News from IndustryEgypt Education Initiative extends e-Learning with Nortel Solutions

Egypt Education Initiative extends e-Learning with Nortel Solutions. Strategiy.com. Online April 2006. Nortel has contributed a multimedia communication server to the Egypt Education Initiative (EEI), aiming to help improving communications services and capabilities in the country’s fast-transforming educational sector as it moves to e-learning models, methodologies and curricula. The EEI is an initiative of the public and private sector, backed up by the World Economic Forum (WEF), that combines the strengths of government, the private sector and society stakeholders to advance education using the models recommended by the WEF’s Global Education Initiative (GEI). …

Informative ReadingWhen Digital Kids Rule the Classroom

When Digital Kids Rule the Classroom. Stefanie Olsen. ZDNet. Online April 2006. Teachers may be the masters in the classroom, but when it comes to mastering technology, a growing number of schools are turning to students. … a program called GenYes in which kids teach teachers how to use technology. … The initiative is one of a number of similar projects … in California, Texas, Arizona, New York … an acknowledgement that kids often know more about technology than their teachers do. … So why not let tech-savvy kids turn the tables and teach the teachers? …

Informative ReadingDimensions of Technological Literacy

Dimensions of Technological Literacy. National Academy of Engineering. Online April 2006. Technological literacy encompasses three interdependent dimensions: (1) knowledge; (2) ways of thinking and acting; and (3) capabilities. These dimensions can be placed along a continuum-from low to high, poorly developed to well developed, limited to extensive. ... The characteristics of a technologically literate person can be described along these dimensions. … A technologically literate person has knowledge of technology and is capable of using it effectively to accomplish various tasks. He or she can think critically about technological issues and acts accordingly. …Different job and life circumstances require different levels and types of literacy.

Informative ReadingWhat is Access to Knowledge?

What is Access to Knowledge? Jack Balkin. Address at Access to Knowledge (a2k) Conference. April 21, 2006. Balkinization blog. Online April 2006. … three points about the theory of access to knowledge. First, Access to Knowledge is a demand of justice. Second, Access to Knowledge is both an issue of economic development and an issue of individual participation and human liberty. Third, Access to Knowledge is about intellectual property, but it is also about far more than that.…Access to knowledge … refers to four different things… 1. Human knowledge-- education, know-how, and the creation of human capital through learning new skills. 2. Information-- like news, medical information, data, and weather reports. 3. Knowledge-embedded goods-- goods where the inputs to production involve significant amounts of scientific and technical knowledge, often but not exclusively protected by intellectual property rights. Some key examples are drugs, electronic hardware, and computer software, but in contemporary economic life, information and intellectual property provide an increasingly important share of almost all valuable goods. 4. Tools for the production of KEG's-- examples include scientific and research tools, materials and compounds for experimentation, computer programs and computer hardware.…

Update from CountryRwanda Plans Massive Telecentre Investment

(Rwanda) Rwanda Plans Massive Telecentre Investment. Allafrica.com. Online April 2006. The Rwandan government has allocated 560bn Rwandan francs (about $1bn) to develop telecentres, said an official. … The money will be used (to) establish telecentres to enable people in rural areas access information vital for their development, from the rest of the world… the centres would also promote democracy and development by connecting rural citizens to government and the economy. … Telecentres provide multi-purpose services through information, skills and consultancy, and business support by reducing the cost of doing business and business transactions between companies. … It is hoped that the project will increase both general and ICT literacy in the country, which will enable job creation and sustainable growth.

News from IndustryIntel develops PC for developing countries

Intel develops PC for developing countries. PCPro News. Online April 2006. Intel has launched its 'Discover the PC' campaign, with platforms and partnerships to bring affordable computing to developing countries. … a low cost desktop platform that will be distributed through government agencies and telecommunications companies to people who would not ordinarily be able to own one. The distributors will be key to ensuring that recipients have Internet access says Intel. The launch starts in Mexico, and will be expanded to Brazil, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria, with other countries being added later in the year. The PC is described by the company as a 'fully-featured, high-quality, low-cost desktop PC' with an 'easy-to-use interface'. …

News from IndustryUAE Ministry of Education and IBM Launch KidSmart Programme

UAE Ministry of Education and IBM Launch KidSmart Programme. AMEInfo. Online April 2006. …20 Kindergarten schools equipped with the KidSmart Early Learning Centres… PC-based tools that encourage collaborative learning using software early years learning tools … The Kidsmart initiative includes the gift by IBM of 50 specially equipped early learning centres designed by IBM in collaboration with children's equipment manufacturer Little Tikes… designed to allow two or more children to work together, sharing learning experiences driven by educational software developed by Riverdeep. The software, which has been translated into Arabic, covers basic skills in maths, science and creative writing and thinking. … Besides the tools, IBM offered training to early years' teachers… Kidsmart website which has been developed in partnership with the US Centre for Children and Technology … www.kidsmartearlylearning.org provides ongoing resources and support for teachers and parents using ICT with young children and is multi-lingual. …

Engendering ICTOnline Education: What can it deliver?

