Abstract

Access, availability, and affordability of knowledge and knowledge based resources distinguish as well as discriminate people irrespective of which part of the planet they currently reside. Man has invented tools for his well-being from the dawn of civilization. Of all the tools he has invented, ICT and the related tools have become the most potent. For, these tools help him create other tools in hitherto unimagined ways. ICT has enabled him create tools and environments that augment learning. However, not much has been done to enhance learning the rudiments that augment the learning process. This paper discusses the design of a new tool (machine) to help augment the literacy and learning. The principle used for the design of the tool (machine) is based on the system of learning alphabets by writing in sand using the index finger of the learner. This system was prevalent till about thirty years ago. Generations learned the alphabets by this method in many parts of India and was the most wide spread form of early childhood education in Kerala – the southernmost and most literate state of India. The new machine is essentially a computer system which is designed for the explicit purpose of helping one learn the alphabet, numbers, etc., by writing on the screen using the index finger of the learner. However, index finger is not a necessary requirement, and any finger convenient for the user would do. Many of the functions that the system would be required to support are bundled along with the operating system. The details of the design, the versatility and the applications, and the economies of scale of the machine, etc. are discussed in detail in the paper.