Thread: First tablet PCs going out to kids soon

Originally Posted by LooseBowels

So who is paying the Chinese firm Schenzen scope off then to introduce these deal breakers, at this point in procedings.

Obviously someone at the top, with lots and lots of ill gained assetts eh, very afraid of educating the poor isssaan peasant kids eh?

You can't argue with that

Something in it for Thaksin,then??

Well as anticipated here is the big announcement we have all been waiting for.

The Education Ministry is now preparing for what could be called Plan B - to hand out textbooks to Prathom 1 students, because it has become apparent computer tablets will not reach their hands for the coming semester.

A new term starts next month for school students across the country, but the government and its chosen Chinese supplier have failed to conclude a purchase contract.
Initially, the government planned to implement its much-publicised One Tablet Per Child (OTPC) scheme by handing close to one million tablets to all Prathom 1 students at the start of the upcoming semester.
"But we have a Plan B. We will rush to ensure that textbooks reach the students' hands before the new semester begins," Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvej said yesterday.
He said his ministry had a budget for textbook procurement.
It would also have to seek funds for the procurement of tablets for 500 selected teachers, scheduled to attend intensive training on the use of tablets so they can serve as trainers for other teachers.
Suchart said if a purchase contract was signed, the Chinese supplier would have to swiftly deliver 2,000 tablets to Thailand initially, as the devices would be needed for use in training.
"These 2,000 tablets are unlikely to reach Thailand in time, either," Suchart said.
In a related development, Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) president Asst Prof Dr Chalermchai Boonyaleepan said that a study on the use of tablets for learning in class would be concluded soon.
The Education Ministry had assigned the university to do this research.
Chalermchai said the findings would be done by yesterday(April 23), but the team would take some time to interpret the findings, which have shown both benefits and disadvantages of using tablets.
"We will release the findings in easy-to-understand language to the public in early May," Chalermchai said.

Originally Posted by aging one

Initially, the government planned to implement its much-publicised One Tablet Per Child (OTPC) scheme

Actually it was a 'program', a 'project', a 'plan'.........not a 'scheme' That is propaganda speak in this instance.

It is good to see the Government doing 'due diligence' in their relationships with this Chinese supplier.

Originally Posted by Calgary

Actually it was a 'program', a 'project', a 'plan'.........not a 'scheme'

it was a turd - a steaming stinking one

Originally Posted by baldrick

it was a turd - a steaming stinking one

Indeed it was. But put a red dress on it and stick a picture of Yingyuck on it and Calgary would happily sleep with it.

'He said his ministry had a budget for textbook procurement'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'It would also have to seek funds for the procurement of tablets for 500 selected teachers'


Thought they had a budget for a million units!!

Good job they weren't ipads...........ipads have 'facetime'

Tablets 'could take nearly 3 years' - The Nation

Tablets 'could take nearly 3 years'

CHULARAT SAENGPASSA
WANNAPA KHAOPA
SAOWANEE NIMPANPAYUNGWONG
THE NATION April 25, 2012 1:00 am


Chinese firm Shenzhen Scope says manufacturing capacity is 1,000 devices per day, not 20,000

Thai students will likely have to wait longer than expected for their promised computer tablets, as the China-based provider can only produce around 1,000 per day, not 20,000 as it told Thai authorities previously, a source at the Education Ministry told The Nation yesterday.

Despite the expected delivery delay, training in use of the tablets by educational personnel, who will in turn act as trainers of educational supervisors, began yesterday in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, Srinakharinwirot University said it would release in early May the findings of a study on the benefits and disadvantages of using tablets in schools.

The source said the supplier, Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development, could produce 20,000 tablet chassis per day, but could only produce 1,000 completed units daily.

The Cabinet recently approved the purchase of 1 million tablet computers for elementary students - up from an initial 900,000. If the company has the capacity to produce only about 1,000 tablets a day, it will take up to 1,000 days - or two years and nine months - to finish manufacturing 1 million tablets.

Initially, the government planned to hand out the tablets to all Prathom 1 students at the start of the upcoming semester.

The source said the purchase contract had yet to be signed, as the company had backtracked on a previously agreed two-year warranty on its products because it claimed the battery could not last that long. It wanted to reduce the warranty of the battery to one year, while retaining a two-year warranty for the other parts.

