This paper presents Community Knowledge Sharing (CKS). an asynchronous discussion system designed for use in the developing world. CKS supporrs community development by allowing communities to interact, share and leant fiom each other. Recognizing that large segments ofthe population in rural communities have low levels of literacy, CKS implements a multi-literate design in which the system can be customized based on the abilities and preferences of the user. An evaluation of CKS, conducted in a rural agricultural community in the Dominican Republic, found that low literate users prefer fully iconic inferfoces. Future systems designed for use by people with a range of literacy skills must ensure thar iconic interfaces pro vide users with rhe audio and visual queues they need to work effectively.
A unique example is Community Knowledge Sharing, an Internetenabled asynchronous messaging system designed for use in the developing world REF .
Community knowledge sharing: an Internet application to support communications across literacy levels
IEEE 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS'02). Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology. Proceedings (Cat. No.02CH37293)
IEEE 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS'02). Social Implications of Information and Communication Technology. Proceedings (Cat. No.02CH37293)
Engineering Computer Science