ICTDev Pulse

Date: 11:32 AM July 7th 2009Venue: Our quarters, Sahn Malen

Date: 11:32 AM July 7th 2009Venue: Our quarters, Sahn MalenHello again. It's another wet day here in Sahn, most of the others are away to another village to distribute the malaria nets. Carlos and I(and Clem, who isn't feeling well), have stayed behind to work on OLPC stuff.It's been a good week for OLPC thus far. Since I last posted, we have:.Finalized the lists of students who will receive XOs.Recruited 12 new peer tutors(in addition to the four from the last distribution)

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:13:00 -0700

Join us for a discussion with Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow Howard Weinstein

AshokaTech invites entrepreneurs, inventors, engineers, and others who use technologies to improve their society and open new markets, to join us at our Online Group to discuss the invention or adaptation of technologies designed for everyone - not just the world’s wealthiest consumers.
This week's focus:

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:02:29 -0700

Vaccine hysteria

I have no doubt that the H1N1 virus is still very dangerous. I am also confident that the World Health Organization is continuing to take extreme precautions to ensure that the pandemic does not reach catastrophic levels. But this Reuters article seems designed expressly to conjure up baselessly apocalyptic fears:

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:27:39 -0700

Day 2 After a Dark Night

Being at the beginning of the rainy season, a large storm came over Sunday night and lightning struck a large transformer taking out the power for much of M’boro – including where our school is. It was not a problem to begin teaching Monday morning since we had charged all the needed laptops over the weekend and the internet, being out as well, wasn’t necessary yet. All of the teachers, however, were asked to bring back charged laptops on Tuesday with the power still being down.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:50:00 -0700

In DC next week?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:32:33 -0700

Previewing Hillary Clinton's speech tomorrow

Ben Smith compiles some previews of what is being billed as a major speech from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tomorrow:
“She is bringing the concept of ‘it takes a village’ to foreign policy,” said Brookings Institution President Strobe Talbott, invoking the title of a well-received book that Clinton wrote while her husband was in the White House.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:17:02 -0700

Education in Sénégal

For those of you following, we have officially begun teacher training and are two days in. While Justin and I have spent a significant amount of time with all the teachers in the region (recently went on holiday with them), we have found it difficult to pin-down precisely who is teaching classes with the xo next year. Today we found out why.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:01:00 -0700

eXOcuse me?

Oh the frustration of customs. The days are quickly passing by, and the 100 XO laptops are still stuck in Johannesburg customs. Even though these laptops are donations, customs has placed a monetary value of the laptops that exceed ZAR20,000 limit. This is in spite of the fact that we are working with a non-profit, but once again formalities and paperwork get in the way of progress!Luckily, we have 8 XOs, from us team members and extra purchased, that we have been able to use with the children.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:59:00 -0700

Let the Teaching Begin

Day 1 [Written Monday the 13th of July]So, today we began the teacher training. There was a group of about twelve teachers plus the five of us leading – Stephanie, James, Eli, Devon, and I. Overall, it was a good start. With 12 people who have little to no experience with computers, and all of them using laptop computers with a touch mouse-pad, there were a lot of new ideas at once. I remember the first computer my family had, but I do not remember the learning curve. Some of you readers, however, may remember that right and left click are not naturally intuitive.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:44:00 -0700

Unicef, the Killers, MTV and USAID team up

From UNICEF:
Starting today, MTV audiences around the world will see a new music video that aims to raise awareness about sex trafficking. Featuring the rock band The Killers, the video is an exclusive collaboration between UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) and the US Agency for International Development.
The track, Goodnight, Travel Well, is from the album Day & Age. The video is the second in a series of music video collaborations that highlight the danger and impact of human trafficking.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:38:04 -0700
Syndicate content