Vol. II: Shaping Information and Communication ... - IMA,ZLW & IfU

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children, building as they do on the popular belief that children are more adept at using
computers than most adults, whether they receive formal education in this area or not.
Impact
Though the project is in an urban environment, it assumes significance due to the fact that it
targeted a beneficiary audience that at best may be described as poor, without adequate access
to education and/or other social services, just as a typical rural agglomeration would face.
− Once available, the kiosk was used immediately by children in the age group of 5 to 16
years, who only had a limited understanding of the English alphabet and language.
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Girls in the age group of 6 to 12 years participated with enthusiasm and zeal equal to the
boys of the same age group, using the kiosk in a similar way.Older girls and women,
however, did not participate at all.
Children learnt basic operations of the PC for browsing and drawing within just a few
days.
Adults, both men and women, did not make any attempt to learn or use the kiosk.
Children formed impromptu classes to teach one another.
Children invented their own vocabulary to define terms on the computer, for example,
“Sui” [needle] for the cursor, “channels” for websites and “kaam kar raha hai” [it's
working] for the hourglass [busy] symbol.
Children were strongly opposed to the idea of removing the kiosk.
Parents felt that they could not learn the operation of the kiosk, did not see or perceive a
need for such a facility, but they felt that it was very good for the children.
2.15 CASE STUDY # 15: The Pune Telemedicine Project
Background and Context
“There is a huge gap between urban and rural India,'' says Tarun Mathur of ‘Doctor
Anywhere’, one of the initiators of this cyber-stethoscope project. “The 22,000 governmentrun
Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in the country are usually staffed by interns and young
doctors, and have little if any access to experience and expertise.'' Dr P.G. Darshane, a
Medical Health Officer in Pune District adds: “Villagers with confusing symptoms or chronic
conditions often travel hundreds of kilometers to see a specialist. The patients are usually
poor, and such trips are a huge drain. ''Further there are only about 40,000 specialists in the