Google Indonesia officially launched the first locally made Chromebook or Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in collaboration with six local brands, such as Evercoss, SPC, TSMID, Zyrex, Advan, and Axioo.
Randy Jusuf, Managing Director of Google Indonesia, said that the company has long been a pioneer in providing affordable technology. The Covid-19 pandemic has further demonstrated the growing importance of the right tools for work and distance learning.
“Over 170 million students and teachers around the world, relying on our tools, last year when schools ran the remote school system due to the pandemic. We contacted the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology to find out how we can help,” said Randy Jusuf, Tuesday (August 4, 2021).
Randy added that the shift to teaching and learning from home was almost instantaneous, and we knew that teachers and students had to adapt quickly.
Google, said Randy, considers this challenge can be divided into three pillars, providing access to technology, helping to improve digital infrastructure, and smoothing the transition to a distance learning system.
“For the first point, when teaching has to be done online, we know that internet data quotas will be problematic,” he said.
According to Randy, the internet data quota will cost a lot of money, so Google collaborates with cellular operators in Indonesia to provide free data packages for 10 thousand teachers in Guru Sharing under the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology.
He explained that teachers who register get a quota of 30GB for 90 days to make it easier for them to switch to a distance learning system.
Google, said Randy, helps the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology to modernize educational technology nationally.
“Currently, we are pleased to announce that several laptop types using Chrome OS, will be made in Indonesia with the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology’s support,” he said.
Randy also said, “We are working with six local manufacturers or OEMs to assemble Chromebooks in Indonesia. This is the first time an Indonesian manufacturer has made Chromebooks for Indonesia and the export market,” he explained.
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