ICT SupportPodcasts reach Peruvian villages

Podcasts reach Peruvian villages. BBC. Online March 2006. …a new pilot project is using podcasting to get important agricultural information to farmers. …UK charity Practical Action has married old and new technology to podcast twice-monthly updates to eight information centres... These telecentres, many of which are run on solar power, automatically download the programmes onto CDs to rebroadcast them on local radio stations. … effective to distribute audio material to local people, who prefer listening in their own dialect to being sent the written word. Each area within Cajamarca is sent information relevant to them. …

ICT SupportCreate Podcasts

Create Podcasts. Tony Vincent. Learninginhand. Published January 2006. Online March 2006. (GW Note: This is a tutorial site which includes directions on how to plan, record, edit and publish podcasts. It includes URL’s to sites from which to download free software for recording and editing sound tracks in addition to citations for various support sites about using podcasts in teaching and learning.)

Informative ReadingThe “Hole in the wall” experiments - Self-organizing systems for gender parity in primary education

The “Hole in the wall” experiments - Self-organizing systems for gender parity in primary education. World Bank. Online March 2006. … Groups of children, given access to shared, publicly accessible computers in playgrounds and other public areas, will teach themselves to use the technology on their own. …40,000 of the world’s poorest children. Almost half of these were girls. … (GW Note: This World-Bank commissioned paper reports the results of research about gender equity in learning found in this “minimally invasive learning” project using public-access computer kiosks. Also reports on motivation and learning research as well as computer-literacy results after 5 years of kiosk use.)

Update from ProjectThe OpenCourseWare Movement

The OpenCourseWare Movement. Development Gateway. Online March 2006. While MIT is home to the best-known example of OpenCourseWare sharing, the movement has grown well beyond MIT's effort. Approximately 50 institutions worldwide now share materials from more than 2,300 courses in OpenCourseWare formats… Leading universities in China, Japan, France, United States, and elsewhere have all launched OpenCourseWare projects in the last two years, and materials are now available in English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. Additional OpenCourseWare projects are also underway in India, Spain and Latin America and other locations. ...updated list of OpenCourseWare projects around the world (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/AboutOCW/otherocws.htm).

Update from ProjectStudents take on world's challenges

(India and US) Students take on world's challenges. Christian Science Monitor Online. Online March 2006. Stacy A. Teicher. American and Indian students forge bonds while tackling world-class problems: Private school students in Philadelphia and Jabalpur, India, this past year collaborated through videoconferencing and e-mail to create a Web site to match wealthy hospitals with poor Indian ones in need of supplies. The award-winning project was part of a National Association of Independent Schools effort to get students thinking about solving global problems. … former World Bank vice president Jean-François Rischard said … "Encouraging students to think of themselves as global citizens first, then as national citizens, and then as local members of a community is the most powerful thing you can do."

Informative ReadingDeclaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence. Norman Lear. Edutopia. Online March 2006. As the man who brought you Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, Fred Sanford, and Mary Hartman, arguably four of the least well-educated characters ever seen on television, being asked to share my thoughts about education is a riot. But I'll try. … (GW note: For those of us who grew up with the aforementioned characters, it is good to hear Norman Lear’s voice again. No ICT here, just wisdom.)

Update from Country(South Africa) Infrastructure woes hamper PC use in S. African schools

(South Africa) Infrastructure woes hamper PC use in S. African schools. All Africa.com. Online March 2006. A lack of access to electricity, adequate roads and facilities is hindering South African schools from using computers in the classroom, announced Education Minister Naledi Pandor. Data from the Education Department reveal that in one province, only 14.2% of schools have computers, and of those, only 4.5% use the devices for teaching.

