Adam Holt

Internet-in-a-Box (IIAB) “learning hotspots” serve dozens of countries, e.g., in remote mountain villages in India, over a local Wi-Fi hotspot, bringing Wikipedia, Khan Academy, healthcare libraries, and OpenStreetMap (OSM), all without the need for internet or a mobile data plan. Come and see the NEW IIAB Maps. Anyone can self-host and customize to the region they need—including vector tiles, mountain relief topography tiles, and satellite photo tiles—all with powerful full-text search. Our new IIAB Maps are flexible and customizable, robust, offline-first, and localizable to help almost anyone, anywhere!

As much as we need to and should support students with adopting new technologies such as AI, educators are being thrown into the deep end and expected to swim with very little instruction or support. From working with educators while at GitHub and as part of Internet-in-a-Box (IIAB), it is clear that we ask much of our teachers. They are expected to learn not only basic computing and software development, but also version control, collaborative software development, and now, how to teach about and with AI. This is daunting anywhere and even more daunting in the developing world where experienced mentors and resources can be scarce.

Wikipedia, GitHub, and arXiv show us that free and open access can be transformative and lower barriers of access to entry to new skills and careers. We will share educational experiences with GitHub, Internet-in-a-Box, and AI and our work to provide online and offline tooling and content to remote regions worldwide. A model of federated ecosystems can empower educators, learners, and community organizers everywhere, turning passive learners into active creators in the AI era.

Join us for a hands-on "Open Source for Good" workshop where participants of all skill levels will contribute to real-world social impact projects. Working alongside nonprofit leaders, you'll learn contribution workflows while making meaningful improvements to vetted projects. From beginner-friendly documentation updates to advanced feature implementation, you'll gain practical experience with GitHub tooling and collaborative development practices.

Internet-in-a-Box is a revolutionary community education approach, to packing all the world's best open learning into inexpensive knowledge hotspots.  We empower schools, libraries, clinics and individuals the world over, when Internet is not possible, in developing countries especially.  We will describe some big steps forward the project in now taking -- in the footsteps of One Laptop Per Child where we began ths fascinating journey a decade ago -- and how conscientious citizens of all kind can now partake as librarians for our planet!