Virtual lab experiments - educational CD-s in Armenian.

I just came across an ArmeniaNow article about lab experiments on a CD. These are tools developed in Armenia that enable the school kids to practice lab experiments on a PC instead of the real thing.



This may seem a little strange to people living in the West but the truth is that the Armenian schools have long suffered from lack of lab equipment in schools. Such a condition existed during the Soviets when everything was in short supply. It was especially true for non-Russian schools. The empire had to have an incentive to convince the parents that it was better to send their kids and have them educated in Russian rather than their native language. So they had better supplies in the Russian schools than the Armenian schools.



Since the independence things haven't gotten better. When the funds are tight, the school districts care more about warming the classrooms rather than trying to acquire lab chemicals.



So now there are tools, which incidentally in Armenian and are developed by Armenian professionals, that will enable kids to learn in the comfort of their homes, if they have a PC, or on school computers. It's like getting two wabbits with one stone. I don't know if the developers have plans to start exporting these to the Armenian Diaspora as well - it probably be a good idea.