Update from Project (Bangladesh) Opening of Chittagong Schools

(Bangladesh) Opening of Chittagong Schools. Connect Bangladesh. Online March 2006. … (opening) a fifteen center project bringing computers and internet to schools and their communities in the Chittagong area. The project is part of a nationwide project by an international NGO, Relief International - Schools Online (RI-SOL). …
Professional Development (Info. from email to Ginny from Nazrul Islam (RI-SOL/BNGD) [nazrul@schoolsonline.org] via Digital Divide Network) Relief International-Schools Online has trained up about 250 teachers in 15 schools in Chittagong in Bangladesh with fundamental computing. 32 among these teachers have received 5 day long intensive training ( Teacher Professional Development) and have learned how to intergrate information and communication technologies into their existing teaching methods. The goal of the training is to make them champions in using technology beyond traditional or conventional teaching approaches. The teacher will now train their students how to use the technologies in education. … Areas of skill building and development under the training include: 1. Technican training : Basic skill building on computer use and network administration 2. Intergarting the use of computer, internet etc. into existing curriculam 3. Assisting students and community members in using school-community internet learning center based in school 4. Internet based learning 5.Cross cultural colloborative and online learning projects. … The trainings will enable teachers and students of 15 schools in Chittagong, a south eastern city in Bangladesh,to fully participate technology based Global Connections and Exchange Project (GCEP) which promotes use and intergration of ICT in education and help students, teachers and community to get involved in cross cultural dialogue with the help of information technologies. …

Misc.Bound by Law? Tales from the Public Domain

Bound by Law? Tales from the Public Domain. Duke University Law School Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Online March 2006. (GW Note: This is a delightful and informative publication about US copyright laws and public domain in comic-book adventure-story format. It turns learning about a complex and confusing topic into an adventure quest for readers. What a good idea! This is a must-see for anyone including US copyright law in their curriculum and also for anyone exploring alternative formats for presenting complex content.)

Informative ReadingPaying the price? A Total Cost of Ownership comparison between new and refurbished PCs...

Paying the price? A Total Cost of Ownership comparison between new and refurbished PCs in the small business, NGO and school in Africa. Bridges.org in SchoolNet Africa 2004. Online March 2006. This study considers the key cost differences in owning new and refurbished PCs over five years in a small business, NGO or school in Africa. It discusses issues that set the context for a Total Cost of Ownership consideration – such as PC quality, brand position in Africa, pricing, distribution, and specifications – before isolating the key drivers or factors that are likely to make a difference in ownership costs. By considering these key comparative TCO drivers, it provides a guideline for organisations facing a technology choice between new and refurbished PCs. …

Update from Country(USA) Students use computers to design real-world service projects.

(USA) Students use computers to design real-world service projects. eSchool News. Published June 2005. Online March 2006. Students work in teams on service-oriented projects … In the process of solving actual problems … the students learn to become creative, intuitive, adaptable learners who can solve unpredictable, real-life scenarios. … students … developed a helicopter evacuation network, for instance … students came up with the idea of helping people in nursing homes who might not have any visitors during the holidays, and gradually other girls and boys became involved …

Update on Project (China)Multimedia Technologies, Multiple Intelligences, and Teacher Professional Development in an International Ed Project

(China) Multimedia Technologies, Multiple Intelligences, and Teacher Professional Development in an International Education Project. Susan Crichton and Gail Kopp. Innovate. Feb/March 2006 vol.2 issue 3. Online March 2006. This paper shares a model for content development for teacher education in Western China. The goal of our project, Strengthening Capacity for Basic Education in Western China (SCBEWC), is to improve student learning through teacher education with a focus on student-centered instruction and SCI's tie to multiple intelligences. … By the end of the project, a teacher training program of courses and resources in these two areas will be available to approximately ten million Chinese teachers, particularly those in rural regions. … the first complete course, based on the content developed for the original face-to-face training, has been delivered by distance. A formal evaluation of this course has been completed, confirming the effectiveness of this course design…

Update from CountryGovernment of Egypt and Oracle, sign implementation of NEPAD e-Schools leading projects

Government of Egypt and Oracle, sign implementation of NEPAD e-Schools leading projects. Al Bawaba. Online March 2006. The Government of Egypt today (March 7) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 12 companies in the Oracle Consortium to provide ICT hardware, software, digital content and teacher development to secondary schools. …. The agreement forms part of the NEPAD e-Schools Demonstration Project, a NEPAD e-Africa Commission initiative. … Implementation by the Oracle Consortium of the project will begin at three schools in March 2006. These are: Al Ghorfa al Tejaria Secondary School in Port Said; Sabeeh Secondary School in the eastern province, and Al Wesan Experimental School in Al Gizza. …

Informative ReadingICTs in Teacher Education: A Planning Guide.

