STEM-Bots: Computing Resources for Everyone

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics are key disciplines for the education of new generations in the modern digital world, and for the economic growth of developing countries. Access to computing resources in such countries can be difficult due to the cost of equipment. Nevertheless, mobile devices are becoming increasing available, as well as mobile networks for connecting to the internet. This work presents the STEM-bots, a tool for connecting people to computers through a mobile device. Particularly, we propose to use the Instant Messaging networks for sending commands to remote computers and getting the results right at hand. We argue that students, teachers, scientists, researchers, and interested people can benefit from such a tool for learning and working in scientific and engineering disciplines.