Second Shipment Of 730,000 Tablet Computers Arrive In Thailand

[webfact]

POLITICS

Computer tablets get good

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- A second consignment of 730,000 tablet computers has been delivered to Thailand and will be distributed to schools pending random inspection of specifications by the Information and Communications Technology Ministry.

Starting next week - if the whole lot passes inspection - the tablets will be distributed to schools in Chon Buri, Chainat, Chaiyaphum, Chumphon, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Trang, Tak, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom and Nakhon Ratchasima. The order of distribution was arranged by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), said secretary-general Chinnaphat Phoomirat. The remaining 3,427 units in OBEC custody from the first consignment of 55,000 received by first graders on July 19, will be distributed to all specified provinces.

Under the rules of the inspection, Chinnaphat said 500 units would be selected randomly from every 35,000 units, and only seven units were allowed to fail the test for the 35,000-unit lot to pass.

He said school reports showed students given the tablets were becoming increasingly familiar with them, making their learning fun and enjoyable. An OBEC seminar will be held soon in Kanchanaburi to evaluate the use of the tablets and students' performances afterwards.

Citing reports from Bangkok-based schools, Chinnaphat said students given the tablets had shown good concentration in their lessons and schoolwork - especially in English, science and math - considered the most difficult subjects.

A senior education official in Kanchanaburi, Jamnong Yordkham, said only two units out of 2,288 distributed locally did not work after their batteries failed to recharge.

He said the broken units had not been sent to the manufacturer for repair, because the company had no offices in the province.

Another official in Kamphaeng Phet, Somwut Sriamphai, said he did not know if there was a local office of the manufacturer in his province.

-- The Nation 2012-07-25

[whybother]

All of them ... Already?

Edited July 30, 2012 by Maestro
Deleted nonsensical part of post.

[saltandpepper]

All of them ... Already?

Yes, including bugs.

[chotthee]

I'm sure the Chinese hide some fake RAMS in it, just like those cheap Pantip thumb drives.

[thaicbr]

I notice in that picture they have at least 4 members of staff for 1 class.

And there was me thinking Thailand had a teacher shortage .

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[saltandpepper]

I notice in that picture they have at least 4 members of staff for 1 class.

And there was me thinking Thailand had a teacher shortage .

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

Photo op, my dear!

[johna]

Ist graders are 6 years old?

none odf the kids at the local government scchool can read at that age.

Edited July 28, 2012 by metisdead
: Bold font removed.

[thaicbr]

I notice in that picture they have at least 4 members of staff for 1 class.

And there was me thinking Thailand had a teacher shortage .

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

Photo op, my dear!

Nah. Photo op they stand behind a group of smiling kids. This one they look like they are running around sorting things out (which is good )

I wonder what school it is. Would be nice if the journalists gave some more background info.

like do the kids take them home?

Pictures of infrastructure like charging bays etc.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

Edited July 25, 2012 by thaicbr

[rubl]

Under the rules of the inspection, Chinnaphat said 500 units would be selected randomly from every 35,000 units, and only seven units were allowed to fail the test for the 35,000-unit lot to pass.

A senior education official in Kanchanaburi, Jamnong Yordkham, said only two units out of 2,288 distributed locally did not work after their batteries failed to recharge.

It used to be 7 out of 500 picked from 50,000. Good to see the thumbscrews have been put on. Mind you the 2 out of 2288 suggest tests may need to be adjusted a wee bit.

I'm pleasantly surprised close to 800,000 units have arrived already. Wasn't 18th of August a deadline? Amazing China.

Of course with (alomst) all tabletPCs for P1 kids having arrived the 2000+ schools without electricity become a bit of a bother. No Internet access I see as only minor issue with programs already downloaded unto the tablets

[thaicbr]

Now most of them are here they can concentrate on content and curriculum. Go MOE.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[jaltsc]

I notice in that picture they have at least 4 members of staff for 1 class.

And there was me thinking Thailand had a teacher shortage .

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

Photo op, my dear!

Nah. Photo op they stand behind a group of smiling kids. This one they look like they are running around sorting things out (which is good )

I wonder what school it is. Would be nice if the journalists gave some more background info.

like do the kids take them home?

Pictures of infrastructure like charging bays etc.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

Actually, if it were a photo op, the smiling kids would be holding certificates which state that they are smart. Then after the photo is taken, they all ask the teacher to read what is written on the certificates.

[chotthee]

Ist graders are 6 years old?

none odf the kids at the local government scchool can read at that age.

That's exactly why learning aid is most needed.

[thaicbr]

Ist graders are 6 years old?

none odf the kids at the local government scchool can read at that age.

Of course they can read. Doh.

The MOE says they can read Thai. English and Chinese.

Oh wait that's at chottee's kids school.