One hundred personnel from the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec), Office of the Private Education Commission and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration began training at the Maxx Hotel Bangkok yesterday. The session ends Friday. They will train 549 educational supervisors from all provinces to instruct 54,900 Prathom 1 (Grade 1) teachers during the summer vacation. The tutorials will enable the teachers to instruct their pupils in using the tablets, said Anek Ratpiyapaporn, director of the Bureau of Technology for Teaching and Learning at Obec.

"As the company cannot produce the tablets ordered by the government now, we are using tablets of other brands that are normally used in Thailand. We use projectors to show them how to use the tablets. Over four days of training, they have to learn what tablets can do, how to use them, what content, applications and instructional media will be installed in them, and how to use tablets with the Internet, as well as computer law and ethics," Anek said.

"We cannot wait until the tablets from China arrive. Our supervisors and teachers have to be prepared. So, whenever the tablets come, they will be able to use them to teach in class. When the tablets arrive, we will retrain the 100 trainers in how to use tablets with the same specifications as those that will be distributed to students," he said.

After the 100 trainers are trained, they will be divided into five groups to train supervisors in different regions of the country. Later, each supervisor will train 100 Prathom 1 teachers. Around Bt200 million has been allocated for the training, Anek said.

Earlier, the bureau invested Bt300 million in creating 2,549 learning objects for elementary and secondary levels to be used with computers and tablets. Of those, 336 are for Prathom 1.

Anek said tablet use would increase schools' expenditures as it would increase electric bills.

Charging a tablet's battery consumed the same amount of electricity as running a light, he said.

soon

I still think the tablet PC's will be issued out long before old murdress live fire zone abisit sees the inside of a jail cell for his proxy crimes

You can't argue with that

I see little sense in there being a monopoly supplier for these tablets- surely they should have at least two manufacturers. Otherwise, it certainly makes sense to start off by supplying the trainers with tablets, who in turn train the teachers. Whether this initiative turns out to be a dud, or a valuable teaching aid, is entirely in the application.

Grade 1 students can't keep a pencil or a ruler on their desk for 2 mins without knocking it off.
Will the schools have a repair shop?

This is getting to be either funnier and funnier or sadder and sadder. Quite indicative of the state of affairs in education here now. Just get the new upgraded version of this. I used it as a child.

Originally Posted by sabang

is entirely in the application.

well , the money has been spent

invested Bt300 million in creating 2,549 learning objects

have to wonder if the "learning objects" were created for ARM and to save costs the shenzen mob will use Loongson MIPS

I have to say that over the last month or so I have lost a lot of the visibility of the tablet project I had, in the office concerned there's been a bit of a purge of those who have a habit of asking questions or a liking for doing things right. Its a bit a of a shame really, as I was working with some of these people, to put together a guide for teachers to the numerous projects and schemes the government funds to improve the schools, the institutions who run the projects often don't publicise their projects as underspends become general funds for their institution in the following year. Personally I would call this a scam, but I am sure they would simply call it following the rules.

As for the question about why they woulds have to weak funds for the 2000 training tablets when they have funding to buy the tablets for the schools. Its all down to how they allocate money in the thai government. the government budget as passed by parliament is very detailed, with a few exceptions you cannot change how allocated money is spent without asking someone for permission, the buro of the budget, the cabinet or parliament depending on the nature of the change.

The tablet project does seem to be decending into a bit of a mess which if nothing else demonstrates the need for due diligence when placing contracts of this size. Ealier someone found the alibaba entry for scope where they stated their turn over as under 50 million dollars, one third of the value of this contract. Obviously alibaba isn't exactly a source of reliable information, but its hard to imagine any company setting up an entry that made them look smaller then they really are; it was easy checking which should have set off alarm bells.

Given that it appears that their preferred supplier has mislead them and given the tight dead lines to meet the beginning of the school year would allow suppliers to negotiate very good terms for themselves, the logical source of action would be to terminate the process and start again, with the next school year in mind.

The fly in this is the politics, this was a flag ship policy of their campaign and one that did not conflict with the interests of any of the special interest groups within PT and the UDD. To restart the process is going to disappoint their voters and give the dems ammunition to attack them, on the other hand it could be used to promote a purge the current lineup of ministers and replace them with 'seasoned' politicians who become unbanned from politics this may, a relatively safe thing to do as I believe ministers don't actually need to be elected members of parliament... so no by-elections.



