From wonka at fundapi.org Tue Apr 10 21:34:35 2007 From: wonka at fundapi.org (Eduardo Bejar) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 20:34:35 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Netsquared's Innovation Fund Award voting in progress Message-ID: <00a501c77bd9$8ff84280$6bb1a8c0@veruca> Thru Saturday April 14th at 12 noon PDT (GMT -7) you can cast your vote for your favorite project proposal for the 2007 NetSquared Conference. A total of 152 proposals have been submitted; however, only 20 proposals will be selected and will get the opportunity to receive support from the NetSquared Innovation Fund to become a reality. You can check all nominated projects at: http://www.netsquared.org/projects/project-proposals/all-project-proposals-b y-name Also, you can check our project proposal "Social Web Tools for Developing Countries: Yankana.org" at: http://www.netsquared.org/projects/proposals/social-web-tools-developing-cou ntries-yankana-org Please support our project proposal with your vote, as it will help many non-profit organizations in developing countries. Thank you and best regards, Eduardo Bejar Director Fundacion de Ayuda por Internet, Fundapi.org www.fundapi.org Guayaquil, Ecuador From dacamat at gmail.com Thu Apr 5 13:02:22 2007 From: dacamat at gmail.com (Dani Matielo) Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 19:02:22 +0200 Subject: [DDN] Digital Divide in Wikipedia Message-ID: Hello, DDNers, I have just checked the Wikipedia article for Digital Divide, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide And it says the page is in need of expert attention. I just thought I would post a note here, as there will be probably people able to help. :) -- Dani Matielo dacamat at gmail.com dde_carvalho at uoc.edu dani at futuro.usp.br http://digitaloging.blogspot.com/ "The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say an uncommon-place thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles." ~ Jack Kerouac From dave at ctcnetchicago.org Mon Apr 9 20:56:20 2007 From: dave at ctcnetchicago.org (Dave Chakrabarti) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 19:56:20 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Free Drupal CMS (and other tools) for nonprofits Message-ID: Hi fellow DDNers, It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org. I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on. Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you guys to host on your own? Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org, the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along with a couple of for-profits. Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more organizations using them? We think that if offer them to organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on "how to create a Drupal page" or "how to name your new page intelligently" ...not "how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful tech platform". And I mean really "hosted" by the way...not as a subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff. And I really meant the "anywhere in the world" bit, too...this isn't a US-only venture. We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the community votes for projects they like. If you think this project pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit http:// www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due this Saturday, April 14th. And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or off- list otherwise. Thanks! Dave. ------------------------ Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org From deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu Fri Apr 13 15:13:59 2007 From: deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu (Deborah Elizabeth Finn) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:13:59 -0400 Subject: [DDN] Discussion surrounding the new Journal of Information Technology in Social Change Message-ID: <3228c2a50704131213p59347edcxe56fee5668b43f7a@mail.gmail.com> Dear DDN Colleagues, There's some interesting discussions in progress about the new Journal of Information Technology in Social Change, and I'd be interested in your thoughts about it. Michelle Murrain's blog article is a good place to start: "How do we do make change if we keep doing things the same way?" I've also written a brief blog article on the topic: "Information wants to be free, but it also needs to be sustainable" What do you think? Best regards from Deborah Deborah Elizabeth Finn Boston, Massachusetts, USA deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu www.cyber-yenta.org Recommended reading: "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" From elderbob at gmail.com Sun Apr 1 14:46:12 2007 From: elderbob at gmail.com (Elderbob) Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 13:46:12 -0500 Subject: [DDN] An incredible Web 2.0 Experience Message-ID: <17798b9c0704011146w9ea795fpa2173a66d944994a@mail.gmail.com> Last week, I had a wonderful experience that I think represents one of the really useful ways that Skype is being used in the classroom. Perhaps it goes a long way in saying something about Web 2.0 and how it enhances our community. Brian Crosby and his Nevada class of 4th graders include a student whose medical condition precludes her from attending regular classroom activities. So with a little leg-work and hand-shaking, Brian got some community members to provide a home link-up for the child who can't attend. The story of how it was done and what the class is doing got my attention and I wanted to learn more. I contacted him, and having talked it over with his class, they agreed to be interviewed by Lee Babers 8th class in Virginia who man the webcasts at YouthBridges (the student version of WorldBridges). WIth a bit of thought and collaboration, we finally succeeded in connecting all the dots, and met last Thursday via Skype. There were a number of connection and production problems but under it all was a humane interest in how one class continued to include a student that otherwise would have been disconnected. This was truly a "No Child Left Behind Story". In the end, I was able to edit out most of the technical glitches which eventually resulted in a 21 minute interview of one class by the other. The story is greater than that, and I have tried to piece together most of it in a blog post. You can see any one of three versions of the story among the blogs below: Eldertown - http://eldertown.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/the-spark-that-drives-web-20-technology-in-the-classroom/#more-109 Knowplace Blog ? http://knowplace.ca/blog (These first two blogs are both my contributions and are essentially the same.) Learning is Messy Blog - http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=233 (This is Brian Crosby's Sparks, Nevada Blog) YouthBridges - http://youthbridges.net/?q=node/35 (and this is Lee Baber's Virginia YouthBridges edition) These kids would love it if you would post your thoughts to the various blogs (and I would too). Be sure to watch the videos, one was produced by the 4th grade class and the other is news coverage of the same story. Thanks to all those who participated in the actual experience, and thank you for reading. elderbob -- Helping folks understand that it's never too late to become all they ever wanted to become. From kevin.thompson at anglia.ac.uk Fri Apr 13 16:16:00 2007 From: kevin.thompson at anglia.ac.uk (kevin Thompson) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:16:00 +0100 Subject: [DDN] An incredible Web 2.0 Experience In-Reply-To: <17798b9c0704011146w9ea795fpa2173a66d944994a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Excellent story! thanks for posting Kev ************************************** Kevin Thompson BSc DipEd MEd Cert Comp Sci Principal Lecturer & Admissions Tutor Anglia Ruskin University 07971 503 943 Check www.Ultraversity.net For our radical online degree For the UV Help desk: 0845 196 3434 ************************************** On 1/4/07 19:46, "Elderbob" wrote: > Last week, I had a wonderful experience that I think represents one of the > really useful ways that Skype is being used in the classroom. Perhaps it > goes a long way in saying something about Web 2.0 and how it enhances our > community. > > Brian Crosby and his Nevada class of 4th graders include a student whose > medical condition precludes her from attending regular classroom > activities. So with a little leg-work and hand-shaking, Brian got some > community members to provide a home link-up for the child who can't attend. > The story of how it was done and what the class is doing got my attention > and I wanted to learn more. I contacted him, and having talked it over with > his class, they agreed to be interviewed by Lee Babers 8th class in Virginia > who man the webcasts at YouthBridges (the student version of WorldBridges). > > WIth a bit of thought and collaboration, we finally succeeded in connecting > all the dots, and met last Thursday via Skype. There were a number of > connection and production problems but under it all was a humane interest in > how one class continued to include a student that otherwise would have been > disconnected. This was truly a "No Child Left Behind Story". > > In the end, I was able to edit out most of the technical glitches which > eventually resulted in a 21 minute interview of one class by the other. The > story is greater than that, and I have tried to piece together most of it in > a blog post. You can see any one of three versions of the story among the > blogs below: > > Eldertown - > http://eldertown.