N50 in Mexico City
Mexico City, MX
Every two minutes, a jetliner roars over Escuela Primaria República de Liberia. The planes fly so close that students – like 6th-grader Iris – can read the registration number on the fuselage. The roar drowns out her teacher’s voice more than 100 times a day.
Before they can focus on their lessons, all 200 students and teachers must learn to block out the noise. But Iris has an additional challenge.
“I want to do a lot of different jobs, and one of them is voice acting,” she explained.
“For that, you need a microphone and headphones. And of course you need to speak well. Technology can help you do that. But you need a computer.”
“Despite living in a deeply ‘connected’ era, more than 3 billion people, and an estimated 1.6 million schools, remain offline. By delivering not only devices and connectivity, but also training, interactive lessons, robotics, AI tools, and more, with Arrow’s help, we can help open an entirely new world of opportunity for these students.”
– Dan Gutwein, N50 CEO and founder.
Iris’ aspiration may be uncommon, but the learning challenges she faces are familiar to students across Mexico’s capital and around the world. Four decades after the birth of the internet, half of the world’s population has little or no access to computers or online connectivity.
Without computer skills, students like Iris will be limited to low-paying, basic jobs. Companies will have difficulty growing without skilled workers.
Arrow Electronics and the nonprofit N50 Project have orchestrated a group of technology companies and Arrow McLaren Racing to donate a digital learning lab at Escuela Primaria República de Liberia. It is one of four labs the Arrow-led consortium has planned for Mexico alone.
In December 2024, Arrow helped to open a digital classroom in Guadalajara, MX. Soon, the consortium will establish similar labs in Nayarit and at the Polytechnic University in Yucatan.
In May, they also established a lab at the Monarca School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Globally, N50 has established more than 55 labs in previously disconnected schools.
Guiding innovation forward
Located less than a mile from the boundary fence of Benito Juarez International Airport, Escuela Primaria República de Liberia is a two-story concrete block building in a dense, working-class neighborhood. It has 20 classrooms and offices open to the hardtop playground.
Students share books and worksheets. Teachers sometimes use their personal cell phones to find online resources, but they cannot share them directly with the students.
The digital lab means they can go beyond the standard curriculum and go deeply online to develop a new generation of curious innovators.
“It is an opening to the digital world and online learning,” said school director Nancy Avila. “Until now, our students have seen technology as entertainment. The lab is a tool to open a different perspective of what the internet and networks are, as well as education on the global level.”
– Nancy Avila, School director
Avila says she has noticed how the lab is renewing her students’ interest in learning – both how to use the technology and the online content.
“They have been very attentive and excited,” she said. “On day one, they all came to school dressed up to be equal to the level of the project. And they’re all saying, “We’re going in! Let’s get organized!”
Collaborating on the solution
To open a digital lab, Arrow helps N50 Project deploy a low-cost, scalable and sustainable technology solution in the form of a Connectivity Kit. The kits enable N50 and its collaborators to take a small form factor, low-cost computing device and configure it for multiple users. The kit includes:
- An interactive whiteboard by SMART Technologies. Teachers access lessons and other content on the board, which is reflected on screen at 20 workstations for students.
- A new AI tool and education library called C3 MicroCloud by Critical Links that works both online and offline.
- Online curriculum by Learning Upgrade
- A robot assembly kit by SAM Labs
- Network appliance, security, and management by Teliko
- Installation and training by Intel
The kits can also be customized to highlight specific skill building. For example, the lab in Escuela Primaria República de Liberia provides kits to build simple robots. It also features a 3-D printer linked to the workstations.
“Many contributed to our digital lab,” Avila said. “The common ground we share is learning.”
