ASU SolarSPELL Initiative
@asu-solarspell.bsky.social
Empowering offline communities with localized libraries and information literacy skill-building | World's first offline digital library with integrated solar
https://solarspell.org/
https://solarspell.org/
Pinned
Proud to be included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025 list in the #SocialImpact category! This recognition will help open doors for us to reach more offline learners with the information & skills they need to create a better future.
time.com/collections/...
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation
time.com/collections/...
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation
Last month, we trained the new cohort of Peace Corps Vanuatu Volunteers (PCVs) & their local counterparts. 🇻🇺 We also visited 2 of the PCVs we trained in September — Maggie uses the library to prepare health trainings & Baylea's school uses SolarSPELL to find teaching materials for their students.
December 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Last month, we trained the new cohort of Peace Corps Vanuatu Volunteers (PCVs) & their local counterparts. 🇻🇺 We also visited 2 of the PCVs we trained in September — Maggie uses the library to prepare health trainings & Baylea's school uses SolarSPELL to find teaching materials for their students.
Incredibly proud to announce that SolarSPELL has won the Global Education Prize at the 2025 QS #ReimagineEducation Awards! It's a huge honor to be selected from pool of 1,656 submissions & we're so excited to think about how many more learners we'll be able to reach thanks to this award! 🎉
December 3, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Incredibly proud to announce that SolarSPELL has won the Global Education Prize at the 2025 QS #ReimagineEducation Awards! It's a huge honor to be selected from pool of 1,656 submissions & we're so excited to think about how many more learners we'll be able to reach thanks to this award! 🎉
We're proud to announce that out of nearly 800 submissions, SolarSPELL has been selected as one of the top 100 education innovations to watch out for in 2026! Check us out in the #HundrEDGlobalCollection from HundrED!
Download the report at: hundred.org/.../hundred-...
Download the report at: hundred.org/.../hundred-...
November 26, 2025 at 8:43 PM
We're proud to announce that out of nearly 800 submissions, SolarSPELL has been selected as one of the top 100 education innovations to watch out for in 2026! Check us out in the #HundrEDGlobalCollection from HundrED!
Download the report at: hundred.org/.../hundred-...
Download the report at: hundred.org/.../hundred-...
We've been hard at work this year developing our 1st library collection for #WestAfrica with our partners at Tostan! Our recent workshop + content curation training with them in Senegal was a huge success, and we're so excited to launch this pilot next year!
#CommunityEmpowerment #DigitalLibrary
#CommunityEmpowerment #DigitalLibrary
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
We've been hard at work this year developing our 1st library collection for #WestAfrica with our partners at Tostan! Our recent workshop + content curation training with them in Senegal was a huge success, and we're so excited to launch this pilot next year!
#CommunityEmpowerment #DigitalLibrary
#CommunityEmpowerment #DigitalLibrary
Reposted by ASU SolarSPELL Initiative
😬How can we process health information if we're already freaked out?
🧠"Being aware in the time of stress to say, 'I’m not going to remember this, let me put it over there so I can come back to it,'" advises Dr. Heather Ross co-director of @asu-solarspell.bsky.social Health.
🧠"Being aware in the time of stress to say, 'I’m not going to remember this, let me put it over there so I can come back to it,'" advises Dr. Heather Ross co-director of @asu-solarspell.bsky.social Health.
November 17, 2025 at 3:41 PM
😬How can we process health information if we're already freaked out?
🧠"Being aware in the time of stress to say, 'I’m not going to remember this, let me put it over there so I can come back to it,'" advises Dr. Heather Ross co-director of @asu-solarspell.bsky.social Health.
🧠"Being aware in the time of stress to say, 'I’m not going to remember this, let me put it over there so I can come back to it,'" advises Dr. Heather Ross co-director of @asu-solarspell.bsky.social Health.
In an interview with ABC15, SolarSPELL co-founder Laura Hosman shared, "The people who are using our libraries are really the inspiration for why we continue to improve the content on the library all the time."
www.abc15.com/weather/impa...
www.abc15.com/weather/impa...