The idea of using 2 or better still three suppliers for the tablets is a good one. It reduces the required production rates per supplier and would give the government a wider choice of suppliers helping them get a better deal. It would also help in terms ensuring long term good behaviour from the suppliers as it would trivial for the government to termite a supplier and give the work to the remaining suppliers; with little impact to the project in thailand.

It is also apparent that they need a service contract rather than a warranty on these devices as the battery life expectancy is far short of the design life they want for the tablets.

Supplier told to sign or forfeit | Bangkok Post: news

Supplier told to sign or forfeit

• Published: 1/05/2012 at 01:49 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Chinese company chosen to supply 1 million tablet computers to the Thai government has been given a week to sign the contract or lose the deal.


Jirawan: Terms cannot be revised

The ultimatum follows six weeks of delays to the signing of the deal. The devices are to be given to Thai school children as promised in the Pheu Thai Party's election campaign last year.

The Information and Communication Technology Ministry told Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development yesterday to sign the 2.4-billion-baht contract in seven days or forfeit.

"We will be back at square one if Scope fails to sign the sales and delivery contract," ICT permanent secretary Jirawan Boonperm said.

"The ICT Ministry will either call a new bidding contest or allow the first runner-up, TCL Corporation, to take over."

The cabinet in February approved the purchase of 1 million tablets from Scope at US$81 each.

Under the agreement, Scope is required to deliver the first batch of 400,000 tablets within 60 days after the signing of an agreement. The remaining 600,000 tablets will be delivered 30 days later.

But Scope recently said it had a production capacity to make only 1,000 tablets a day, which contradicted its initial claim of being able to produce 24,000 units a day.

The company has also failed to post a deposit worth 5% of the total purchase value of 2.4 billion baht as a delivery guarantee, a source at the Office of Basic Education Commission said.

The source said Scope also asked the Thai government to reduce the guarantee from two years to one year and the number of service centres from 30 to 12.

Ms Jirawan, who is responsible for the tablet signing agreement, said the government has insisted that it could not revise any of the terms of the deal as to do so may violate the state's procurement regulations. Any changes would also be unfair to the other three competitors _ TCL, Haier and Huawei.Education Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech said the problem with Scope would delay the distribution of the tablets to students by at least two months.

Tell scope to piss off, and get them on the international black list,

This is youngsters futures these pisspots are playing their games with.

Somebody, somewhere is shittin thersells.

You can't argue with that

Thailand buys Chinese tablet computers for schools
May 10, 2012

BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand on Thursday signed a multi-million dollar deal to buy hundreds of thousands of Chinese-made tablet computers for primary school children, an official statement said.

The ruling Puea Thai party, linked to former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, promised to issue free handheld computers to a million students as part of a raft of pledges that helped it to an election victory last year.

Other undertakings included a rise in the minimum wage and increased rice prices for farmers, and Puea Thai - led by Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra - has been accused by the opposition of populism.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) minister Anudit Nakornthap inked a contract with Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development Co Ltd, one of four companies 'suggested by the Chinese government'.

'The first batch of 400,000 tablets, costing US$32.8 million (S$41 million), will be delivered within 60 days,' he said in statement, adding that a repeat order would not exceed one million machines.

straitstimes.com

Originally Posted by Mid

Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development Co Ltd, one of four companies 'suggested by the Chinese government'.

words fail .....................

Originally Posted by LooseBowels

This is youngsters futures these pisspots are playing their games with.

Yes. This is bloody important.

ICT signs $32m tablet PC contract | Bangkok Post: tech

ICT signs $32m tablet PC contract

• Published: 10/05/2012 at 02:46 PM
• Online news: Gadget

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology signed a US$32.8 million contract with a Chinese tablet computer supplier on Friday.

ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap said the first consignment of 400,000 tablets manufactured by Shenzhen Scope Scientific Development Co Ltd will be delivered to Thailand within 60 days and there would be a repeat order of a maximum one million units.

The tablets come with a 1.2 GHz single core CPU, 1GB RAM, a 3,600mAh lithium-polymer battery and a two-year warranty.

They will be distributed to all Prathom 1 (Grade 1) primary students under the Pheu Thai-led government's One Tablet PC Per Child scheme, aimed at promoting a knowledge-based and network-connected society.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for the content to be installed in the devices.