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/the-spark-that-drives-web-20-technol > ogy-in-the-classroom/#more-109 > > > Knowplace Blog ? http://knowplace.ca/blog > > (These first two blogs are both my contributions and are essentially the > same.) > > Learning is Messy Blog - http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=233 > > (This is Brian Crosby's Sparks, Nevada Blog) > > YouthBridges - http://youthbridges.net/?q=node/35 > > (and this is Lee Baber's Virginia YouthBridges edition) > > These kids would love it if you would post your thoughts to the various > blogs (and I would too). > Be sure to watch the videos, one was produced by the 4th grade class and the > other is news coverage of the same story. > > Thanks to all those who participated in the actual experience, and thank you > for reading. > > elderbob > > -- Helping folks understand that it's never too late to become all they ever > wanted to become. > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with > the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > From mmaranda at afcn.org Fri Apr 13 16:47:28 2007 From: mmaranda at afcn.org (Michael Maranda) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:47:28 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Netsquared's Innovation Fund Award - voting extended to April 16 Message-ID: <3feff8d60704131347l507c7500w315693a7272d4d84@mail.gmail.com> The NetSquared voting period has been extended to April 16th, there is still time! The prize for the 20 projects receiving the most votes is an expenses-paid trip for two to the Net2 conference in Silicon Valley, where project members will mingle with representatives of major foundations, companies and tech gurus who will provide support for their work in cash and in-kind contributions. In short, a gold mine for a new project. You can vote for up to ten projects (minimum five). http://www.netsquared.org/projects/vote Here are a few I'd like to bring to your attention... * Hear Our Pain Action Network - Our Freedom to Connect is impaired by a divide and conquer market and policy regime. We're here to change that and to transform the communications/media policy sphere. * Hooze & Wagn: Organically Grown Public Data on Products and Companies - Hooze.org and its Wagn underbelly are for collaboratively gathering and broadcasting convenient, trustworthy public data about products and companies. With wiki spirit and database power, Hooze gives citizens a new economic voice. * ManorMeta - The living learning lab ManorMeta is a visionary multimedia series sharing problem solving adventures, diverse young leaders, musical stars and AI characters in an amazing mashup for web, virtual worlds, television, film, comics and print media. * Sourcetree Commons: Geeking our way to a better world - To develop better social software, we must use these very tools in the communities that are building them. We leverage social software to amplify the creative power of geeks and provide increased resources, efficiency, feedback and support. * Grassroots.org Toolkit - Dave Chakrabarti just pitched that one, so I'll leave it at that. On 4/10/07, Eduardo Bejar wrote: > > > Thru Saturday April 14th at 12 noon PDT (GMT -7) you can cast your vote > for > your favorite project proposal for the 2007 NetSquared Conference. A total > of 152 proposals have been submitted; however, only 20 proposals will be > selected and will get the opportunity to receive support from the > NetSquared > Innovation Fund to become a reality. > > You can check all nominated projects at: > > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/project-proposals/all-project-proposals-b > > y-name > > Also, you can check our project proposal "Social Web Tools for Developing > Countries: Yankana.org" at: > > > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/proposals/social-web-tools-developing-cou > ntries-yankana-org > > Please support our project proposal with your vote, as it will help many > non-profit organizations in developing countries. > > Thank you and best regards, > > Eduardo Bejar > Director > Fundacion de Ayuda por Internet, Fundapi.org > www.fundapi.org > Guayaquil, Ecuador > -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter Co-Founder, Chicago Digital Access Alliance Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition President, Association For Community Networking Support the efforts of the Chicago Digital Access Alliance: http://www.digitalaccessalliance.org From mfurdyk at takingitglobal.org Fri Apr 13 16:15:09 2007 From: mfurdyk at takingitglobal.org (Michael Furdyk) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:15:09 -0400 Subject: [DDN] Don't forget to vote for TakingITGlobal too! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi friends, For those of you who are going to NetSquared to vote for one project or another that has been mentioned on this list, we would appreciate a vote for TakingITGlobal (you have to vote for at least 5 projects), who took over DDN from EDC and have been operating the site (and fighting spam!) and mailing list. Funding to support our technology improvements and community management team (many of whom are volunteers) would be a huge help for TIG and also benefit our ability to improve the DigitalDivide.net site as well! For those of you that have already voted, it's not too late to go back to your ballot and add TakingITGlobal to your voting list. Cheers and thanks :) -- Michael -------------------------------------------------------- Michael Furdyk | Co-founder & Director of Technology TakingITGlobal | http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/mfurdyk -----Original Message----- From: digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net [mailto:digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net] On Behalf Of Dave Chakrabarti Sent: April-09-07 8:56 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: [DDN] Free Drupal CMS (and other tools) for nonprofits Hi fellow DDNers, It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org. I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on. Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you guys to host on your own? Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org, the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along with a couple of for-profits. Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more organizations using them? We think that if offer them to organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on "how to create a Drupal page" or "how to name your new page intelligently" ...not "how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful tech platform". And I mean really "hosted" by the way...not as a subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff. And I really meant the "anywhere in the world" bit, too...this isn't a US-only venture. We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the community votes for projects they like. If you think this project pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit http:// www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due this Saturday, April 14th. And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or off- list otherwise. Thanks! Dave. ------------------------ Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. From davidrothman at pobox.com Fri Apr 13 19:16:21 2007 From: davidrothman at pobox.com (David H. Rothman) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:16:21 -0400 Subject: [DDN] Digital Divide in Wikipedia In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <46200F45.8040909@pobox.com> > I have just checked the Wikipedia article for Digital Divide, here: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide > And it says the page is in need of expert attention. Great idea, Dani. I'd do it myself except I'm swamped. You probably know the background, but for people who don't... A major problem with the existing Wikipedia item is that it's too textbookish. among other things, and lacks a sense of history. The Clinton Administration was not perfect, but, in addition to taking some action, it did much good in educating people as to the existence of the Divide in the first place. One "must" person to consult would be none other than Bonnie Bracey (http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/bbracey), a DDN regular, of course, who thought up the Kickstart project and was the only classroom teacher on the Clinton Administration's National Information Advisory Council. Andy Carvin, the moderator here, would also be good to catch up with. Resource list on Divide matters (transmitted earlier to the list by Felicia Sullivan--Felicia_Sullivan at uml.edu): http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html http://www.ctcnet.org/resources/reports/impact98.htm http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/ http://main.edc.org/newsroom/features/stone.asp http://www.comtechreview.org/issue.php http://www.americaconnects.net/research/default.asp?subid=35 For the most part these are US focussed. David David Rothman | dr at teleread.org | 703-370-6540 TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home http://www.teleread.org Blog: http://www.teleread.org/blog Dani Matielo wrote: > Hello, DDNers, > > I have just checked the Wikipedia article for Digital Divide, here: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide > > And it says the page is in need of expert attention. I just thought I would > post a note here, as there will be probably people able to help. :) > > From drpoo at drpooville.org Fri Apr 13 17:51:22 2007 From: drpoo at drpooville.org (Chris Ward) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 17:51:22 -0400 Subject: [DDN] Free Drupal CMS (and other tools) for nonprofits In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <461FFB5A.1090401@drpooville.org> Quick question, you wrote that the Salsa platform is free, is this true? I see that it is