Arizona State University's SolarSPELL initiative recognized as one of TIME's best inventions of 2025
An Arizona State University initiative is receiving national honors as one of TIME’s Best Inventions of the year.
www.abc15.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:28 PM
In an interview with ABC15, SolarSPELL co-founder Laura Hosman shared, "The people who are using our libraries are really the inspiration for why we continue to improve the content on the library all the time."
www.abc15.com/weather/impa...
www.abc15.com/weather/impa...
Meet Nameera, an #ASU sophomore pursuing a BA in Global Studies & a BS in Economics. As a Cultural Content Curator, she is expanding access to locally relevant educational materials, helping learners see more of themselves in the library. 🌍 Thank you for your dedication, Nameera!
October 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Meet Nameera, an #ASU sophomore pursuing a BA in Global Studies & a BS in Economics. As a Cultural Content Curator, she is expanding access to locally relevant educational materials, helping learners see more of themselves in the library. 🌍 Thank you for your dedication, Nameera!
Missed our fall #newsletter last month? 📰 Catch up on our latest headlines, like new agricultural impact data, returning to Vanuatu, and our largest intern cohort to date: bit.ly/SPELLnews-FA25
Never miss an update by signing up for our newsletter at solarspell.org/newsletter
Never miss an update by signing up for our newsletter at solarspell.org/newsletter
October 21, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Missed our fall #newsletter last month? 📰 Catch up on our latest headlines, like new agricultural impact data, returning to Vanuatu, and our largest intern cohort to date: bit.ly/SPELLnews-FA25
Never miss an update by signing up for our newsletter at solarspell.org/newsletter
Never miss an update by signing up for our newsletter at solarspell.org/newsletter
We’re excited to feature Sean, an #ASU alum who is helping us make our libraries more accessible and user-friendly! Learn about his experience interning with SolarSPELL: solarspell.org/designing-fo...
@asuengineering.bsky.social
#StudentSuccess #GlobalImpact #UserExperience #Accessibility
@asuengineering.bsky.social
#StudentSuccess #GlobalImpact #UserExperience #Accessibility
October 17, 2025 at 7:12 PM
We’re excited to feature Sean, an #ASU alum who is helping us make our libraries more accessible and user-friendly! Learn about his experience interning with SolarSPELL: solarspell.org/designing-fo...
@asuengineering.bsky.social
#StudentSuccess #GlobalImpact #UserExperience #Accessibility
@asuengineering.bsky.social
#StudentSuccess #GlobalImpact #UserExperience #Accessibility
"We feel like we can do one better than the Internet because libraries are curated information," said SolarSPELL co-founder Laura Hosman in an interview with @kjzz.org. "It’s the right information for the right people at the right time."
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation #SocialImpact
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation #SocialImpact
The invention is a solar-powered library device that provides educational information for rural communities.
This library device created by ASU professors, students named one of TIME's 2025 Best Inventions
The invention is a solar-powered library device that provides educational information for rural communities.
www.kjzz.org
October 16, 2025 at 9:26 PM
"We feel like we can do one better than the Internet because libraries are curated information," said SolarSPELL co-founder Laura Hosman in an interview with @kjzz.org. "It’s the right information for the right people at the right time."
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation #SocialImpact
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation #SocialImpact
Laura Hosman & co-director of SolarSPELL Health, Heather Ross, spoke to Doing Well News about the best ways to relay #HealthInformation to people in stressful or low-resource situations, describing our offline digital health library as an example. 🩺
doingwellnews.substack.com/p/health-inf...
doingwellnews.substack.com/p/health-inf...
How stress affects our ability to understand health information
An interview on how to make health information more accessible. Plus: Do you know how to read your medical bill?
doingwellnews.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Laura Hosman & co-director of SolarSPELL Health, Heather Ross, spoke to Doing Well News about the best ways to relay #HealthInformation to people in stressful or low-resource situations, describing our offline digital health library as an example. 🩺
doingwellnews.substack.com/p/health-inf...
doingwellnews.substack.com/p/health-inf...
Proud to be included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025 list in the #SocialImpact category! This recognition will help open doors for us to reach more offline learners with the information & skills they need to create a better future.
time.com/collections/...
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation
time.com/collections/...
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation
October 9, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Proud to be included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025 list in the #SocialImpact category! This recognition will help open doors for us to reach more offline learners with the information & skills they need to create a better future.
time.com/collections/...