Tablet PCs for students plan 'needs modifying' | Bangkok Post: news

Tablet PCs for students plan 'needs modifying'

Prathom 4 kids benefit more than first-graders

• Published: 12/05/2012 at 03:12 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The government's tablet computer distribution plan benefits students and has no obvious negative impacts, but should be targeting Prathom 4 (Grade 4) students rather than Prathom 1, says an official study.

"Preliminarily, the study finds no obvious negative impacts on students," said Chalermchai Boonyaleepun, president of Srinakharinwirot University which conducted the study.

The analysis found that students benefited in the areas of technological skills and creative thinking.

"They are more happy, enthusiastic and interested in learning. They also have an opportunity to learn to take care of valuable things like tablet computers," Mr Chalermchai said.

Prathom 4 students were learning via tablets faster and better than the younger grade, the study found.

"So, it is more worthwhile to give the tablets to Prathom 4 students, not Prathom 1," said Mr Chalermchai.

The only impact the tablets had on the development of Prathom 1 students was boost the amount of revision they did of their lessons, he said.

The study found that tablet use had no impact on illness, free-time activities, junk food consumption, muscle development, concentration levels and sleeping hours for both grades of students.

It did find that students suffered from eye strain, irritation and teary eyes.

"Still, we cannot yet conclude that those symptoms are results of tablet computer use," Mr Chalermchai said.

The study on the potential impact of tablet devices on young users was launched by the Office of the Basic Eduction Commission under former education minister Woravat Auapinyakul.

Around 500 Prathom 1 and Prathom 4 students in five pilot schools were given Lenovo-brand tablets to use from January to March.

The schools were Rachawinit School and Srinakharinwirot University Prasarnmit Demonstration School in Bangkok, Anuban Lampang School in Lampang, Anuban Phangnga School in Phangnga and Sanambin School in Khon Kaen.

Students were not allowed to take their tablet PCs home.

Teachers were found to have some difficulties handling classes where students were learning using tablets.

In some cases, students taught teachers how to use certain applications, which might have the negative psychological impact of students losing respect for their teachers, Mr Chalermchai said.

Most teachers still need technical assistance in order to use the tablets when teaching.

Therefore, at least one technical staffer must be stationed at every school, especially small ones, he said.

Talks with teachers, executives, parents and communities revealed they thought students should not be allowed to take the devices home as they might then use them to access inappropriate online content.

Parents said the government should organise training for them on how to use tablets, and that an adequate national internet infrastructure needed to be put in place before widespread tablet distribution.

"I do not know if the government will use this study to amend its tablet policy or not. But a government decision to spend a lot of taxpayers' money, affecting several million people, should not be based on a feeling or opinion," said Mr Chalermchai.

"I would like to see government decision-making, when it comes to public policies, being based on academic data," he added.

ICT & Education Ministers Defend School Tablet PCs Project : National News Bureau of Thailand


ICT & Education Ministers Defend School Tablet PCs Project

BANGKOK, 12 May 2012 (NNT) – The Education and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministers used the weekly government talk show on Saturday to emphasize the need for tablet PC usage among elementary school students amidst concerns of misuse from parents.

Education Minister Suchart Tadathamrongvech explained that the tablet computers had actually been applied to teaching in several developed countries. He stressed that introduction of tablet PCs would lead to equal access to learning and information throughout the country.

The Minister also believes that the use of this new study material would spark eagerness for learning among children. However, he insisted that conventional forms of teaching including speaking, reading and writing skill were still necessary to students and would not be neglected. These skills will be included in tablet PCs in which schools and educators are able to adjust or develop the contents to suit their students.

Meanwhile, ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap confirmed all the teaching contents in the tablet computers had been carefully selected for students. He added that there was no need for parents to worry about misuse because the tablet computers contained Global Positioning System (GPS) to trace users’ contents and their whereabouts. He is also positive that the use of government-issued tablet PCs would help lead to creation of constructive online social network in the future.

Looks like the introduction of the tablet PC's is going a treat.

What a top rate policy, credit to the Yingluk lead coalition for getting the policy out there , despite all the garbage from the PAD yellow nutter supporters, and on here.

The PT lead democratically elected coalition government educates the youth of the country, the PAD yellow nutter coupist installed proxy government assassinated them in the streets.

You can't argue with that

^ tick... Tick... Tick... BOOM!!!!

What the fuck was that Somchai?

Oh just another failed government policy. Nothing to worry about.