in different parts of the country, it adds.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) officially announced the Digital Doorway project in conjunction with the CSIR and the Meraka Institute in 2002.
Each Digital Doorway consists of computer stations with a free-standing multimedia computer terminal, a keyboard and a touchpad embedded in a kiosk. To date, 200 seats have been made available countrywide since the first opening in the rural area of Cwili, in the Eastern Cape, five years ago.
The first phase saw 100 seats installed in various areas countrywide. Another 100 seats were rolled out in the second phase, which concluded in March 2008. The third phase will see another 50 Digital Doorways deployed by the DST at community centres, schools, and at Further Education and Training colleges around the country.
The DST notes that, while the project is key, it is not meant to replace technology labs or the need to make computers affordable so that more families can own one. The DST says the units are an “alternative mechanism that supplements computers in schools, and provides access to computers and the Internet to adults and children who are not exposed to these at home or while at school”.
All green for orange
The Orange Farm Digital Doorway was opened by the City of Johannesburg and the CSIR at a community centre in the township, south of Johannesburg. Alfred Mahlangu, a research scientist at the CSIR, says the township will benefit from access to computers and digitised information.
“The aim of the Digital Doorway is to promote computer and information literacy in communities which lack access to computers. The robust and rugged multi-terminals are available 24 hours a day, where possible, and this could have an enormous impact on developing communication in the Orange Farm community,” says Mahlangu.
Four stations have been set up in Orange Farm, which will provide the community with access to computers. The stations are worth around R75 000 and are made to withstand the rigours of climate and vandalism. Units are also equipped with a satellite receiver and GPRS technology for updating content, real-time monitoring and user feedback.
“We have loaded interactive road safety and education material for community members to learn through practise. Members can also report potholes and malfunctioning traffic lights to the authorities,” notes Mahlangu.
The content loaded onto computers includes educational games and programmes, 10 000 books, a snapshot of Wikipedia, health-related material, curriculum-based educational videos and interactive science simulations.
Related story:
Nigel gets a digital doorway
Share