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation
time.com/collections/...
#TIMEBestInventions #ASU #1innovation
Thank you to the amazing volunteers who participated in this weekend's Curate-a-Thon, curating & tagging 82 new resources for our Pacific Islands education library! When we return to Vanuatu next month, we'll now be able to update libraries with new videos, national curricula & Bislama storybooks. 📚
October 7, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Thank you to the amazing volunteers who participated in this weekend's Curate-a-Thon, curating & tagging 82 new resources for our Pacific Islands education library! When we return to Vanuatu next month, we'll now be able to update libraries with new videos, national curricula & Bislama storybooks. 📚
Thrilled to share our very own Laura Hosman has been shortlisted for the 2025 Open Education Awards! awards.oeglobal.org/2025-finalis...
Congratulations, Laura, and all of the other incredible finalists on this well deserved honor!
#OEGlobal #OEAwards25 #OpenEducation #EdTech #1innovation
Congratulations, Laura, and all of the other incredible finalists on this well deserved honor!
#OEGlobal #OEAwards25 #OpenEducation #EdTech #1innovation
2025 Shortlist of Finalists
The annual Open Education Awards for Excellence recognizes outstanding contributions in the Open Education community, recognizing exemplary Individuals, distinctive Open Educational Resources, and inn...
awards.oeglobal.org
October 6, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Thrilled to share our very own Laura Hosman has been shortlisted for the 2025 Open Education Awards! awards.oeglobal.org/2025-finalis...
Congratulations, Laura, and all of the other incredible finalists on this well deserved honor!
#OEGlobal #OEAwards25 #OpenEducation #EdTech #1innovation
Congratulations, Laura, and all of the other incredible finalists on this well deserved honor!
#OEGlobal #OEAwards25 #OpenEducation #EdTech #1innovation
Thanks to B2R Farms Fellows & #SolarSPELL libraries, thousands of Rwandan farmers have increased their yields using #ConservationAgriculture (CA) — >56% on average! What's more, these farmers went on to teach CA to 2.5x more of the peers. Read more at solarspell.org/solarspell-l...
SolarSPELL libraries yield big wins for Rwandan farmers – ASU SolarSPELL Initiative
solarspell.org
October 2, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Thanks to B2R Farms Fellows & #SolarSPELL libraries, thousands of Rwandan farmers have increased their yields using #ConservationAgriculture (CA) — >56% on average! What's more, these farmers went on to teach CA to 2.5x more of the peers. Read more at solarspell.org/solarspell-l...
Abby, an #ASU Media Arts & Sciences major and Graphic Design Intern designs library banners and creates illustrations that celebrate the culture, community & landscapes of the communities where we work. Thank you, Abby for your dedication to supporting SolarSPELL's mission!
September 26, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Abby, an #ASU Media Arts & Sciences major and Graphic Design Intern designs library banners and creates illustrations that celebrate the culture, community & landscapes of the communities where we work. Thank you, Abby for your dedication to supporting SolarSPELL's mission!
SolarSPELL has been shortlisted for the Access, Diversity & Inclusion Award at the #QSReimagine Education Awards! 🏅 Of >1,600 submissions, we're honored to be ranked in the top 20% among such an inspiring group of innovators! Thanks to all who have contributed to our mission to make this possible.
September 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
SolarSPELL has been shortlisted for the Access, Diversity & Inclusion Award at the #QSReimagine Education Awards! 🏅 Of >1,600 submissions, we're honored to be ranked in the top 20% among such an inspiring group of innovators! Thanks to all who have contributed to our mission to make this possible.
10 years ago we piloted the very first SolarSPELL libraries in Vanuatu & Micronesia. This week we returned to Vanuatu for the first time since 2020 to train the next generation of Peace Corps Volunteers on our new-and-improved libraries! 🎉 Stay tuned for more as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary!
September 17, 2025 at 10:25 PM
10 years ago we piloted the very first SolarSPELL libraries in Vanuatu & Micronesia. This week we returned to Vanuatu for the first time since 2020 to train the next generation of Peace Corps Volunteers on our new-and-improved libraries! 🎉 Stay tuned for more as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary!