available only at a price. Please inform me of where I could retrieve a copy. Thanks. -Chris Dave Chakrabarti wrote: > Hi fellow DDNers, > > It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been > fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org. > > I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on. > Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a > growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in > the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote > for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and > all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the > toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you > guys to host on your own? > > Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will > include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated > with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year > domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like > search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org, > the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along > with a couple of for-profits. > > Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and > EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more > organizations using them? We think that if offer them to > organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and > training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge > difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a > small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on > "how to create a Drupal page" or "how to name your new page > intelligently" ...not "how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful > tech platform". And I mean really "hosted" by the way...not as a > subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS > site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff. > > And I really meant the "anywhere in the world" bit, too...this isn't > a US-only venture. > > We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda > posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the > community votes for projects they like. If you think this project > pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit http:// > www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration > takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due > this Saturday, April 14th. > > And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to > hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or off- > list otherwise. > > Thanks! > > Dave. > > ------------------------ > Dave Chakrabarti > Director of Programs > Grassroots.org > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > From jc at coyotecommunications.com Sat Apr 14 02:34:45 2007 From: jc at coyotecommunications.com (jc at coyotecommunications.com) Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 06:34:45 +0000 Subject: [DDN] Netsquared's Innovation Fund Award - voting extended to April 16 In-Reply-To: <3feff8d60704131347l507c7500w315693a7272d4d84@mail.gmail.com> References: <3feff8d60704131347l507c7500w315693a7272d4d84@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <20070414063445.nszr645jtjgg0oo8@coyotecommunications.com> Quoting Michael Maranda : > The NetSquared voting period has been extended to April 16th, there is still > time! > > The prize for the 20 projects receiving the most votes is an expenses-paid > trip for two to the Net2 conference in Silicon Valley, where project members > will mingle with representatives of major foundations, companies and tech > gurus who will provide support for their work in cash and in-kind > contributions. In short, a gold mine for a new project. > > You can vote for up to ten projects (minimum five). > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/vote > > Here are a few I'd like to bring to your attention... Here's one that I want to bring to everyone's attention, and it fits perfectly with the focus of this group -- digital divide issues: ATSTAR - Assistive Technology: Strategies, Tools, Accommodations and Resources Voting Summary. This pilot program, by Knowbility.org (an organization I've supported as a volunteer since 1997) is bringing tools and resources to teachers and parents to build their capacities at schools across the USA regarding assistive technologies, to give more educational (and ultimately, career) opportunities for K-12 children with disabilities. This pilot program already has a lot of successes under its belt, but being chosen as one of NetSquared's projects would take ATSTAR to full capacity, benefiting a far greater number of students and creating resources that will help for many, many years to come. I don't lend my name to causes unless I know them inside and out and really believe in them. ATSTAR / Knowbility is a cause I'm proud to be associated with in any way. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jayne Cravens, MSc jc "at" coyotecommunications "dot" com Nonprofits/Civil Society -- Resources & Services www.coyotecommunications.com/ International Development Work & Studies www.coyotecommunications.com/development <><><><><><><><><><><><><> From joe.beckmann at gmail.com Fri Apr 13 18:41:58 2007 From: joe.beckmann at gmail.com (Joe Beckmann) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:41:58 -0400 Subject: [DDN] An incredible Web 2.0 Experience In-Reply-To: References: <17798b9c0704011146w9ea795fpa2173a66d944994a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: In developing a peer tutoring program between the US and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa, nothing is as clear and as direct a demonstration as a project by a bunch of 4th graders to include one of their own with a technology they find comfortable. Congratulations. Joe On 4/13/07, kevin Thompson wrote: > > Excellent story! thanks for posting > > > Kev > > > ************************************** > Kevin Thompson BSc DipEd MEd Cert Comp Sci > Principal Lecturer & Admissions Tutor > Anglia Ruskin University > 07971 503 943 > Check www.Ultraversity.net > For our radical online degree > For the UV Help desk: 0845 196 3434 > ************************************** > > > > > > On 1/4/07 19:46, "Elderbob" wrote: > > > Last week, I had a wonderful experience that I think represents one of > the > > really useful ways that Skype is being used in the classroom. Perhaps > it > > goes a long way in saying something about Web 2.0 and how it enhances > our > > community. > > > > Brian Crosby and his Nevada class of 4th graders include a student whose > > medical condition precludes her from attending regular classroom > > activities. So with a little leg-work and hand-shaking, Brian got some > > community members to provide a home link-up for the child who can't > attend. > > The story of how it was done and what the class is doing got my > attention > > and I wanted to learn more. I contacted him, and having talked it over > with > > his class, they agreed to be interviewed by Lee Babers 8th class in > Virginia > > who man the webcasts at YouthBridges (the student version of > WorldBridges). > > > > WIth a bit of thought and collaboration, we finally succeeded in > connecting > > all the dots, and met last Thursday via Skype. There were a number of > > connection and production problems but under it all was a humane > interest in > > how one class continued to include a student that otherwise would have > been > > disconnected. This was truly a "No Child Left Behind Story". > > > > In the end, I was able to edit out most of the technical glitches which > > eventually resulted in a 21 minute interview of one class by the > other. The > > story is greater than that, and I have tried to piece together most of > it in > > a blog post. You can see any one of three versions of the story among > the > > blogs below: > > > > Eldertown - > > > http://eldertown.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/the-spark-that-drives-web-20-technol > > ogy-in-the-classroom/#more-109 > > > > > > Knowplace Blog ? http://knowplace.ca/blog > > > > (These first two blogs are both my contributions and are essentially the > > same.) > > > > Learning is Messy Blog - http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=233 > > > > (This is Brian Crosby's Sparks, Nevada Blog) > > > > YouthBridges - http://youthbridges.net/?q=node/35 > > > > (and this is Lee Baber's Virginia YouthBridges edition) > > > > These kids would love it if you would post your thoughts to the various > > blogs (and I would too). > > Be sure to watch the videos, one was produced by the 4th grade class and > the > > other is news coverage of the same story. > > > > Thanks to all those who participated in the actual experience, and thank > you > > for reading. > > > > elderbob > > > > -- Helping folks understand that it's never too late to become all they > ever > > wanted to become. > > _______________________________________________ > > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith > > the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.orgwith the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > -- Joe Beckmann 22 Stone Avenue Somerville, MA 02143 617-625-9369 From SiobhanChamp-Blackwell at creighton.edu Fri Apr 13 22:19:01 2007 From: SiobhanChamp-Blackwell at creighton.edu (Champ-Blackwell, Siobhan) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:19:01 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Netsquared's Innovation Fund Award - voting extended toApril 16 References: <3feff8d60704131347l507c7500w315693a7272d4d84@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Another project that i would recommend is the The World Cafe GiGis. I have used the World Cafe process several times, and recently went to a four day training session on