New XPrize Focuses on Technology for Literacy, Numeracy and Learning

September 22, 2014

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September 22, 2014 – A few weeks ago Peter Diamandis’ XPrize sent me an email asking if I was interested in applying to be an XPrize Vanguard. Being a big believer in the concept of awarding prizes to solve technology challenges, I said yes and filled in an application. I was contacted a few days later and told to attend an online web conference call on September 14th. I did and learned about the Global Learning XPrize, a $15 million challenge to take a child from illiteracy to literacy and numeracy through software running on a tablet computer.

The formal announcement of the $15 million prize came today in conjunction with the launch of a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Diamandis expects hundreds if not thousands of teams to go after the prize. From their submissions 5 finalists will be chosen by a distinguished panel of judges. And those finalists will each receive $1 million and will have their software put to the test with 3-4,000 children in a yet to be disclosed location. The rumor is somewhere in East Africa.

The software created must be open source. It must be scalable. It must operate on a tablet computer both in the cloud and standalone. The child should be able to use it alone without a teacher present. At the end of 18 months the child should have learned basic reading, writing and arithmetic.

Why without a teacher? Because there are approximately 250 million children in the world today who do not have access to trained teachers and who suffer from illiteracy. UNESCO, the United Nations agency, estimates a teacher shortage in the Developing World that is approaching 1.6 million and is expected to double by 2030. In addition there is a lack of bricks and mortar schools and many children make long commutes from home to the classroom where schools exist. And many others never get to their schools because they spend hours fetching water or firewood for cooking fuel. So for them self-learning is essential.

The formal announcement of the $15 million prize came today in conjunction with the launch of a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. With the prize money already raised why the crowdfunding to raise $500,000? Because XPrize wants to expand its reach finding more testing sites and building a global community available to support and collaborate with the teams in the competition. Teams will be encouraged to collaborate in the hope that collective wisdom will lead to more innovative use of the technology. A pledge of $100 gives you early access to the software of one of the five finalists. A pledge of $1,000 gives you a 20-copy school package which can be tested by your local school. And with $10,000 you can sponsor a village of children, funding the solar powered generators to recharge the tablets, and the travel by those who will test the technology on site.

So what is my role as a Vanguard? To provide feedback and to reach out to readers like you to let you know about this extraordinary effort to bring literacy to a quarter billion kids. Because with the combination of literacy, numeracy and access to technology, children can develop the life skills they need to help raise themselves from perpetual poverty. They can become continuous learners, global contributors, and help not only themselves but the next generation to achieve even greater things. Unleashing hundreds of millions of young minds can change the world forever.