Informative Reading: Measuring the Information Society - The ICT Development Index

Measuring the Information Society - The ICT Development Index. International Telecommunication Union. Online March 2009. ...The latest edition of Measuring the Information Society features the new ITU ICT Development Index. The Index captures the level of advancement of ICTs in more than 150 countries worldwide and compares progress made between 2002 and 2007. It also measures the global digital divide and examines how it has developed in recent years. The report also features a new ICT Price Basket, which combines fixed, mobile and broadband tariffs for 2008 into one measure and compares it across countries. The analytical report is complemented by a series of statistical tables providing country-level data for all indicators included in the Index. … 

ICT Support for Learning: Map of Future Forces Affecting Education

Map of Future Forces Affecting Education. KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the Institute for the Future (IFTF). Online March 2009.  Created by a range of experts and analysts, the map is a forecast of the future, and each element on the map represents forces that could affect learning in the next decade. Many of these forces can work in tandem, and they could also appear seemingly unconnected. Nothing is definite. We don’t encourage debating with the forecast, but rather encourage you to explore the map, think about what you’ve seen, and use the map and its interactive features for group and online discussion. Think of the map as a catalyst for conversation. … (Note: Perhaps the best place to start is by viewing the Map Demo.)

ICT Support for Learning:Industry Makes Pitch That Smartphones Belong in Classroom

Industry Makes Pitch That Smartphones Belong in Classroom.  Matt Richtel and Brad Stone. NY Times. Online Feb 2009. ... The cellphone industry has a suggestion for improving the math skills of American students: spend more time on cellphones in the classroom. … CTIA, a wireless industry trade group, plans to start making its case for the educational value of cellphones. … Proponents of selling cellphones to schools have said that they are simply making the same kind of pitch that the computer industry has been profitably making to educators since the 1980s. …

Informative Reading: Texting 'improves language skill'

Texting 'improves language skill'. BBC Online. Feb 26, 2009.... Text speak, rather than harming literacy, could have a positive effect on the way children interact with language, says a study. … the use of so-called "textisms" could be having a positive impact on reading development. …

Informative Reading: Free computer-access project inspired 'Slumdog'

Free computer-access project inspired 'Slumdog'. CNNOnline March 2009.  ...The book "Q & A" inspired the Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire," but what inspired Indian author Vikas Swarup to write the book?... Swarup says he took his cue from an experimental program giving impoverished children in India's capital Delhi unsupervised access to computers loaded with educational software. The "Hole in the Wall" project discovered that youngsters were able to teach themselves to use the machines embedded in a wall in a poor neighborhood, offering new insights into the abilities of children's minds.