methods of strategic collaboration, and this was one of the techniques highlighted. If you haven't heard of it, check out the entry and vote for it. http://www.theworldcafe.com/ siobhan Siobhan Champ-Blackwell Community Outreach Liaison National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region Creighton University Health Sciences Library 2500 California Plaza Omaha, NE 68178 402.280.4156/800.338.7657 option#1,#2, then #1 siobhan at creighton.edu http://nnlm.gov/mcr http://medstat.med.utah.edu/blogs/BHIC/ http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/siobhanchamp-blackwell ________________________________ From: digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net on behalf of Michael Maranda Sent: Fri 4/13/2007 3:47 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Netsquared's Innovation Fund Award - voting extended toApril 16 The NetSquared voting period has been extended to April 16th, there is still time! The prize for the 20 projects receiving the most votes is an expenses-paid trip for two to the Net2 conference in Silicon Valley, where project members will mingle with representatives of major foundations, companies and tech gurus who will provide support for their work in cash and in-kind contributions. In short, a gold mine for a new project. You can vote for up to ten projects (minimum five). http://www.netsquared.org/projects/vote Here are a few I'd like to bring to your attention... * Hear Our Pain Action Network - Our Freedom to Connect is impaired by a divide and conquer market and policy regime. We're here to change that and to transform the communications/media policy sphere. * Hooze & Wagn: Organically Grown Public Data on Products and Companies - Hooze.org and its Wagn underbelly are for collaboratively gathering and broadcasting convenient, trustworthy public data about products and companies. With wiki spirit and database power, Hooze gives citizens a new economic voice. * ManorMeta - The living learning lab ManorMeta is a visionary multimedia series sharing problem solving adventures, diverse young leaders, musical stars and AI characters in an amazing mashup for web, virtual worlds, television, film, comics and print media. * Sourcetree Commons: Geeking our way to a better world - To develop better social software, we must use these very tools in the communities that are building them. We leverage social software to amplify the creative power of geeks and provide increased resources, efficiency, feedback and support. * Grassroots.org Toolkit - Dave Chakrabarti just pitched that one, so I'll leave it at that. On 4/10/07, Eduardo Bejar wrote: > > > Thru Saturday April 14th at 12 noon PDT (GMT -7) you can cast your vote > for > your favorite project proposal for the 2007 NetSquared Conference. A total > of 152 proposals have been submitted; however, only 20 proposals will be > selected and will get the opportunity to receive support from the > NetSquared > Innovation Fund to become a reality. > > You can check all nominated projects at: > > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/project-proposals/all-project-proposals-b > > y-name > > Also, you can check our project proposal "Social Web Tools for Developing > Countries: Yankana.org" at: > > > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/proposals/social-web-tools-developing-cou > ntries-yankana-org > > Please support our project proposal with your vote, as it will help many > non-profit organizations in developing countries. > > Thank you and best regards, > > Eduardo Bejar > Director > Fundacion de Ayuda por Internet, Fundapi.org > www.fundapi.org > Guayaquil, Ecuador > -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter Co-Founder, Chicago Digital Access Alliance Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition President, Association For Community Networking Support the efforts of the Chicago Digital Access Alliance: http://www.digitalaccessalliance.org _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. From tobiaseigen at gmail.com Fri Apr 13 18:52:48 2007 From: tobiaseigen at gmail.com (Tobias Eigen) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:52:48 -0700 Subject: [DDN] Netsquared's Innovation Fund Award - voting extended to April 16 In-Reply-To: <3feff8d60704131347l507c7500w315693a7272d4d84@mail.gmail.com> References: <3feff8d60704131347l507c7500w315693a7272d4d84@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <2f401ce90704131552t3800b8d6t27401118ccfadcbd@mail.gmail.com> Hey folks, It's interesting to see the various proposals being pitched here - I absolutely *love* Yankana.org. Kabissa has a proposal in for the Net2 innovation award as well, and our team has fairly carefully reviewed the proposals for the ones most empowering for African civil society organizations. More details at this link: http://www.kabissa.org/blog/2007/04/11/get-out-the-virtual-vote-for-kabissa-at-netsquaredorg/ And our top 5 proposals: * Kabissa 2.0: Strengthening the Social Web in Africa Marries power of Web 2.0 with passion of 900+ African orgs in our network. Savvy Web 2.0 Ambassadors will collaborate through the Kabissa site and face to face to develop and promote homegrown strategies for employing Web 2.0 for social change. * The Hub Imagine a My Space meets You Tube for human rights - an online destination where global citizens could learn the strategies and access the tools they needed to use their visual documentation of abuses to create community action and change. * Social Web Tools for Developing Countries: Yankana.org Yankana is a project designed to help non profits located in developing countries to adopt and benefit from social web tools in their fields of work, without technical skills, financial resources for infrastructure or english language knowledge. * A Global Neighbor Network: Nabuur.com NABUUR is an internet platform where villages in developing countries get direct assistance. Online volunteers help create whatever is needed in 150 villages now, and with your help in 10,000 villages soon: join a societal revolution! * Maps 2.0 - Geospacial tools for Nonprofits and Humanitarian Relief Maps 2.0, a collaboration already under way, will launch the first online resource for nonprofit and humanitarian organizations to share best practices in geographic information systems (GIS) and digital mapping tools. Cheers, Tobias -- Tobias Eigen Co-Executive Director Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa http://www.kabissa.org On 4/13/07, Michael Maranda wrote: > The NetSquared voting period has been extended to April 16th, there is still > time! > > The prize for the 20 projects receiving the most votes is an expenses-paid > trip for two to the Net2 conference in Silicon Valley, where project members > will mingle with representatives of major foundations, companies and tech > gurus who will provide support for their work in cash and in-kind > contributions. In short, a gold mine for a new project. > > You can vote for up to ten projects (minimum five). > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/vote > > Here are a few I'd like to bring to your attention... > > * Hear Our Pain Action Network - Our Freedom to Connect is impaired by a > divide and conquer market and policy regime. We're here to change that and > to transform the communications/media policy sphere. > > * Hooze & Wagn: Organically Grown Public Data on Products and Companies - > Hooze.org and its Wagn underbelly are for > collaboratively gathering and broadcasting convenient, trustworthy public > data about products and companies. With wiki spirit and database power, > Hooze gives citizens a new economic voice. > > * ManorMeta - The living learning lab ManorMeta is a visionary multimedia > series sharing problem solving adventures, diverse young leaders, musical > stars and AI characters in an amazing mashup for web, virtual worlds, > television, film, comics and print media. > > * Sourcetree Commons: Geeking our way to a better world - To develop > better social software, we must use these very tools in the communities that > are building them. We leverage social software to amplify the creative power > of geeks and provide increased resources, efficiency, feedback and support. > > * Grassroots.org Toolkit - Dave Chakrabarti just > pitched that one, so I'll leave it at that. > > > > > On 4/10/07, Eduardo Bejar wrote: > > > > > > Thru Saturday April 14th at 12 noon PDT (GMT -7) you can cast your vote > > for > > your favorite project proposal for the 2007 NetSquared Conference. A total > > of 152 proposals have been submitted; however, only 20 proposals will be > > selected and will get the opportunity to receive support from the > > NetSquared > > Innovation Fund to become a reality. > > > > You can check all nominated projects at: > > > > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/project-proposals/all-project-proposals-b > > > > y-name > > > > Also, you can check our project proposal "Social Web Tools for Developing > > Countries: Yankana.org" at: > > > > > > http://www.netsquared.org/projects/proposals/social-web-tools-developing-cou > > ntries-yankana-org > > > > Please support our project proposal with your vote, as it will help many > > non-profit organizations in developing countries. > > > > Thank you and best regards, > > > > Eduardo Bejar > > Director > > Fundacion de Ayuda por Internet, Fundapi.org > > www.fundapi.org > > Guayaquil, Ecuador > > > > > > -- > --------------------------------------------------------------- > Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter > Co-Founder, Chicago Digital Access Alliance > Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition > President, Association For Community Networking > > Support the efforts of the Chicago Digital Access Alliance: > http://www.digitalaccessalliance.org > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. From andycarvin at yahoo.com Wed Apr 18 13:40:05 2007 From: andycarvin at yahoo.com (Andy Carvin) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:40:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [DDN] Virginia Tech and emergency preparedness Message-ID: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Hi everyone, I've just posted an essay on my PBS blog about the role of emergency warning systems in on-campus emergency preparedness. As many of you know, Virginia Tech had problems getting the word out to students and faculty because of a delayed response and server crashes, so I talk about text messaging solutions and how they're being used in some school districts and universities just in case. Ironically, VT had been considering such a system, according to a Roanoke Times article from last September, but it hadn't moved forward in time. http://tinyurl.com/yrfxcl andy ------------------------ Andy Carvin andycarvin at yahoo com www.andycarvin.com www.pbs.org/learningnow ------------------------ From band at acm.org Wed Apr 18 14:03:25 2007 From: band at acm.org (William L. Anderson) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 13:03:25 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Virginia Tech and emergency preparedness In-Reply-To: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <46265D6D.3020207@acm.org> Andy, thanks for the note. In addition to all the good reasons for establishing these systems, and being prepared for emergencies, it is important to understand what it will take to build and maintain these systems. Lauren Weinstein posted the following short warning about how easily our current low-capacity SMS infrastructure could be overwhelmed during emergencies. http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000225.html As has been mentioned many times recently, we need serious investment in infrastructure. -Bill Anderson praxis101.com./blog Andy Carvin wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I've just posted an essay on my PBS blog about the > role of emergency warning systems in on-campus > emergency preparedness. As many of you know, Virginia > Tech had problems getting the word out to students and > faculty because of a delayed response and server > crashes, so I talk about text messaging solutions and > how they're being used in some school districts and > universities just in case. Ironically, VT had been > considering such a system, according to a Roanoke > Times article from last September, but it hadn't moved > forward in time. > > http://tinyurl.com/yrfxcl > > andy > > ------------------------ > Andy Carvin > andycarvin at yahoo com > www.andycarvin.com > www.pbs.org/learningnow > ------------------------ > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > From jbrakeman at gmail.com Wed Apr 18 12:21:13 2007 From: jbrakeman at gmail.com (John Brakeman) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:21:13 -0400 Subject: [DDN] An incredible Web 2.0 Experience In-Reply-To: <17798b9c0704011146w9ea795fpa2173a66d944994a@mail.gmail.com> References: <17798b9c0704011146w9ea795fpa2173a66d944994a@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Thank you for your story. This is truly one of the great ways that technology/web2.0 can allow us to stay connected and serve a greater purpose than say shopping online. I'm duly intrigued because I too had an experience like this. The only difference is that it was at a graduate level and the student who needed to be connected was me. I learned about Skype from a graduate friend right around the time I was admitted to the hospital for a sudden medical complication. I was fearful that I would miss one of my graduate classes, so I proposed the idea of Skype to my professor. She was totally willing to try this, even though she had never done it before. The only thing they had to was get a camera (they were able to do this). I already had one on my portable Mac. I signed up for Skype and so did they. We exchanged web phone addresses and prayed that everything would work out perfectly. The connection went off better than expected with only a few minor issues. Not everyone was connected to audio and as a result a microphone needed to be passed around, so that I could hear the content of the class and student shares. The camera that they were using had some delay issues and it was difficult to keep mounted to get the whole class in view. Despite these very correctable problems, I enjoyed being able to be a part of the class just as much as they loved exploring and employing the new technology. I plan on using this same technology with an inter-cultural global project that I'm am planning with a school in the Netherlands. Thank you for your email. John Brakeman Fairfield University On 4/1/07, Elderbob wrote: > Last week, I had a wonderful experience that I think represents one of the > really useful ways that Skype is being used in the classroom. Perhaps it > goes a long way in saying something about Web 2.0 and how it enhances our > community. > > Brian Crosby and his Nevada class of 4th graders include a student whose > medical condition precludes her from attending regular classroom > activities. So with a little leg-work and hand-shaking, Brian got some > community members to provide a home link-up for the child who can't attend. > The story of how it was done and what the class is doing got my attention > and I wanted to learn more. I contacted him, and having talked it over with > his class, they agreed to be interviewed by Lee Babers 8th class in Virginia > who man the webcasts at YouthBridges (the student version of WorldBridges). > > WIth a bit of thought and collaboration, we finally succeeded in connecting > all the dots, and met last Thursday via Skype. There were a number of > connection and production problems but under it all was a humane interest in > how one class continued to include a student that otherwise would have been > disconnected. This was truly a "No Child Left Behind Story". > > In the end, I was able to edit out most of the technical glitches which > eventually resulted in a 21 minute interview of one class by the other. The > story is greater than that, and I have tried to piece together most of it in > a blog post. You can see any one of three versions of the story among the > blogs below: > > Eldertown - http://eldertown.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/the-spark-that-drives-web-20-technology-in-the-classroom/#more-109 > > > Knowplace Blog ? http://knowplace.ca/blog > > (These first two blogs are both my contributions and are essentially the > same.) > > Learning is Messy Blog - http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=233 > > (This is Brian Crosby's Sparks, Nevada Blog) > > YouthBridges - http://youthbridges.net/?q=node/35 > > (and this is Lee Baber's Virginia YouthBridges edition) > > These kids would love it if you would post your thoughts to the various > blogs (and I would too). > Be sure to watch the videos, one was produced by the 4th grade class and the > other is news coverage of the same story. > > Thanks to all those who participated in the actual experience, and thank you > for reading. > > elderbob > > -- Helping folks understand that it's never too late to become all they ever > wanted to become. > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > From lists at kosmonaut.net Wed Apr 18 13:55:13 2007 From: lists at kosmonaut.net (Kathryn Hill) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:55:13 -0700 Subject: [DDN] Virginia Tech and emergency preparedness In-Reply-To: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: On Apr 18, 2007, at 10:40 AM, Andy Carvin wrote: > I've just posted an essay on my PBS blog about the > role of emergency warning systems Hi, My first post here; I've been reading this list for about a month now. Interestingly, I blogged about this yesterday: an emergency notification service for SMS and email: http:// www.stonedeafpilots.com/?p=31 I've also blogged about the usefulness of Twitter in emergency situations: http://www.stonedeafpilots.com/?p=20 Hopefully this incident will push for more emergency preparedness via channels such as SMS. Here's a case study: currently the only way for the deaf and hearing impaired to contact 911 is to do it directly on a TTY/TDD; 911 does not accept Relay (TRS) calls. Carrying a TTY everywhere isn't feasible and it isn't always easy to find a public TTY, either. In Japan, the emergency services allow SMS and email messages to be received. http://www.stonedeafpilots.com/?p=11 Thanks, Kathryn Hill - Digital Bon Vivant KOSMONAUT - Photography, Design, Blogging, & Deaf-Tech Consulting (email) kathryn at kosmonaut.net (phone) 626-416-9217 - this number is both voice and text-able (web) http://www.kosmonaut.net (AIM/Skype) kosmophoto (privacy) http://www.kosmonaut.net/pgp.gpg (blog) http://blog.kosmonaut.net Also by me: STONE DEAF PILOTS | The deaf-tech blog http://www.stonedeafpilots.com/ From mgurst at vcn.bc.ca Wed Apr 18 01:02:53 2007 From: mgurst at vcn.bc.ca (mgurst at vcn.bc.ca) Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:02:53 -0700 Subject: [DDN] FW: Journal of Community Informatics Special Issue on Telecentres Message-ID: <060d01c78176$d82b9f50$6400a8c0@michael78xnoln> The Journal of Community Informatics has just published its latest issue at http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej. We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest. Thanks for the continuing interest in our work, Michael Gurstein Editor in Chief: Journal of Community Informatics gurstein at gmail.com Supporting Organizations The Journal of Community Informatics was founded with generous support from the Canadian