Online Education: What can it deliver? The Development Gateway Special Report. Development Gateway. Online April 2006. ... highlight article focuses on the relationship of gender with online education. It is about education in developing countries being provided online, seeking progressive social change and women's empowerment. Though there are barriers to this, there seems to be a great deal of inspiration behind the innovative online techniques. … Including:
Relationship of Gender to Faculty Use of Online Educational Tools
Online Technology and Networking - Some Gender Perpectives
Gender and Information Revolution in Africa
Brave New Women of Asia: How distance education changed their lives
Interview with Eva Rathgeber - Gender and Online Education

Informative ReadingWireless Networking in the Developing World

Wireless Networking in the Developing World. A practical guide to planning and building low-cost telecommunications infrastructure. wndw.net. Online April 2006. … The massive popularity of wireless networking has caused equipment costs to continually plummet, while equipment capabilities continue to increase. By applying this technology in areas that are badly in need of critical communications infrastructure, more people can be brought online than ever before, in less time, for very little cost. We hope to not only convince you that this is possible, but also show how we have made such networks work, and to give you the information and tools you need to start a network project in your local community. …You can download the book in PDF form as a single file (2.0 MB), or in chapters.

Informative ReadingEngendering Information & Communication Technologies: Challenges & Opportunities for Gender-Equitable Development

Engendering Information & Communication Technologies: Challenges & Opportunities for Gender-Equitable Development. World Bank Group. Published 2004. Brochure PDF Download. Online March 2006. The brochure descibes how engendering information and communication technology involves identifying and eliminating gender disparities in access to and use of such technology. And how it also involves adapting technology to women’s needs by taking advantage of their special knowledge and strong informal networks and support systems. Outlines World Bank efforts to address gender issues in information technology projects.

Update from Country (India) Microsoft to roll out 50,000 kiosks, unveils rural IT initiative 'Saksham’

(India) Microsoft to roll out 50,000 kiosks, unveils rural IT initiative 'Saksham’. The Hindu Business Line. April 2006. Software major Microsoft Corporation India has announced its rural IT initiative `Saksham' under which the company would partner with non-governmental agencies … to roll out 50,000 kiosks over the next three years. These IT kiosks will provide information and services related to health, education, communication and agriculture, besides Government-to-citizen services, including land records. The company will also develop a rural portal powered with content and applications aimed at rural segment … The initiative is expected to provide local entrepreneurs opportunities to set up and manage kiosks on a self-sustaining basis and provide content and services to the rural community. The software major will provide technical support and training to the local youth, who would manage these kiosks. The operators can charge a fee for various services and generate revenues to pay back their loans to the bank.

Update from IndustryPCs for the Masses?

PCs for the Masses? Technology Review. Online April 2006. Intel is making computers specifically designed for users in poor countries. Will anyone want them? … Intel's Discover the PC initiative gives a boost to efforts to make personal computing more practical for far more of the world's population. … Mexico City, the targeted first market for the new PC. Intel and Telmex, the Mexican phone company, have partnered to distribute the PC. The PC will include a hard drive, four USB ports, and built-in networking but will not be as large as conventional PCs. Intel and Telmex did not announce a price; the PC will be available in the second half of the year. …

News from FundersCongress contests proposed 2007 aid package for Egypt

Congress contests proposed 2007 aid package for Egypt.Aya Batrawy. Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). Online April 2006. Members of Congress questioned US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday about the financial assistance package requested for Egypt next year. The proposed budget from the Bush administration would allocate about 1.3-billion dollars for military assistance to Egypt next year, the typical level for Egypt since 1986. … In addition to the 1.3-billion dollars for military assistance, another 455-million dollars is proposed to be allocated to Egypt next year in the form of economic assistance, down from 575-million dollars in 2004. … This proposed financial assistance … questioned by one of Egypt’s strongest supports in the House Appropriations Committee … Congressman David Obey of Wisconsin, Senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. …

ICT SupportHolograms Break Storage Record

Holograms Break Storage Record. New technology has almost twice the storage density of a magnetic hard drive. Kate Greene. MIT Technology Review. Online March 2006. Holographic storage company InPhase Technologies announced this week that it has broken a storage density record by writing 64.3 gigabytes of data onto a single square inch of disc space. …at the end of this year: a holographic disk drive and a 300-gigabyte disc. …followed by 800-gigabyte discs in 2008 and 1.6 terabyte (1,600 gigabyte) discs in 2010. …

Informative ReadingAssess or Guess?10 ways you might be fooling yourself about assessment

Assess or Guess?10 ways you might be fooling yourself about assessment. David Singer. Campus Technology. Online April 2006. … a specialist in assessment related to the application of education technology and brain science in education … takes a hard look at how we could be fooling ourselves, even with our best attempts at assessment.

ICT SupportThe Implications Wheel

The Implications Wheel. Online April 2006. A strategic exploration tool developed by Joel A. Barker. Draws upon group wisdom to quickly and effectively uncover the short and long term implication of any change. Example from ISTE leadership: Implications of schools staying the same. Article about Using the Wheel: Reinventing the Technology ‘Wheel’. T.H.E. Journal. Online April 2006.