But most if not all Thai P1's can read and write. Although their vocabulary will be limited.

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[rubl]

The Motto of Our School:

Those how can draw, can write

Precisely!

[animatic]

...will be distributed to all specified provinces...

I'll bet none arrive in Suthep's Province....

[garrya]

Well, something has been delivered on their promise, at long last. The only little problem is the picked end users. They are too young to effectively use it.

[slapout]

Well, something has been delivered on their promise, at long last. The only little problem is the picked end users. They are too young to effectively use it.

Other than the age those doing the ordering, accounting, quality control etc are probably at the same level in its use as the end users.

[saltandpepper]

Well, something has been delivered on their promise, at long last. The only little problem is the picked end users. They are too young to effectively use it.

Other than the age those doing the ordering, accounting, quality control etc are probably at the same level in its use as the end users.

Wait for the first glitches, breakdown, mishandling to happen, and see what the replacement policy will be!

[Ferangled]

Under the rules of the inspection, Chinnaphat said 500 units would be selected randomly from every 35,000 units, and only seven units were allowed to fail the test for the 35,000-unit lot to pass.

A senior education official in Kanchanaburi, Jamnong Yordkham, said only two units out of 2,288 distributed locally did not work after their batteries failed to recharge.

It used to be 7 out of 500 picked from 50,000. Good to see the thumbscrews have been put on. Mind you the 2 out of 2288 suggest tests may need to be adjusted a wee bit.

I'm pleasantly surprised close to 800,000 units have arrived already. Wasn't 18th of August a deadline? Amazing China.

Of course with (alomst) all tabletPCs for P1 kids having arrived the 2000+ schools without electricity become a bit of a bother. No Internet access I see as only minor issue with programs already downloaded unto the tablets

2 out of 2288 equates to 0.04% failure rate. I'm interested as to what you would consider an acceptable failure rate?

As for 2000+ schools without electricity, do you have any source to quote to substantiate this figure? Do you even know whether any schools without electricity are going to be issued tablets?

The only reference I can find to this are other unsubstantiated posts on TV... by you, funnily enough! One of which you quote a Nation article which specifically states that schools without electricity will not receive tablets. This figure of 2,000+ has been used in Nation articles but noticeably no source is quoted to substantiate these figures... how old a source did this figure originally come from the 1950s...?!

It's clear that much of the rural North of Thailand has been deliberately marginalised and ignored for centuries; I find it quite ridiculous that somehow the current Government are expected to either magically solve the issues created by previous administrations and instantly modernise and improve vast swathes of infrastructure or deliberately take focus off improving the vast majority of schools that do have electricity and internet access, in favour of focusing on widespread improvements in the North which they would then be attacked on, for focusing on their own supporter base and not those in Bangkok and the South... it's a vicious non-nonsensical circle.

As it stands infrastructure and educational improvements have been taking place in the rural north, as those with any actual real world perspective and experience of these areas report. You can't expect these villages to go from rural isolation and poverty to bustling modern hubs of commerce overnight but improvements are happening and general standards of living are improving, just at a pace that is sustainable and realistic...

What I was not prepared for was poverty shock. Yes Pattaya was much as expected and more. Bangkok was a traffic nightmare. It was up country where I was in shock. My first trip to Thailand and within days I was in a small agricultural village near Udon Thani in the Northeast of Thailand. There was no TV. Probably a good idea as there was no electricity either. But it was the children that shocked me. They were well fed, Had a big broad Thai smile, but they had no shoes. They had no school bags. But that did not matter either. The nearest school was 20 kilometers away and the villagers couldn't afford the bus fare to send the kids to school.

The only means of transport, apart from a bicycle, was the mechanical buffalo. A two wheeled tractor that took the workers to the rice fields at dawn and carried them home again at dusk. Of course it was used in the rice paddies for ploughing and carrying the sheaves of rice back to the village for threshing. There was only one mechanical buffalo in the village and one threshing machine that serviced four or five villages.

Development has come quickly to this the poorest part of Thailand. I paid a visit to my first village last year. Electricity has arrived. Every house has a color TV and the mechanical buffalo has been replaced by a real agricultural tractor. There is only one tractor in the village. However now it seams every household can afford to feed it's own mechanical buffalo. Oh and the children still don't have any shoes. It doesn't matter they built a new school in the centre of the village. The kids sit there in the school, no shoes, big smiles on their brown faces as they play on the internet. Strange how things change.

Like it or not, the Government appears to be honouring this campaign promise. Was it the most constructive policy that could have been initiated? Perhaps not but it certainly worked in helping to get them elected and the fact that they are now delivering on their promise is a slap in the face to all the doubters. At the very least this helps focus on improving education in Thailand, as the use of these tablets will be closely scrutinized.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Ferangled

[Pseudolus]

"Computer tablets get good"

I think the Nation crew need a tablet.