So grateful to have participated in another inspiring #STEMtasticAdventures! It was a privilege to share the stage with fellow innovators & speak about both SolarSPELL's offline-first approach to empowering #STEMeducation & our pioneering work to create offline #AI learning tools for rural schools.
September 11, 2025 at 8:58 PM
So grateful to have participated in another inspiring #STEMtasticAdventures! It was a privilege to share the stage with fellow innovators & speak about both SolarSPELL's offline-first approach to empowering #STEMeducation & our pioneering work to create offline #AI learning tools for rural schools.
Happy #InternationalLiteracyDay! We're proud to support literacy champions like librarian Claudine by empowering them with locally relevant storybooks. You can empower more librarians by helping us bring SolarSPELL digital libraries to 5 rural Rwandan communities: www.gofundme.com/f/empower-rw...
September 8, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Happy #InternationalLiteracyDay! We're proud to support literacy champions like librarian Claudine by empowering them with locally relevant storybooks. You can empower more librarians by helping us bring SolarSPELL digital libraries to 5 rural Rwandan communities: www.gofundme.com/f/empower-rw...
#ImpactResults: Training in conservation agriculture boosts farmers' maize yields by 47.5% over traditional practices; when paired with SolarSPELL, they gain an additional 9%! PLUS, SolarSPELL users went on to teach and additional 108 farmers on average!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDLD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDLD...
B2R Farms Partners with SolarSPELL to Reach More Farmers
YouTube video by B2R Farms
www.youtube.com
September 4, 2025 at 9:45 PM
#ImpactResults: Training in conservation agriculture boosts farmers' maize yields by 47.5% over traditional practices; when paired with SolarSPELL, they gain an additional 9%! PLUS, SolarSPELL users went on to teach and additional 108 farmers on average!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDLD...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDLD...
While in Rwanda, we also met with Appolo to talk more about the communities that will be receiving SolarSPELL #libraries. Thanks to your support, we now have 1 library funded, just 4 more to go! We hope you'll continue to help by sharing with friends & family: www.gofundme.com/f/empower-rw... 😊
August 14, 2025 at 6:58 PM
While in Rwanda, we also met with Appolo to talk more about the communities that will be receiving SolarSPELL #libraries. Thanks to your support, we now have 1 library funded, just 4 more to go! We hope you'll continue to help by sharing with friends & family: www.gofundme.com/f/empower-rw... 😊
🌱 Recently got to present to all 93 B2R Farms Fellows, who've been using SolarSPELL to help train farmers in #ConservationAgriculture. We shared both insights from farmer survey data & news from partners in South Sudan. Great to meet new fellows & see familiar faces!
#Training #DigitalLibrary #SDGs
#Training #DigitalLibrary #SDGs
August 13, 2025 at 8:53 PM
🌱 Recently got to present to all 93 B2R Farms Fellows, who've been using SolarSPELL to help train farmers in #ConservationAgriculture. We shared both insights from farmer survey data & news from partners in South Sudan. Great to meet new fellows & see familiar faces!
#Training #DigitalLibrary #SDGs
#Training #DigitalLibrary #SDGs
If you missed our last #newsletter, head to bit.ly/SPELLnews-SU25 to get caught up: Meet our new digital librarian, learn about our fundraiser to bring more SolarSPELLs to Rwanda & hear from some of our stellar interns! Never miss an update by subscribing to our newsletter: solarspell.org/newsletter
August 11, 2025 at 9:54 PM
If you missed our last #newsletter, head to bit.ly/SPELLnews-SU25 to get caught up: Meet our new digital librarian, learn about our fundraiser to bring more SolarSPELLs to Rwanda & hear from some of our stellar interns! Never miss an update by subscribing to our newsletter: solarspell.org/newsletter
Our partners at Empower Farmers South Sudan are using the SolarSPELL agriculture #library to help them create a demo farm & train farmers in conservation #agriculture. We just led a #training with their entire team to help them grow their research & training skills even more.
#SustainableDevelopment
#SustainableDevelopment
August 8, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Our partners at Empower Farmers South Sudan are using the SolarSPELL agriculture #library to help them create a demo farm & train farmers in conservation #agriculture. We just led a #training with their entire team to help them grow their research & training skills even more.
#SustainableDevelopment
#SustainableDevelopment