What if giving local children access to quality education were as simple as delivering a tech-equipped shipping container with solar-powered internet? Thanks to a new project by Samsung, that’s a reality – even in remote places with no electricity. Samsung Africa launched a Solar Powered Internet School in a shipping crate that brings cutting-edge technology, including solar-powered netbook computers, to rural South Africa.
The mobile school can be transported across long distances to places where energy is scarce and weather conditions are harsh. It accommodates 21 students and includes insulation and ventilation to keep it comfortable inside. The crate is topped with durable rubber fold-away solar panels that power the classroom’s equipment for up to nine hours a day, and for one and a half days without sunlight. The panels are made of rubber rather than glass to resist damage.
Inside the shipping container school is a 50″ electronic e-board (a high-tech chalkboard alternative), various Samsung notebooks and netbooks, a file server, router, video camera and wi-fi camera with 3G connectivity. The cameras allow a central location (like the Department of Education) to monitor the class and deliver learning materials to the educators.
In fact, teachers can get the complete South African grade 0-12 school curriculum from the file server, ensuring that they can provide education for all of the kids in that particular area, no matter what grade they’re in. The classroom is currently traveling around South Africa, and Samsung plans to build additional models in the future.

