This story was updated on April 11 to include details and quotes from those involved in the test.
The DRM Consortium says it successfully transmitted school lessons from the Encompass Media Services Woofferton transmitting station in the U.K. to students in The Gambia, West Africa, using DRM shortwave radio.
On April 8, a group of 15-year-old students at St Joseph’s Senior Secondary School in Banjul, the capital, accessed audio and text-based lessons via DRM shortwave. The content was received using DRM-capable radios that generate a local Wi-Fi signal, allowing the students to access the material on tablets.
According to the Consortium, this DRM e-Learning initiative was the first demonstration of its kind. The goal was to show how educational content can be delivered to learners without needing IP connectivity or internet access using DRM radios that function as Wi-Fi hotspots.
The tablets used for this e-learning demonstration were donated to the school in Banjul as part of the commitment to supporting continued learning and access to technology by the DRM Consortium and the key members who supported the demonstration: Encompass Digital Media, Fraunhofer IIS, Starwaves, TDF and other DRM members.
Creating a model to empower students
The demonstration was supported by Paul Firth and the Encompass technicians involved in the U.K. transmission, and in Banjul by DRM Technical Committee Chairman Johannes von Weyssenhoff, DRM Education Project Manager Janette Daramy, Fraunhofer IIS technology specialists Guido Leisker and Steve Palmer, St. Joseph’s school principal Hannah Coker and teacher Mohammed Zakaria, plus QTV and a local TV station, Radio Veritas. The DRM Consortium thanked the many more whose behind-the-scenes contributions it said were just as valuable.
Coker said, “I am happy we could be the first school in the world to show how technology can empower our students and offer education at a distance when the internet or even electricity is not available. We have created the model for so many communities in Africa and the world.”
Weyssenhoff said, “To see in practice, in a West African country, how content was delivered to learners via tablets connected to available DRM radios that opened a Wi-Fi hotspot — providing access without the need for internet, was not only a clear demonstration of the power of digital radio but also very emotional. The DRM e-learning project resulted from commitment, hard work and absolute belief in the many benefits that the flexible and versatile DRM standard can bring to all wherever they are.”
DRM Chairman Ruxandra Obreja added, “This momentous demonstration showcased the power of innovation in education. It proved how education, training and information can reach everyone as digital radio DRM can deliver education transforming and uplifting communities.”
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