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Networks and CD-ROMs Aid Research, Development and Education in Zimbabwe
While the system seems to work well in this "local" mode, its
international potential is also used extensively by health workers.
It can allow consultation with, and updates from, colleagues, as
well as lessen feelings of isolation that one feels in rural areas of
a foreign country. Colleagues with access to online databases
can be pressed into service doing searches based on a brief
e-mail message. Contact with colleagues also allows one
t'easily request quick delivery of the specialty medical items that
are impossible to get in Zimbabwe.
Global Lab and Global Village Sites
Boris Berenfeld has described how TERC of Cambridge,
Mass., pioneered the use of telecommunications by students
between schools.2 Global Laboratory, a TERC program,
promotes student investigations into global climate change and
local environmental issues. TERC supplied software, Personal
PC Laboratories, modems and training to several schools in
Harare. Two of them, St. George's College and Vainona High
School, now communicate with other Global Lab schools
worldwide.
The Global Student Village program, part of the Consortium for
International Earth Science Information Network, has provided
Price Edward Boys' School with equipment to receive signals
from meteorology satellites, and e-mail connections for them to
share and discuss findings with other Village schools throughout
the U.S.
CD-ROM Shareware Widely Used
Being involved in IT in Zimbabwe means being a consumer of
CD-ROM-based collections of shareware and freeware for
DOS and UNIX. Programs available are a "snapshot" of
massive archives such as SIMTEL 20 in the U.S. About U.S.
$30, they are well indexed for browsing.
Educational software and scientific, artistic and entertainment
multimedia presentations are available each month on Nautilus
CD-ROMs, a subscription-based firm.
Finally, Zimbabwe has its own company (Media Technology)
that publishes CD-ROMs. The first was Svinga, a multimedia
disc about Zimbabwe based on the Encyclopedia Zimbabwe.
Media Technology also runs a CD-ROM Lending Club for
Macs and IBM PCs.
Direct Packet Switch Connections
Direct connection of University of Zimbabwe's users to Internet
via Zimnet 9600 bps X.25 packet switching will take place in
early 1995.3 Students will then be able to perform searches of
remote data-bases via direct log-in or perhaps our own gopher
server, down- or upload program and data files on Internet
archive machines, or access Netnews feeds.
