Tabluter: Education on wheels

While serving rural communities many factors, such as those related to customs and traditions are obstacles to reaching the target beneficiaries. These factors are especially affecting females and their access to ICT outlets in conservative societies across Egypt, and many other regions in the world. To overcome such obstacles, innovative solutions are needed. Among these solutions is one that has been adopted by Egypt ICT Trust Fund in Siwa. Not only is this idea innovative, but it is also rooted in our own culture. This is the “Tabluter”.

The Tabluter is a traditional wooden table known in Egypt as the Tablya with a customized embedded computer. The Tablya is a circular low dining table used with traditional floor seating. The embedded computer is a single CPU that runs four screens for four different independent users. Each user is equipped with his/he own keyboard, mouse and sound card. This Tabluter gives communities, especially females a unique chance to access ICT within community traditions to cross the digital divide and help in the eradication of illiteracy.

In general the Tabluter is situated in a regular home where IT classes and illiteracy eradication classes are being held using the IE CD. The course consists of eight women between the age of 19 and 50. Four of them are illiterate and the remaining ones operate as facilitator and instructors for the rest of the group. After the completion of the course after three months, the attendees have to undertake an exam.

The courses which are currently held every day are spilt into two sections. During the first section which lasts two hours, the women are advised to complete the content of the illiteracy eradication CD. During the last hour the facilitators familiarize the women with the use of the internet and other tools related to ICT.

The women are all very excited and the only thing they complain about is the short amount of training time. This is a very good indicator that shows that the Tabluter is not only unique itself, but it also portrays an effective tool for women in rather isolated areas in further educating themselves with the help of ICT.

Special Features of the Tabluter :

• A community driven idea that is native to Egypt and a local traditional seating
• Beneficiaries do not feel that they are students in a classroom rather are in a more inviting and relaxing environment
• Designed to grant high mobility in the transportation of the Tabluter
• This model only costs the price of a single laptop, and gives the same functionality and performance