EarthWalk was selected by the Academy of Education Development (AED), the organization managing the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Primary Education Project (PEP), to provide information and communication technology (ICT) equipment and computer hardware for the Education Pilot Program. The Primary Education Project is a five-year long project involving all public primary schools in Macedonia, the key goal of the project being to introduce a range of ICT hardware, software and Internet to students and teachers in hopes of improving the integration of ICT’s into the curriculum. The Macedonian Government procured approximately 98,000 computers to be used in the 2008/2009 school year and is planning additional procurement for 2009/2010. The ratio of computers to students will decrease from 1:70 to 1:15.

AED has chosen EarthWalk’s eXpress8x8™ cases, rugged eBuddy™ laptops, long-life SideKick batteries, SafeCase™ locker and FlexCart™ mobile labs to be used in the project. EarthWalk’s innovative equipment is of key interest because of its applicability in remote and rural regions. Many schools in Macedonia are rural satellite schools, which do not have ideal conditions for traditional desktop labs. The equipment has been placed in eleven schools involved in the pilot program. In preliminary visits teachers and student have expressed excitement over the laptops. The SideKick batteries have also received positive feedback--one teacher stating he received thirty hours of usage from one charging cycle.

The Intel-powered mini-notebook, the Classmate PC is also being tested in the PEP pilot program. Realizing the need for an economical, turn-key solution for the wave of low-cost, mini-notebooks, EarthWalk designed a version of its low-cost FlexCart™ line to be paired with the Classmate PCs. The FlexCart™, along with all EarthWalk mobile labs, is fully compatible with the Classmate PC and ninety percent of notebooks in today’s market.

Although the price-point of mini-notebooks such as the Classmate PC is much improved, the issues of limited battery capacity, transportation of the laptops and security are still major concerns. EarthWalk provides an all-in-one solution with their cost-conscious approach to mobile computing and extended-life battery options. Not only do EarthWalk mobile labs provide security features and a significant cost savings when compared to traditional desktop labs, but they are 85% more electrically efficient.