Research Alliance for Community and Innovation Networking (CRACIN) funded by the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The Journal is published under the direction of Editor in Chief Michael Gurstein, Ph.D., and under the auspices of the Community Informatics Research Network (CIRN); with volunteer contributions from the Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training (CCIRDT); financial, production support and volunteer assistance from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign; and financial support from Telecentres.Org. The Journal of Community Informatics v.2 no. 3 (2006) Special Issue: Telecentres Table of Contents http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/issue/view/15 Editorial -------- Learning from the LDC's Michael Gurstein Articles -------- The Impacts of Community Telecenters in Rural Colombia Fabiola Amariles, Olga P. Paz, Nathan Russell, Nancy Johnson Should communal computing facilities cohabit with public facilities? Wallace Chigona Youth Interns and The Strategic Deployment of ICTs for Public Access Rachel Gurstein, Susan Pell The Cser?nfa experiment. Gyorgy Lengyel, Eliza Eranusz, D?niel F?leki, L?szl? L?rincz, Vikt?ria Sikl?s Social Impact and Diffusion of Telecenter Use: A Study from the Sustainable Access in Rural India Project Rajendra Kumar, Michael L Best Using a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Assessing the Impact of ICTs in Development Sarah Parkinson, Ricardo Ramirez Notes from the field -------- Rethinking telecentre sustainability approaches Meddie Mayanja Technology Related Dangers: The Issue of Development and Security for Marginalized Groups in South Africa Amy Ruth West ________________________________________________________________________ The Journal of Community Informatics http://www.ci-journal.net From SiobhanChamp-Blackwell at creighton.edu Wed Apr 18 14:27:00 2007 From: SiobhanChamp-Blackwell at creighton.edu (Champ-Blackwell, Siobhan) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 13:27:00 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Virginia Tech and emergency preparedness In-Reply-To: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <612072.21819.qm@web43134.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Thanks, Andy, for this posting. For resources in the aftermath: >From THe Center for Health and Health Care in Schools http://www.healthinschools.org The American Academy of Pediatrics is calling attention to resources posted on its website that aim to help teachers, students, physicians, children, and teens cope with disasters such as the campus shooting at Virginia Tech University. http://www.aap.org/featured/resourcepage.htm Siobhan -----Original Message----- From: digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net [mailto:digitaldivide-bounces at digitaldivide.net] On Behalf Of Andy Carvin Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:40 PM To: digitaldivide list; WWWEDU List Subject: [DDN] Virginia Tech and emergency preparedness Hi everyone, I've just posted an essay on my PBS blog about the role of emergency warning systems in on-campus emergency preparedness. As many of you know, Virginia Tech had problems getting the word out to students and faculty because of a delayed response and server crashes, so I talk about text messaging solutions and how they're being used in some school districts and universities just in case. Ironically, VT had been considering such a system, according to a Roanoke Times article from last September, but it hadn't moved forward in time. http://tinyurl.com/yrfxcl andy ------------------------ Andy Carvin andycarvin at yahoo com www.andycarvin.com www.pbs.org/learningnow ------------------------ _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. From asif at studynook.com Mon Apr 23 17:34:20 2007 From: asif at studynook.com (asif at studynook.com) Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:34:20 -0400 Subject: [DDN] FREE WEBINAR: Investigations with African Independent Thinkers In-Reply-To: <003d01c785dc$fefcace0$0301a8c0@PAM> References: <003d01c785dc$fefcace0$0301a8c0@PAM> Message-ID: <019601c785ef$29f26d60$0301a8c0@PAM> Limited (FREE) Registration Now Open for a Live Webinar Title: Investigations with African Independent Thinkers Speaker: Andrius Kulikauskas, Ph.D. Date: Thursday, April 26, 2007 Time: 10:30 am Eastern (Arrive at 10:00 for a tutorial on Elluminate) Presentation will last 1.5 hours with 0.5 hours for questions after the presentation.(Please go to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html to confirm your time zone.) Cost: FREE - But 1st come first seated - limited seating. More Information: http://www.trainerspod.com/info/ Register: http://www.trainerspod.com/register Event Background Andrius Kulikauskas leads the Minciu Sodas laboratory http://www.ms.lt for serving and organizing independent thinkers around the world. We are interested to include the widest variety of independent thinkers. Currently, we are especially active in Africa, with paid researchers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Cameroon. The speaker will provide examples of how we have engaged African independent thinkers and how they are inspiring us as leaders at our laboratory. By focusing on "independent thinkers" we are able to select those participants who it is wise to invest in. They "work for free" on their own projects and thereby demonstrative that they are constructive self-directed workers. In this way we filter out those who might behave destructively for the sake of attention or money. We have found that independent thinkers in Africa can work in increments of 100 USD to conduct a variety of exciting projects that also make them more verifiable, such as collecting personal stories, interviewing local activists, or drawing social maps. We are especially interested in pairing independent thinkers online in the developed world and on-the-ground in the developing world. An initial project helps them understand each other in terms of their values and investigatory questions. It is then possible to start work on on-the-ground projects such as fish ponds, greenhouses, wireless Internet access, computer assembly, and local shoe production. Our African participants have taken the lead in our on-the-ground work, in representing us at conferences, in reaching out to new participants based on their values, in experimenting with business ideas, in making good use of marginal Internet access, in multilingual participation, and in linking our global network with local circles. About the Presenter Andrius Kulikauskas, Ph.D. is the founder of Minciu Sodas. In 1993, he received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. His deepest value is "living by truth" and he is exploring "How does the knowledge of everything unfold?" He seeks to know everything and apply that knowledge usefully. We have limited "seats" for this event. The webinar is entirely free of charge and there is a huge level of interest in hearing about open-source applications. Seats will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Register for the event by visiting: http://www.trainerspod.com/register. The minimum PC requirements are a Pentium III 500 MHz CPU running Windows 98/ME/2000/XP with 128MB of memory and a sound card. The minimum Mac requirements are Mac OS 9.1/9.2, Mac OS X 10.1.5/10.2/10.3/10.4, running on a G3 233 MHz CPU with either 64 MB (OS 9), 128 MB (OS X 10.1.5/10.2/10.3) or 256 MB (OS X 10.4). To get maximum benefit from Elluminate Live!, all users should have a microphone and speakers. Trainerspod.com seeks to provide free access to these events to raise knowledge and awareness of the issues, practices and needs of e-Learning practitioners and researchers around the world. We are indebted to Elluminate (www.elluminate.com ) in sponsoring us and providing a platform for the exchange of knowledge. Visit http://www.elluminate.com/support-portal/ to search for a solution or contact a support representative. Also visit www.elluminate.com/support TRAINERSPODC - 2007 - All rights reserved 1273 Neapolitan Rd., Punta Gorda, FL USA 33983 Asif Daya USF info at trainerspod.com From claude.almansi at bluewin.ch Wed Apr 25 03:53:26 2007 From: claude.almansi at bluewin.ch (Claude Almansi) Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 09:53:26 +0200 Subject: [DDN] Fwd: [pakistanictpolicy] Various alternative hardware access solutions from across the globe In-Reply-To: <462e928e.48be8d24.0fc0.ffffd96e@mx.google.com> References: <462e928e.48be8d24.0fc0.ffffd96e@mx.google.com> Message-ID: Hi All My apologies for cross-posting to those of you who subscribe to the mailing lists Fouad Riaz Bajwa already sent this message to, but the info seems to me relevant to the Digital Divide Network too. Best Claude ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Fouad Riaz Bajwa Date: Apr 25, 2007 1:27 AM Subject: [pakistanictpolicy] Various alternative hardware access solutions from across the globe To: bytesforall_readers at yahoogroups.com, pakistanictpolicy at yahoogroups.com, pakgrid at yahoogroups.com Various alternative hardware access solutions from across the globe By Fouad Bajwa, FOSS Advocate. We have seen many projects for alternate hardware access being initiated around the world as a means to reduce the Digital Divide and provide humanity access to Information and Communication Technologies, and, in particular with connectivity to the Internet to access an unlimited potential of knowledge and online resources produced form around the globe. I would like to point to a number of such initiatives taking place in various parts of the world to benefit everyone: OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) from USA