Mobile Lab

The Mobile Lab project is a cutting-edge initiative designed to create a traveling computer lab in the Republic of Armenia to serve rural and remote communities deprived of minimal means of communication and in need of access to information, communication, and basic computer literacy.

During the implementation of the Armenia School Connectivity Project in 2000-02, a major challenge during the needs assessment was identified. A large number of rural communities, living in very difficult social conditions and deprived of even minimal communication means, expressed a critical need for basic computer literacy and access to information. Most of these villages were located in mountainous areas, bordered zones of conflict between Armenia with Azerbaijan, and populated with refugees. Thus, to address the needs of these communities the Mobile Lab project, which was the first of its kind in the Transcaucasus and republics of the former Soviet Union, was initiated.

The creation of the Mobile Lab included the purchasing of an appropriate vehicle, the transformation of the vehicle into a learning computer lab, which includes 5 workstations, a printer, a scanner, a digital camera, multimedia projector, and satellite internet connection. The equipment is specifically installed taking into consideration the need to withstand the necessity of traveling for a significant amount of time over poor roads and the provision of Internet connectivity. The Mobile Lab is staffed full-time with two trained specialists who are responsible for providing basic computer trainings and support to students, teachers, and community members throughout the selected region. The region the Mobile Lab is to serve is selected through open and fair competition.  

The competition involves the submission of application packages and interviews with Governors and Heads of Education. Gegharkunik region, being the winner of the first competition, hosted the Mobile Lab, which resided in remote communities of Gegharkunik during the first two cycles of the project. Following this stage, an intensive community assessment was conducted during the last quarter of 2003 to identify 20 communities that the Lab was to visit during the first introductory cycle. The needs assessment carried out in 20 remote villages of Gegharkunik revealed that out of 20 remote villages only 3 had a limited number of computers, while the number of computer literate people was minimal; in the remaining 15 villages the community members did not have any familiarity either with computers or Internet. The total population of the selected 20 villages constitutes 12481 people, with 1920 being students, and 387 teachers. Other target groups, such as refugees (9487), the unemployed (5275), and the handicapped (271) live in 20 villages.

During the first cycle of the project, technical experts leading the project developed a basic one-week training program targeting people with zero computer awareness. The 6-7 hour training program covered the following: computer hardware, basics of computer operation, basic computer maintenance, MS Windows and MS Office software packages, Internet browsers and navigation, using WEB based e-mail, and e-mail clients. Tests with multi-choice answers were attached to the training program to evaluate the knowledge gained and skills of trainees after receiving training. To ensure participants had the opportunity to apply their new skills, the Mobile Lab visited each community during a second cycle. For the second cycle, a more intermediate level curriculum was offered. Similar to evaluating the first cycle, the skills acquired through the intermediate level curriculum were also tested.

The first cycle started in June 2004 and ended in October 2004. By this time, the Mobile Lab had visited 20 villages. During this period, more than 1,000 hours of software and over 700 hours of training/computer use were conducted. Approximately 516 people benefited from the project with 361 of them being students.

The second cycle started in February 2005 and ended in July 2005. This cycle involved re-training the previously trained groups as well as registering new groups of students, teachers, and community members. The overall number of beneficiaries reached approximately 680 people during this cycle, with the majority being students.

In the form of a small-scale qualitative evaluation a film on Mobile Lab activities was initiated in December of 2004, and an independent group of journalists from Gegharkunik region completed the initiative. As alternative methodology of information generation, group interviews, and public dialogues were used. Different age groups (both direct beneficiaries as well as non-users were approached) participated in the interviews; later the conversations were carefully analyzed and major successes, areas of improvement and recommendations were outlined.

In all of the villages the Mobile Lab visited, the community made a contribution towards the project - accommodation and food for the two ML staff. The community contribution to the project signifies the value the community places on the project and encourages local ownership of the project as well.

The project received so much coverage and positive feedback as a show-case initiative that it was invited to be displayed at one of the leading technical conferences in Yerevan organized by the Armenian High Tech Council of America. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia as well as humanitarian organizations have stated their interest in the Mobile Lab project with the request to share the expertise and practice.

The Mobile Lab achieved its goals of supporting rural Armenian communities, bringing the value of global knowledge, cross-cultural ties, promoting interest towards new technologies, and introducing alternative methods of teaching.

The Mobile Lab provides an expanded worldview and exposure to information and communication; it allows students, teachers, and community members of rural communities in Armenia to have computer trainings and access to information for development, networking, and collaboration opportunities.

Mobile Lab Project Developments
The successful implementation of the first two cycles of the Mobile Lab project in the Gegharkunik region acknowledged the project need and the important benefits of its employment. Thus, the necessity of extending the project assistance to other regions of Armenia was confirmed.

An Armenia-wide open competition among the 10 regions of Armenia (except Yerevan) was announced in October of 2005 for the recruitment of a new region for project extension. . “Harmony” Fund received proposals from 7 regions of Armenia. To evaluate the submitted proposals and to identify the winner of the second Mobile Lab competition a Selection Board, consisting of the representatives of the US Embassy to Armenia, the RA Ministry of Education and Science, Project Harmony-Armenia and “Harmony” Fund, was established. With the absolute majority of votes of the Selection Board members, the Shirak region was identified as the winner of the second Mobile Lab competition.

The official opening ceremony of the Mobile Lab in the Shirak region took place on November 29th of 2005 in Gyumri after which the Mobile Lab started its tour through the 20 remote communities of the region according to the developed timeline of operations.

Up to this day, the Mobile Lab has served 10 remote communities of Shirak, namely the communities of Hartashen, Musaelyan, Aghin, Sarakap, Haykadzor, Anipemza, Jrapi, Kaqavasar, and Poqr Sariar, residing in each of the communities from 12 to 14 days. Up to now the Mobile Lab staff has trained 308 people in basic computer literacy training, with 235 being students, 55 teachers, and 37 community members. More than 700 hours of training have been registered to this day. The Mobile Lab will reach out to the remaining 10 communities in accordance with the timeline of operations, concluding its 3rd cycle in October of 2006.

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