IIT-B set to push the Aakash 2 button

While IIT Bombay students will soon start using Aakash 2, the tablet will be sent to 300 colleges across the country by November-end for feedback on a list final-year projects and subjects for which it can be used effectively.

"We have received over 1,000 tablets from Datawind. Lab tests on sample units are an ongoing process. The access-cum-computing device will be introduced in select courses in the next 15 days. We will issue the tablets to our 300 remote centres for training engineering teachers across the country. This will be a crucial test for Aakash deployment in education," said IIT Bombay professor and project head D B Phatak.

Phatak said around 100 tablets would be issued to each college and the institutes will decide the subjects to be taught and student projects to be developed using Aakash.

"We expect the colleges to give us constant feedback on its effectiveness, which subjects or courses have benefited and what features need to be added. The information will be stored in a common repository and will be available to faculty and students across the country," he said.

The new version of the tablet will be also issued to around 10,000 teachers at a training workshop by IIT Bombay from November 10. "We intend to officially announce start of Aakash use on November 11, Education Day," he said.

The ministry of human resource and development is funding the 1 lakh tablets to be used by IIT Bombay.

Aakash was launched in October 2011. After some delays, IIT Bombay took the responsibility of developing the tablet in April this year and its teachers and students contributed to Aakash 2, which has a faster processor and new applications.

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