The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is an educational project targeted at bringing a US$100 for the world's poorest children living in its most remote environments. The OLPC XO laptop is believed to be a potent learning tool and will help nations of the emerging world to leapfrog decades of development?immediately transforming the content and quality of their children's learning. The project aims at convincing and working with governments of the developing world to buy OLPCs and distribute them to their children. The laptop runs a custom developed open source operating system called Sugar OS. OLPC Cost: The OLPC target price is US$100 per laptop but requires both Governments to buy a certain high volume ranging from a million units at least. OLPC will possibly also offer a gift programme that will be launched soon to gift two laptops to children around the world. OLPC Website: http://www.laptop.org INK mPC - INK Mobile PC Affordable Computing For Everyone from Canada The INK Mobile PC project is targeted at bringing affordable computing for everyone especially to 4 out 5 people throughout the world whom have either never before seen or accessed a computer. The INK project defers from the OLPC project because it does not focus on only education but all segments of life and does not require selling at least 1 million units after convincing governments. Everyone from around the world from children to adults can easily buy the laptops. The laptop will be equipped with open source operating system. INK's technology and product design minimizes the three main costs of computer ownership including hardware, software and after-sale services and support. INK mPC Cost: INK is prepared to offer an internet ready laptop computer with that can profitably be sold, without government subsidies, for well under $300 and will possibly be available in small as well as large volumes through various sales and distribution networks worldwide and in the developing world. INK Media Website: http://www.ink-media.org Simputer - Low cost portable alternative to PCs from India The Simputer is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man developed by PicoPeta Simputers Pvt Ltd India. It has a special role in the third world because it ensures that illiteracy is no longer a barrier to handling a computer. The key to bridging the digital divide is to have shared devices that permit truly simple and natural user interfaces based on sight, touch and audio. The Simputer meets these demands through a browser for the Information Markup Language (IML). IML has been created to provide a uniform experience to users and to allow rapid development of solutions on any platform. An Amida Simputer is also available for the retail market. Simputer Cost: The projected cost of the Simputer is about Indian Rs. 9000 at large volumes. Simputer Website: http://www.simputer.org Sirius - Low-Cost Handheld Computer from Pakistan Sirius is produced by Five Rivers Technologies (Pvt.) Limited, Pakistan. It is a low-cost Handheld computer that makes use of multiple, low consumption processors, a 128x64 monochrome backlit LCD screen, rechargeable batteries, a communications capability to interface with other computers (PCs included), cell phones and peripherals, zero moving parts and a full QWERTY keyboard. The device form factor lies somewhere between a PDA and a sub notebook. Sirius is an open platform for mobile solutions, uses a locally developed AlephOSp, provides graphical user interfaces, serial communication with PCs or peripherals supporting both English and Urdu languages to access E-books, set-up study sessions, review for exams, E-Schooling for remote areas and numerous other Industrial application. Sirius Cost: When production is done in volume, the price of the handheld computer may drop anything in between Pakistani Rupees Rs. 5,000 per unit to Rs. 2000 per unit. Sirius Website: http://www.fiveriverstech.com/sirius.htm http://www.fiveriverstech.com/frt-sirius.pdf The work of the author is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License unless otherwise noted, meaning that you can use them however you like for non-commercial purposes provided that you attribute the source (see below) and share derivative works under similar license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pakistanictpolicy/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pakistanictpolicy/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:pakistanictpolicy-digest at yahoogroups.com mailto:pakistanictpolicy-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: pakistanictpolicy-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ -- Claude Almansi CH-6532 Castione gruppo di lavoro Noi Media www.noimedia.org Swiss Internet User Group www.siug.ch From dave at ctcnetchicago.org Tue Apr 24 13:26:47 2007 From: dave at ctcnetchicago.org (Dave Chakrabarti) Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:26:47 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Free Salsa? In-Reply-To: <461FFB5A.1090401@drpooville.org> References: <461FFB5A.1090401@drpooville.org> Message-ID: <17C06180-6462-4C90-AACE-F4ED97458B67@ctcnetchicago.org> Hi Chris, Salsa is free and open source, but it's written in Java; this means that it requires a significant investment in infrastructure to run. The hosted Salsa service offered by Democracy in Action will also be offered free to orgs with under 3,000 contacts; I'd suggest contacting Democracy in Action directly for more information on this (it might still be in beta). Hope this helps! Dave. ------------------------ Dave Chakrabarti Director of Programs Grassroots.org On Apr 13, 2007, at 4:51 PM, Chris Ward wrote: > Quick question, you wrote that the Salsa platform is free, is this > true? > I see that it is available only at a price. Please inform me of > where I > could retrieve a copy. Thanks. > > -Chris > > Dave Chakrabarti wrote: >> Hi fellow DDNers, >> >> It's been a while since I posted (my apologies) since I've been >> fairly swamped with my new position at Grassroots.org. >> >> I thought I'd send a note to let you know what we've been working on. >> Grassroots.org is developing a nonprofit toolbox that will include a >> growing number of technology tools for every nonprofit, everywhere in >> the world, for free...but we need you to take five minutes and vote >> for the project, if you think it's cool :) I'd also welcome any and >> all feedback on the project...what tools would you like to see in the >> toolbox? What would be pointless? Which tools are a real pain for you >> guys to host on your own? >> >> Some of our planned tools will be Drupal-based, and others will >> include EGroupware, Democracy In Action's Salsa platform (integrated >> with Drupal, for online Moveon.org-style campaigns), free first-year >> domain registrations, and free telephone consulting on topics like >> search engine optimization for nonprofits. Partners include MAIN.org, >> the Chicago Technology Cooperative, and Democracy in Action, along >> with a couple of for-profits. >> >> Of course, a lot of this stuff is free already (Drupal, Salsa, and >> EGroupware are all open source, for example). So why aren't more >> organizations using them? We think that if offer them to >> organizations, hosted for free, with a comprehensive support and >> training system (including screencasts and guides), it'll make a huge >> difference in how nonprofits engage the internet. It seems like a >> small thing, but most organizations *really* need a screencast on >> "how to create a Drupal page" or "how to name your new page >> intelligently" ...not "how to install and upgrade your uber-powerful >> tech platform". And I mean really "hosted" by the way...not as a >> subdomain or as part of another site, but a true hosted nonprofit CMS >> site, with a unique domain name, minus the geek stuff. >> >> And I really meant the "anywhere in the world" bit, too...this isn't >> a US-only venture. >> >> We're up for the NetSquared innovation fund that Michael Maranda >> posted about earlier...it's a somewhat unique system where the >> community votes for projects they like. If you think this project >> pitch sounds useful, it would help us a ton if you could visit >> http:// >> www.netsquared.org/projects/vote and register / vote. Registration >> takes five minutes (seriously, it's a Drupal site), and votes are due >> this Saturday, April 14th. >> >> And of course, all comments and feedback are welcome. Feel free to >> hit me on list if it's a discussion relevant to the community, or >> off- >> list otherwise. >> >> Thanks! >> >> Dave. >> >> ------------------------ >> Dave Chakrabarti >> Director of Programs >> Grassroots.