Ongoing (2013-2015)
Website: http://www.eskuwelanow.com/
Created using:
- Illustrator
- Keynote
- Wii Remote
- Raspberry Pi
- Mini Shop LED Projector
- Canon T1i
Eskuwela Now is a $150 “pop-up” classroom in a shoebox that helps students and families transition back into their school routines after a disaster. The portable, low-cost package allows teachers to create makeshift classrooms by projecting an interactive whiteboard onto any surface. Traditional smartboard solutions cost well over $1500.
Researchers have found that natural disasters delay school enrollment by over 6 months on average, and in many cases result in the complete termination of schooling altogether, especially for females. Disasters are also correlated with malnutrition rates, PTSD rates, and stunted physical growth. At less than a tenth of the price of high-tech solutions, Eskuwela Now delivers education to the areas hit hardest by disasters.
The Eskuwela Now shoebox classroom can be created entirely from open-source code and available consumer electronics, requiring no custom items to assemble. The four main components are a Wii remote, a projector, an infrared pen, and a single-board computer or microcontroller (e.g. Raspberry Pi, Arduino).
Eskuwela Now was originally developed at NextDayBetter's Typhoon Haiyan Relief Hackathon in November 2013 as a SMS platform for teachers to coordinate pop-up schools in the wake of disasters. The shoebox classroom model was developed at The Feast's 2014 hackathon.