The Worldwide Illiteracy Issue

• Four out of ten adults in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa cannot read or write. (Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

• UNESCO predicts that by 2015, more than 70 countries will not provide free schooling of acceptable quality for all children of primary school age.

Understanding the Issue• Despite the fact that illiteracy is one of the most important

global issues today, there are a lack of tools that promote knowledge sharing among those most impacted:– The majority of relief efforts focus on handouts, which

are not self-sustaining.– Inherent challenges associated with distribution of

materials in rural areas and ineffective content for each different region.

– No clear roadmap exists for successfully tackling the illiteracy issue; people in rural areas are willing to learn and want the tools to do so now.

Literacy Bridge

• Literacy Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which seeks to empower children and adults with affordable tools for knowledge sharing and literacy learning towards the advancement of education, health, economic development, democracy and human rights.

• Literacy Bridge strives to transform the way people create, learn and share locally relevant knowledge through the Talking Book Device and the Talking Book System.

The Talking Book Device

• Low cost digital audio player and recorder for children and adults in the developing world.

• Enables efficient knowledge sharing and promotes literacy learning.

• Local organizations assist in developing and distributing spoken audio content.

• Learners can store and play multiple audio programs and record new audio for communal sharing.

The Talking Book System

• Localized content continuously delivered by local organizations

• Learners create new recordings

• Learners control speed of playback

• Tailored for individual and group learning

• Time-based or content-based navigation

• Learners share audio with others through device-to-device copying

• Local kiosks serve as the backbone of a digital content distribution network

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The Talking Book System

• Customizable content– Preloaded content is produced locally.– Literacy Bridge has partnered with governments, local nonprofits,

community development organizations and schools/universities to have specific topics recorded that provide maximum benefit.

• Localized content distribution– Device-to-device copy allows users to freely and easily exchange content

with other users and record additional content for playback or sharing with friends and family.

– Allows learners to record both simple and segmented recordings.

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The Talking Book System

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• Playback pace– People learn at different rates; the Talking Book Device plays audio at

variable speeds with constant pitch.

• Audio options– Earphones are provided for individual learning; a built-in speaker allows for

group learning.

• Content navigation– Learners can easily skip time intervals, topics, chapters or individual words.

Content-programmable buttons allow for multiple choice tests. – Audio hyperlinks give users the option to learn more about a specific

reference, e.g. vocabulary definition or topic footnote.

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The Talking Book System

• Information sharing– Devices share information with devices or kiosks via USB; village

kiosks serve as centralized content distribution centers.

• Kiosks and Content Distribution– Kiosks allow content to be locally distributed to both individuals and

other kiosks in the region. – Kiosk operators can run profitable battery charging businesses,

encouraging proliferation of kiosks.

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Pilot Program: Ghana• Ghana has a 58% adult literacy rate and significant rural

poverty. Yet, economy, infrastructure, government and tertiary educational institutions are among the most encouraging in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Literacy Bridge is targeting Ghana as the first country to introduce the Talking Book System based on its need and supporting resources.

• Pilot Program launch: January 2009

Roadmap

• 2007July-Sep:Initial research and data collection in Ghana.Sept: Literacy Bridge formed as a nonprofit organization.Oct-Dec: Requirements, scenarios, and specifications

• 2008Jan: The Talking Book System project development kickoffJan-Mar: Initial Talking Book Device prototype createdApr: Feedback on prototype during follow-up research in GhanaMay-Sep:Talking Book Device revised based on feedback

• Upcoming Milestones:Oct-Dec: Fabrication/production of 100 pilot devices.Jan 2009:Pilot program launch in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

SUPPORTING MATERIALS

Talking Book Device Features• Store and play multiple audio programs.• Record new audio.• Copy audio content to/from each device.• Play back audio at slow speeds for reading practice.• Audio-hyperlink to different portions of the program.• Answer multiple-choice questions, enabling interactive learning.• Direct audio to an earphone or an internal speaker.• Accepts power from standard, locally available batteries and also accepts

new batteries that can be recharged with solar power at local kiosks.