ICTs in Teacher Education: A Planning Guide. UNESCO. 2003. Online March 2006. Some practical answers to the increasing challenges posed by the new technologies to the teaching profession are offered… The document provides resources to help teacher educators, administrators and policy-makers better apply ICTs to teacher education programmes. The resources were developed by an international group of experts with extensive experience in the integration of ICTs into teacher preparation programmes. The document proposes a framework for ICTs in teacher education, describes the essential conditions that must be met for successful technology integration and provides guidelines for the development of a strategic planning process. It also identifies important strategies for managing the change process in the teacher education programme as technology becomes a catalyst for transforming the teaching-learning process. ...The document proposes a framework for ICTs in teacher education, describes the essential conditions that must be met for successful technology integration and provides guidelines for the development of a strategic planning process. (GW Note: Although published in 2003, this guide is noted here because it is an excellent compilation of the foundational theories and suggested strategies and frameworks for the successful implementation of ICT in education.)

ICT Support ICDL offers Arabic Braille.

ICDL offers Arabic Braille. AMEInfo. Online March 2006. An Arabic interface for International Computer Driving License courses will be available for people who are visually impaired by the end of 2006. The initiative between the Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid IT Education Project and Tamkeen will help improve IT literacy among the region's visually impaired by providing ICDL programmes in Arabic Braille format.

ICT SupportAfrican Education Knowledge Warehouse

African Education Knowledge Warehouse. SchoolNet Africa.Online March 2006. The African Education Knowledge Warehouse (AEKW) is a pan-African education portal which services African SchoolNet practitioners, policymakers and school-based communities on ICTs in education across Africa. … Site includes: SchoolNet Centre, Policy Centre, Learner Centre, African Teachers Centre, Gender Watch, Innovation Watch, Campaigns.

ICT Support Building a Narrated Slide Show on the Web

Building a Narrated Slide Show on the Web. Wade Roush. MIT Technology Review. Online March 2006. ... a simple way to create slide shows with music or audio narration, then share them over the Internet. … BubbleShare... provides exactly that. … Building a BubbleShare slide show couldn't be easier. Step 1: Upload your photos to BubbleShare's site (registration required). Step 2: Add captions and/or audio snippets (BubbleShare lets you record up to 30 seconds of audio per photo.). Step 3: Paste the HTML code that BubbleShare provides into your own Web page or blog entry. Then you get a mini-slide show player like the one here -- or you can post a link from your page to a higher-resolution version of the show hosted at BubbleShare's site. …

Update from Country(India) Starting Up the Ladder, From Below the Bottom Rung

(India) Starting Up the Ladder, From Below the Bottom Rung. Helene Cooper. NYTimes Opinion. Online March 2006. It's hard not to notice Abida Parvin as soon as you walk into the small room that serves as a computer training center for girls and women in an annex to, of all things, a madrasa in the heart of Jafrabad, one of this city's (New Delhi) teeming Muslim neighborhoods. …

Project Update(iEARN) Network Sponsors Worldwide Sharing of Curricula

(iEARN) Network Sponsors Worldwide Sharing of Curricula: Thousands of schools in more than 100 countries are tapping into iEARN. Sean Cavanagh. Ed Weekly. Online March 2006. …iEARN, a worldwide program that allows teachers and students to work collaboratively on classroom projects and share basic cultural information through the Internet and other technologies. The nonprofit global network serves 20,000 schools and youth organizations in 115 countries, including 600 schools in the United States. An estimated 1 million students, ages 5 to 19, take part every day. …

ICT SupportTeachers' Guide to Collaboration on the Internet

Teachers' Guide to Collaboration on the Internet. Online March 2006. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and iEARN-USA have announced a newly revised online resource to help teachers develop collaborative partnerships with educators in other countries. The new "Teachers' Guide to Collaboration on the Internet" provides tutorials, tips, online and print resources, and specific curriculum-based projects in which U.S. teachers can participate to establish school-to-school global interaction via the internet.
(GW Note: Although the guide is in English, project descriptions include languages of description and possible use.)

Informative ReadingNew UNESCO/UNICEF report on children out of school.

New UNESCO/UNICEF report on children out of school. UNESCO. Online March 2006. One hundred and fifteen million primary school-age children are out of school according to a joint UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS / UNICEF global estimate. This number equals 18% - or almost one in five - of the children worldwide in this age group. And many of the children who are in school may never complete their primary education or finish it without attaining even basic literacy skills. The report will soon be available in French.:: Download the Report (PDF):: Request a print copy :: More about the Report