Non-ICT ReadingDon't Weigh the Elephant -- Feed the Elephant

Don't Weigh the Elephant -- Feed the Elephant. Milton Chen. Edutopia. Published February 2007. Online March 2007. Let's focus on giving kids what they need -- information about their own brains, it turns out. … (GW Note: I am always informed by Milton Chen's writings as well as delighted by his writing style and article titles.)

Informative ReadingDOT-COMments

DOT-COMments eNewsletter. January 2007 (Issue 18). Dot-COM Alliance. Online February 2007. This issue of the newsletter includes one article on dot-EDU's activities in Southern Sudan and a series of three articles on improving project design based on dot-ORG's experience. …

ICT SupportWireless Internet for All, Without the Towers

Wireless Internet for All, Without the Towers. Randall Stross. NYTimes. Online February 2007. Sending Wi-Fi signals from the inside out, for better service. … These still are early days for the Internet, globally speaking. One billion people online; five billion to go. … An intriguingly inexpensive alternative (to expensive traditional “last mile’ coverage) has appeared: a Wi-Fi network that is not top-down but rather ground-level, peer-to-peer. It relies not on $3,500 radio transmitters perched on street lamps by professional installers but instead on $50 boxes that serve, depending upon population density, more than one household and can be installed by anyone with the ease of plugging in a toaster. …

ICT SupportIn Vietnam -- and across developing world -- cell phones play vital role in fueling growth

In Vietnam -- and across developing world -- cell phones play vital role in fueling growth. AP. MIT Technology Review. Online February 2007. . mobile phones are the primary form of telecommunication in most emerging economies, … Research shows that greater cell phone use can drive economic growth in emerging economies. … There's enormous entrepreneurship and creativity worldwide, and through mobile phones you're providing people with the tools -- rather than aid -- to earn a living …

Update from Intel and USAIDIntel and USAID Commit to Broaden Technology Access in Emerging Markets

Intel and USAID Commit to Broaden Technology Access in Emerging Markets. La Société as noted in Edubourse. Online February 2007. … working together to broaden access and usage of information and communications technology (ICT) in developing communities around the world. The organizations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), identifying three areas of common focus: increasing the use of ICT in education, enabling last mile Internet connectivity and supporting ICT usage by small- and medium-sized businesses to enhance economic development opportunities. …

ICT SupportWiMax is finding a home across the digital divide

WiMax is finding a home across the digital divide. James Connell. IHT. Online February 2007. … the long- range wireless Internet standard …, is unlikely to be appear as a new feature on cellphones any time soon. But it is already helping broadband Internet access reach across the digital divide.… WiMax already has its place in developing markets where fixed-line phones are nonexistent and cellphone networks are more primitive. …

ICT SupportIBM portal to give students easy access to worldwide scientific data

IBM portal to give students easy access to worldwide scientific data. Jordan Times, as reported by MENAFN.com. Online February 2007. ... Students now have free access to a website that will provide them with hands-on experiments and stimulate their interest in scientific inquiry while entertaining them at the same time…. (IBM) will provide free access to its website, www.TryScience.org, making Jordan the first country in the region to implement the Arabic version of its TryScience Programme. … The portal, which is designed for children aged between 8-14 years old and is available in nine languages including Arabic, offers data in several fields, such as biology, physics, technology and geology. …

Informative ReadingInnovate Journal of Online Education

Innovate Journal of Online Education. InnovateOnline. Online February 2007. The February/March issue … focuses on online assessment and effective course design, the value of e-portfolios as dynamic records of academic and professional development, and the creative use of synchronous communication tools for online tutorials. …

Non-ICT ReadingIntellectual illiteracy is the greatest challenge facing the Arab World.

Intellectual illiteracy is the greatest challenge facing the Arab World. Ahmed Maged. Daily Star Egypt. Online February 2007. ... Arab youth are undeniably at a crossroads. On the one hand they are dealing with modernism and western standards introduced into conservative societies. Meanwhile, Arab culture has become engrossed in appearances — the cosmetic — rather than the core issues. … This has in turn created a discrepancy between the spoken intent and incentive action, a politically and religiously-charged atmosphere where judgments are based on emotion rather than reason. … According to Fouad Al-Bana of Yemen’s Taauz University, Arab youth are today threatened by a high level of intellectual illiteracy. … According to Fouad Al-Bana of Yemen’s Taauz University, Arab youth are today threatened by a high level of intellectual illiteracy. … Al-Bana maintained that the Arab world suffers from a failure to understand the physical reality due to lack of proper channels and guidance needed to conduct research and acquire knowledge. … “This is why many young people are molded in threadbare traditions and remain change-resistant for fear new knowledge would endanger their long-established religious and social values. …

ICT Support 'Augmented reality' helps kids learn

'Augmented reality' helps kids learn. Research project uses handheld computers to teach kids math and literacy skills. eSchool News. Online February 2007. In an effort to increase interest in math and sciences in schools, university researchers have developed an innovative pilot program that uses handheld computers and GPS units to make an augmented reality-based educational environment. …A research project that uses wireless handheld devices to engage students in an augmented reality-based educational environment could have a big impact on future learning, its creators say. … The Handheld Augmented Reality Project (HARP), a collaboration among Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, uses wireless handheld computers to enhance teaching and learning through a series of activities that draw on the attributes of students' surroundings. … See more at MIT Teacher Education Program's Handheld Augmented Reality Simulations Site. Also, hear Chris Dede's keynote speech at the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative conference via podcast Emerging Educational Technologies and Neomillennial Learning Styles.

Update from UNESCOYoung Digital Creators Educator's Kit

UNESCO: Young Digital Creators Educator's Kit for online learning and intercultural dialogue. UNESCO. Cited by dgCommunities. Online February 2007. ... "Young Digital Creators Educator's Kit" for educators to incorporate an interdisciplinary teaching model using creative digital technology into classrooms and within non-formal educational settings. ... encouraging young people (age 12-18) to be reflective, creative, and interactive with the use of ICTs in addressing global challenges of development and expressing their point of view on socio-cultural values through the universal language of Art in its digital form. … Young Digital Creators “Scenes and sounds of my city” now with Arabic guidelines. UNESCO Young Digital Creator’s partner NGO Makash has developed step-by-step guidelines to the “scenes and sounds of my city” programme in Arabic.

ICT SupportOpening up the World

Opening up the World. Hadia Mostafa. Business Today Egypt. Online February 2007. The introduction of an Arabic language National Geographic Youth to Egypt will promote a whole new awareness of the world around us. … launch of its first Arabic-language magazine, National Geographic Youth (NGY. … To augment their new Arabic-language publication, National Geographic is building an Egyptian scientific website. …

ICT Support5 Good Developments for Education in Window’s Vista

5 Good Developments for Education in Window’s Vista . Jeff VanDrimmelen. EduTechie.com. Online February 2007. … the new Office 2007 suite. From a support standpoint I can see how this upgrade could be a nightmare. The changes in Office navigation are quite significant, especially for long time users of the suite, with little apparent added functionality. All I.T. people tell you Vista is more secure, …but an every day educator cares more about it working and functioning that how safe it is. …how the upgrade to Vista helps us out as educators? What specific traits does it have that would be make it advantageous for us to upgrade to Vista? What added functionality will help me educate better? …