Interesting description of being foreign. I'd say that the foreigner sometimes chooses a land of opportunities and better education. The final words from this article reads, "The homebody chooses the pleasures of belonging. The foreigner chooses the pleasures of freedom, and the pains that go with them."
The second meeting of the Working Group on ICT Statistics in Education (WISE) was held from 2 to 4 December 2009 in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was organized by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in cooperation with UNESCO’s Office in Montevideo.
There are lots of publicity on # of XO laptops distributed in many countries. There is not much discussion about how those laptops are being used. Also, there are several sites in the U.S. implementing these in some cities in the needs. Overall, I need to spend time to watch how this product evolves to be really useful. As Steve Jobs said, the one I have is a piece of junk. The kids in the photos look very engaged. One truth could be that my understanding of XO is subjective to that of those who appreciate it as the first toy that opens a door to the world. But, not sure what's best for them now that there are so many netbooks.
Time Warner Cable has announced a new philanthropic initiative that is being launched in conjunction with a White House plan to improve education and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). As part of the five-year, $100M initiative, the company is launching Connect a Million Minds (CAMM), a multi-faceted program that seeks to spark kids' interest in STEM education by connecting at least one million children with fun and engaging out-of-school science and math learning experiences. Features include viral videos, digital badges that can be downloaded onto to websites, emails, or Facebook pages and The Connectory Widget, which allows users to place the CAMM Connectory on their website or blog.
Confusing signals
from Flickr user: lrargerich
Interesting observation about the use of textbook. "words on demand"
Dr. Gee pointed out the importance of real-world problem-solving skills and professionalization of teachers.
Mizuko Ito on Why Time Spent Online Is Important for Teen Development
November 20, 2008
Digital Media & Learning, Multimedia
“It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online,” says Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the lead author of the most extensive U.S. study to date on teens and their use of digital media. The study showed that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online often in ways adults do not understand or value. Learn more
Though I have high respect for the McArthur's Digital Media & Learning Initiatives, the publications that came out from this school of research do not seem to present a large scale of samples of today's learners. Describing phenomena is one thing, knowing that those savvy youth that participate well online is another thing,... , but this ethnographic study works on a selected group of participants. There is a lack of suggestions or recommendations for teachers and adults. The heart of ethnography will present in-depth stories, but this study needs more practical suggestions as to balancing out the expectations of the reality, helping students highly skilled in their discipline. Acknowledging the fact that there is youth development on gaming is easy. Just to talk about this phenomena lacks substantial matters in education. Beautifying what youth do does not help them. Solutions?
| India Dumps $10 Laptop, Orders 2,50,000 OLPCs | |||
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| | In the year 2006, India's ministry of human resource development rejected the initiative, saying "it would be impossible to justify an expenditure of this scale on a debatable scheme when public funds continue to be in inadequate supply for well-established needs listed in different policy documents" and stated plans to make laptops at $10 each for school children. Last year, the entire tech world eagerly waited for the launch of the $10 laptop designed by students of Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras, UGC and MHRD, but it turned out to be a joke. The $10 laptop 'prototype' with two GB RAM wasn't a laptop at all but a computing device along with a hard disk with e-books, e-journals and relevant educative material through the 'Sakshat' portal. The One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc. (OLPC) is a non-profit organisation set up to oversee the creation of an affordable educational device for use in the developing world. The goal of the foundation is to "to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning." Its current focus is on the development, construction and deployment of the XO-1 laptop. |
