World’s First Satellite-Powered Tablet To Use Newtec Technology For E-Learning
Solution uses Newtec’s multicast software platform for the reliable distribution of files, directory structures and data streams to thousands of tablets via satellite
WESTERN CAPE, South Africa, and SINT-NIKLAAS, Belgium, 14 November 2014. Satellite solution provider Yazmi today announced a new e-learning scheme using the first satellite-enabled tablet, called Odyssey™, and Newtec’s multicast technology to deliver content via satellite to rural, remote and low income regions in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The end-to-end content delivery system aims to improve performance outcomes for students and teachers in areas where there is weak computing and Internet infrastructure. The first pilots of the technology are taking place in India (with 30,000 licenses) and the sub-Saharan region in Africa, with the latest trials in two schools in South Africa, in Rietkol, in Mpumalanga Province, and at Heathfield, in Western Cape.
In Western Cape, tablets have been deployed for the pilot, which started in October during the fourth term of the current academic year and will continue until December. Each student in Grade 6 has received an Odyssey 700 tablet and can now access live lectures, as well as supplementary material, via classroom servers installed at each school using the WLAN interface. Solar chargers have also been provided.
“We believe satellite is the perfect candidate for e-learning connectivity,” said Noah Samara, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yazmi. “With our system in place the possibilities are endless – lectures can be live streamed from any location, teacher training courses can be offered and having a connected device for multimedia consumption allows teachers and students to access and store high quality educational content. Empowered with Newtec’s multicast gear it is quite unique in the market.“
Yazmi’s solution utilizes the AfriStar and AsiaStar data multicasting satellites and the world’s first truly satellite-enabled tablet to provide Governments with access to a special e-learning channel. Approved educational content can then be transmitted to all tablet users via one single transmission thanks to TelliCast, Newtec’s multicast distribution software platform.
As well as transmitting live lectures from a remote teacher, Odyssey also enables the sharing of digital textbooks and notebooks, educational apps, preparatory materials and other files. Teachers can also use the tablet to access live training modules, helping them to be better prepared and more confident in the classroom.
“We are proud to be a part of this very important scheme which has the potential to create sustainable economic growth through a more educated and healthier community,” said Newtec’s CEO Serge Van Herck. “Our technology ensures the content required for students and teachers is delivered in a reliable, secure and controlled manner.”
Newtec’s TelliCast, which enables the reliable distribution of files, directory structures and data streams, consists of a server package combined with a set of software clients that can be installed on computers or embedded into a variety of receiver devices. For Yazmi, the result is a multicast allowing educational content to be distributed to a large number of recipients with only one single transmission.
About Newtec
Newtec, www.newtec.eu, is specialized in designing, developing and manufacturing equipment and technologies for satellite communications. As a pioneer in the industry, Newtec is dedicated to creating new possibilities for the broadcast, IP trunking and backhauling, consumer and enterprise VSAT and government and defense markets. Our products and technologies can be applied in a wide range of applications from DTH broadcasting, video contribution and distribution and disaster recovery and backbones for backhauling, to small and medium enterprises, SCADA networks, manned and unmanned aircrafts, border control and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR).
For over 29 years, our dedicated team of specialists has set industry standards with the most efficient, scalable and economical technology solutions. New challenges and customer needs offer opportunities to explore new boundaries. This empowers us to work even harder, helping customers to perform their best so that, together, we can make the world a safer, more informed and connected place. As a result, more than 3 billion people watch TV every day thanks to Newtec technology.
Newtec is a European company founded in 1985. Through commercial offices in Sint-Niklaas (Belgium), Dubai (UAE), Singapore, Beijing (China), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Stamford, CT (USA) as well as an extensive network of over 90 certified partners, Newtec can meet customer’s needs worldwide.
About Yazmi
Yazmi, www.yazmi.com, provides a unique and highly cost-effective learning technology infrastructure for rural, remote, and underprivileged areas in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Yazmi’s solution is offered to Government education ministries, as well as private school operators and can also be an effective solution for health service, disaster risk reduction and emergency response applications.
The Yazmi service is the world’s first satellite-to-tablet content delivery system. Combining the Yazmi satellite data multicasting network and satellite-enabled Odyssey™ tablet computers, the Yazmi service can wirelessly broadcast educational and other approved content to end users at up to broadband speeds. The Yazmi service is massively scalable and requires no fixed infrastructure for users other than small classroom server PCs that sync, backup and oversee tablet management while students are in class.
Yazmi’s satellites cover more than five billion people in over 120 countries. Deployment of the Yazmi service can ensure that all students – regardless of location, school infrastructure or access to Internet service – are able to receive high-quality educational materials on a regular basis and an advanced tablet computer on which to use them.
Governments and corporate customers can rely on the Yazmi service to ensure that any student or teacher – even those in remote areas, out of school, or without access to electricity or the Internet – can obtain advanced learning tools, official curriculum materials and structured classroom teaching to improve their educational outcomes.
Yazmi FAQ
For questions around the company, its Odyssey™ tablet, the used satellite service, server, solar-powered charging station as well as the pricing, Yazmi has created an extensive FAQ document downloadable via www.yazmi.com/downloads/Yazmi-FAQ-(YAZFAQ-2014A).pdf
