ICT SupportThe future of the Web is wireless

The future of the Web is wireless. CNET News.com. Online September 2005. Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and now a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, says the Internet of the future will be accessible anywhere, anytime through wireless devices. Joy said the PC's role as the main Web interface will decrease in coming years and that the most successful companies will use the Internet as their main platform. ...

ICT SupportMIT to launch $100 laptop prototype in November

MIT to launch $100 laptop prototype in November. China Martens, IDG News Service. MacWorld. Online September 2005. The MIT Media Laboratory expects to launch a prototype of its US$100 laptop in November, according to Nicholas Negroponte, the lab’s chairman and co-founder. The facility has been working with industry partners to develop a notebook computer for use by children in primary and secondary education around the world, particularly in developing countries. The laptops should start appearing in volume in late 2006. ...

Informative ReadingDigital Tools for Development: A Sourcebook on Access and Applications, Models of Use & Case Studies

Digital Tools for Development: A Sourcebook on Access and Applications, Models of Use & Case Studies. AED’s LearnLinks project. Accessed online September 2005. Also available on CD by request.
Chapter 1: Community Learning Centers: Increasing Access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Chapter 2: Strengthening Organizations with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
Chapter 3: Computer-Mediated Professional Development (CMPD)
Chapter 4: Using Computers in Schools
Chapter 5: Foundations of Electronic Commerce
Chapter 6: An Orientation to E-Government
...

Informative ReadingEvaluation Exchange

The Evaluation Exchange. Vol. XI, No. 2, Summer 2005 Issue Topic: Evaluation Methodology. Harvard Family Research Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Online September 2005. This issue of The Evaluation Exchange periodical focuses on evaluation methodology, covering topics in contemporary evaluation thinking, techniques, and tools. ...

Project Update(Kenya) Kenyan schools get info technology boost

(Kenya) Kenyan schools get info technology boost. East African Standard. Online September 2005. As part of the New Partnership for African Development's e-School initiative, six Kenyan schools will each receive trained teachers and $100,000 in information and communication technology equipment, including gear that provides satellite connectivity to 90 other schools in 16 African countries. The government will study the schools' performance as part of a plan to transform the pilot effort into a national one. ...

Project Update(Scotland) World's first schools intranet

(Scotland) World's first schools intranet. eLearning Scotland. Online September 2005. A national schools intranet digitally linking Scotland's 800,000 teachers and pupils has come a step closer. Education Minister Peter Peacock awarded ICT specialists RM a five-year 37.5 million contract to develop the intranet, the first project of its type anywhere in the world. When the intranet goes live in early 2007 it will: Offer pupils and teachers access to a range of learning and teaching resources from their computers at school or home; Allow teachers to maximise the use of internet technology such as video clips and high-quality graphics, making lessons more exciting for their pupils; Enable every pupil and teacher to communicate and collaborate electronically with one another, sharing ideas and resources. ...

Professional DevelopmentOnline Teacher PD: Exploring Lessons from Namibia and Uganda

(Uganda and Namibia) Online Teacher Professional Development: Exploring Lessons from Namibia and Uganda. Heidi A. Soule. dot-EDU. Online September 2005. Heidi Soule's comprehensive report on a WIDE World initiative with educators from Uganda and Namibia who participated in Teaching to Standards with New Technologies courses. ...
Picture of Practice: Namibia Harvard WIDE World project. A multimedia resource detailing Heidi Soule's experiences as a local facilitator and coach that includes pictures, video, audio and examples of teacher curricula arising out of the project. ...
An Interview with Heidi Soule Harvard WIDE World project. As part of our September newsletter, we asked Heidi some detailed questions about the project's origins and successes. Here is the full version. ...

News from Funders and IndustryMicrosoft Supports Community Projects

(Middle East) Microsoft Donates Over 10 Million Dollars to Communities in the Arab World. Asharq Al-Awsat. Online September 2005. Microsoft announced today a total of over ten million dollars has been donated this year by Microsoft to community projects in the Arab region as part of the Unlimited Potential initiative (UP). Under this program, Microsoft works closely with local community and humanitarian organizations to provide essential IT skills and support to the underprivileged, to help them realize their full potential. ...