The Challenge
YOER Pi:
A Portable WiFi Local Area Network
Empowers Flexible Sharing of Medical
Education Materials in Settings with
Restricted Internet & Electricity
Follow Up
Common challenges to digital learning
in developing countries include high
technology costs, limited availability of
technical resources or expertise, and
an unpredictable infrastructure. A new
set of low-cost technologies has the
potential to lower barriers to the
distribution of educational materials.
Raspbery Pi Model B
Objective
Our goal was to explore, deploy, and
evaluate models for sharing digital
learning materials at institutions with no
or limited bandwidth, no or limited
electricity, limited on-site support for
technology, at an affordable cost.
Solution
We experimented with several models
and selected the Raspberry Pi for its
portability and easily customizable
wireless area networks for accessing
and sharing learning materials.
These Raspberry Pi devices have been
configured so that individuals within
range can access the files on any WiFienabled device with a web browser.
What if you could…
● Provide a local wireless network
● Provide content via web browser
● Provide content via file or app server
● Do this with or without the Internet
● Do it with or without an electrical outlet
● Buy all the supplies for ~$200
Raspberry Pi model B (motherboard)
What’s Next? Banana Pi!
Raspberry Pi may be used for a lowcost, low-maintenance method to share
digital content locally in the absence of
an Internet connection and electricity. A
rechargeable USB battery can serve as
a low-cost uninterruptible power supply.
The Raspberry Pi offers many
customization options, such as a full
operating system that enables other
services (e.g. search, analytics,
stylesheets). In addition, software
updates for the Raspberry Pi can be
sent on a replacement SD card.
What’s Next?
A “super charged” version of
Raspberry Pi, called “Banana Pi,” is
now available. Banana Pi is an offshoot
of the Raspberry Pi project using
different components while maintaining
compatibility as much as possible.
Banana Pi features a:
•One Gigahertz processor
•One Gig of RAM
•One Gig of storage
•Gigabit Ethernet port
More info: www.bananapi.org
Results
Send feedback and ideas to:
bdr@umich.edu
Twenty-one devices are currently
deployed in Ethiopia, Kenya, and
Liberia. All devices contain existing
Open Educational Resources (OER)
and allows others to easily modify or
add their own, locally authored content.
More Information?
openmi.ch/wanoffline
Poster Authors
P
© 2014 The Regents of the University of Michigan. This poster is based on a CC BY poster originally created for Med Ed Day that was authored by Kathleen Omollo, Bob Riddle, and Margaret Ann Murphy. This
work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>.
Bob Riddle, Kathleen Omollo