The chinese obviously had them made already and were just still negotiating the brides they had to pay.

Edited July 28, 2012 by metisdead
: Bold removed.

[Buchholz]

A second consignment of 730,000 tablet computers has been delivered to Thailand and will be distributed to schools pending random inspection

All of them ... Already?

perhaps..... it's actually only 10% of what The Nation reported.

Extra 73,000 Tablet Computers To Be Distributed Across Schools In Thailand

BANGKOK, July 25 (Bernama) -- The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) will soon deliver 73,000 additional tablet computers to students in provincial areas after inspection by the Information and Communication Technology Ministry.

.....

oh heck, what's an extra "0"??

.

[Buchholz]

Like it or not, the Government appears to be honouring this campaign promise.

so far it seems they've honored around 1% of their promised 11,000,000 tablets. Only 99% more to go.

.

[Ferangled]

Like it or not, the Government appears to be honouring this campaign promise.

so far it seems they've honored around 1% of their promised 11,000,000 tablets. Only 99% more to go.

.

You do like to throw out totally random made up statistics don't you?! Care to back this up with some actual figures rather than just throwing a random % out based purely on your imagination?

Your previous post is highly misleading in that the Nation actually reported 730,000 tablets, as did numerous other sources, while your Malaysian source, Bernama reported 73,000. Do you have any evidence to suggest which figure is correct or are you just cherry picking what suits your post best?

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Second-shipment-of-730000-tablet-computers-arrive-30186897.html

http://news.thaivisual.com/second-shipment-of-730000-tablet-computers-arrive/

[LivinLOS]

Did they ever say what the unit price (including all 'extras') of these ended up ??

Just wonder how much of a saving it was over something genuinely useful and with a quality control system like Googles Nexus 7 at 200 USD (bulk education price probably lower).

[loong]

They announced a week ago that they wll be delivering the tablets to 8 provinces, including Khon Kaen.

I'm in Khon Kaen province and none have arrived at the local school as yet. Yes the school has electricity and air conditioning.

[saltandpepper]

They announced a week ago that they wll be delivering the tablets to 8 provinces, including Khon Kaen.

I'm in Khon Kaen province and none have arrived at the local school as yet. Yes the school has electricity and air conditioning.

Might be that the brown envelop was not thick enough

[thaicbr]

Ferangled said. "2 out of 2288 equates to 0.04% failure rate. I'm interested as to what you would consider an acceptable failure rate?"

well maybe the government measure would be a good starter..which is "Under the rules of the inspection, Chinnaphat said 500 units would be selected randomly from every 35,000 units, and only seven units were allowed to fail the test for the 35,000-unit lot to pass." Personally it would depend on what is contracted as a failure rate. how many get replaced ? is it only 7 out of 35,000, 7 out of 500 or ALL faulty units.

Ferangled said.

You do like to throw out totally random made up statistics don't you?! Care to back this up with some actual figures rather than just throwing a random % out based purely on your imagination?

Answer.. Phua Thai originally announced one tablet per child. Not one tablet per P1. Also note free wifi. dunno were that is. do you?

Ferangled said.

Your previous post is highly misleading in that the Nation actually reported 730,000 tablets, as did numerous other sources, while your Malaysian source, Bernama reported 73,000. Do you have any evidence to suggest which figure is correct or are you just cherry picking what suits your post best?

I have no idea.. but based on prev statements from MOE they would be way ahead of shedule.

Edited July 25, 2012 by thaicbr

[ramrod711]

I'm sure there are,and will continue to be some problems. This was a campaign promise to Thai people and should be honoured. There may well have been better ways to implement this policy but it is refreshing to see a government anywhere keep a promise.

[thaicbr]

I'm sure there are,and will continue to be some problems. This was a campaign promise to Thai people and should be honoured. There may well have been better ways to implement this policy but it is refreshing to see a government anywhere keep a promise.

Many governments keep promises especially when there is money to be made. Why do you think this was done so quickly rather than awarding the contract to a Thai company therefor keeping the money in Thailand.

[thaicbr]

Not related to topic. But related to postings.

this picture of an election poster is a laugh.

It is the advertisement of Pheu Thai Party before 2011 election.

It said, “Goodbye the Flood and the Drought, We will have the water management system around the country, and we will build the wall to protect Bangkok and Urban area.”

Or

Thaksin thinks Phua Thai do. they certainly kept that promise.

Or this one 300b daily and 15,000b for university graduates. all good until they realised THEY woul have to pay the uni grads so the 15,000b shelved. and the 300b to 7 of 77 provinces.

Edited July 25, 2012 by thaicbr