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list >> DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net >> http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide >> To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide- >> request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of >> the message. >> > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide- > request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of > the message. From deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu Wed Apr 18 19:44:02 2007 From: deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu (Deborah Elizabeth Finn) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:44:02 -0400 Subject: [DDN] One Laptop Per Child / $100 Dollar Laptop project presentation (Cambridge, Mass, USA) Message-ID: <3228c2a50704181644l5af8298cs87890531938e2fd5@mail.gmail.com> Dear Digital Divide Network Colleagues, At the May meeting of the Ethos Roundtable, Samuel Klein, also known as "Sj," will be speaking about his work with the One Laptop Per Child project. Ethos Roundtable Tuesday, May 15, 2007 4:30 - 6:00 pm Business center conference room Charles Hotel 1 Bennett Street Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Our meetings are scheduled to complement the monthly get-togethers of the Boston 501 Tech Club, which begin at 6:00 pm at the Charles Hotel. All Ethos Roundtable attendees are welcome at Boston 501 Tech Club events, and vice versa. For more information about the Ethos Roundtable, please see . For more information about the One Laptop Per Children project, please see . For more information about the Boston 501 Tech Club, please see . For directions to the Charles Hotel, please see . No reservations are required for those who want to attend Ethos Roundtable events. Just come if you can, and feel free to invite others! Many thanks and best regards from Deborah Deborah Elizabeth Finn Boston, Massachusetts, USA deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu www.cyber-yenta.org Recommended reading: "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" From jc at coyotecommunications.com Thu Apr 19 05:02:59 2007 From: jc at coyotecommunications.com (jc at coyotecommunications.com) Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:02:59 +0000 Subject: [DDN] shared phones in the developing world Message-ID: <20070419090259.soaihj44gbccko8k@coyotecommunications.com> An online volunteer referred me to a resource on the Future Perfect blog, and I've spent about 30 minutes on the blog now ? given how much blogs bore me, that's a major statement. It's "about the collision of people, society and technology, drawing on issues related to the design research" conducted by the blogger on behalf of her employer, Nokia. A essay on Shared Phone Use can be found here http://www.janchipchase.com/sharedphoneuse and a presentation entitled "Shared Phone Practices: Exploratory Field Research from Uganda and Beyond" can be downloaded from research dot nokia dot com http://research.nokia.com/people/jan_chipchase/JanChipchase_SharedPhoneUse_vFinal_External.ppt [7MB, PowerPoint]. A full list of related research can be downloaded from http://www.janchipchase.com/publications and you can sign up to be notified of new downloads by email info @ janchipchase.com with the word subscribe in the subject line Good stuff. <><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jayne Cravens, MSc jc "at" coyotecommunications "dot" com Nonprofits/Civil Society -- Resources & Services www.coyotecommunications.com/ International Development Work & Studies www.coyotecommunications.com/development <><><><><><><><><><><><><> From jc at coyotecommunications.com Mon Apr 23 04:26:07 2007 From: jc at coyotecommunications.com (J Cravens) Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:26:07 +0200 Subject: [DDN] Gender and ICT - new publication Message-ID: Gender and ICT http://www.apdip.net/news/gender This publication, with a foreword by Executive Director of UNIFEM, Noeleen Heyzer, looks at information and communications technology (ICT) for development through a gender lens and discusses ICT within a gender equality framework. Recognizing the importance of integrating a gender perspective as a cross-cutting area in ICT and development, this e-Primer provides a gender perspective on issues of ICT policies, access and control, education, training and skill development, and content development. Furthermore, the e-Primer introduces a framework to integrate gender in ICT for development and to empower women. This e-Primer also contains policy recommendations for creating inclusive development strategies and how to integrate a gender perspective into national ICT policies. The publication is jointly produced by UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) and the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Program (APC WNSP). Authors: Angela M. Kuga Thas, Chat Garcia Ramilo and Cheekay Cinco. PDF, 1.0 MB -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Ms. Jayne Cravens MSc Bonn, Germany Services for Nonprofits/NGOs/Civil Society www.coyotecommunications.com International & Development Studies & Work www.coyotecommunications.com/development Contact me www.coyotecommunications.com/contact.html www.ivisit.com id: jcravens.4947 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> From jc at coyotecommunications.com Mon Apr 23 05:31:52 2007 From: jc at coyotecommunications.com (J Cravens) Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:31:52 +0200 Subject: [DDN] promoting FOSS in Arab region Message-ID: The UNESCO office in Rabat has just launched a listserv to discuss the Miftaah project aiming at promotion of free and open source software (FOSS) in the Arab Region. This list will allow the developers' community from the Maghreb, involved in the Miftaah project, to share information and to discuss issues related to the project and the promotion of free software. Several institutions are partners in the Miftaah project, in particular the Mohammedia School of Engineering, Morocco, and the Research Centre on Scientific and Technical Information (CERIST), Algeria. With the help of this listserv, researchers and students will be able to work in a network and to create a real online FOSS community. The aim of this mailing list is to facilitate the exchange of information, to provide solutions to problems and to share experience during the development of Miftaah. It is used as common tool of communication by the community and any individual and/or organization with an interest in this project. Miftaah is a project for the development and promotion of FOSS in the Arab region through an online community of practice composed by several university institutions. The project consists of assembling and readapting a package of high quality free open source software in three languages (Arabic, French and English) and disseminating it in Arab countries on USB keys. For more information, contact Jaco du Toit, UNESCO Office in Rabat j.dutoit at unesco.org -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Ms. Jayne Cravens MSc Bonn, Germany Services for Nonprofits/NGOs/Civil Society www.coyotecommunications.com International & Development Studies & Work www.coyotecommunications.com/development Contact me www.coyotecommunications.com/contact.html www.ivisit.com id: jcravens.4947 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> From jwne at temple.edu Fri Apr 20 15:36:15 2007 From: jwne at temple.edu (David P. Dillard) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:36:15 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [DDN] EDUCATION: K-12 : LIBRARIES: The School Library and Learning in the Information Landscape Message-ID: EDUCATION: K-12 : LIBRARIES: The School Library and Learning in the Information Landscape The School Library and Learning in the Information Landscape The National By JOHN MATTHEWS Papua New Guinea has come a long way in its education system from schools established by early missionaries and the use of colonial Australian Education system through to the Matane Philosophy of education era and now the current education reform curriculum in practise. Over the these years in our education system there is still a vital missing link between the learners (students) and the education system that we had in place, that is the school library, where many of us don't realise its role and importance in our children's education. A respected professional colleague and fellow librarian, the late Mr Daniel Paraide, Director General, Office of Libraries and Archives and I at times had professional discussion on this very issue. I still remember Mr. Paraide as a gentleman who strived for the best for school libraries for every child and schools in PNG. He always believe in every child in PNG to at least have a book on their hands to read and he also points that without books and libraries, PNG children have little hope for a better future. This point can be realised if those in management and power can see the importance of school libraries in empowering the next generation of PNG. The school library is always at the centre of school life and learning programmes in schools. The school library represents the largest investment in teaching and learning resources in any school. How it works, who makes it work, what it is and what it does in relation to learning and teaching is critical if progress is to be made towards an information literate school community. The school library can affect students' achievement in many ways. It is a fundamental resource for students, and it also gives them access to other learning resources, tools, and opportunities. -------------------------------------- The complete article may be read at the URL above. Sincerely, David Dillard Temple University (215) 204 - 4584 jwne at temple.edu Net-Gold General Internet & Print Resources Digital Divide Network Educator-Gold K12ADMINLIFE From kaippg at earthlink.net Thu Apr 19 13:32:24 2007 From: kaippg at earthlink.net (Janet Feldman) Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:32:24 -0500 Subject: [DDN] E. African Telecentre Leaders Forum (Online Sessions/Kenya Meeting June 4-6): APPLY by MAY 11th Message-ID: <380-220074419173224396@earthlink.net> Dear Telecentre Practitioner, Once again the East African Telecentre Leaders Forum (EA-TLF) is around the corner. This third of its kind will be co-hosted in Kenya by UgaBYTES and Kenya Network of Telecentres (KenTel) in the Kenya district of Siayi . For online sessions of the event (14 - 25th May), please subscribe to the UgaBYTES mailing list at http://www.ugabytes.org or at this url: http://ugabytes.org/mailman/listinfo/ugabytes_ugabytes.org . We are also developing our KenTel website at http://www.ken-tel.org, which you are invited to visit starting 23rd April. The event is planned to run in two phases: online and face-to-face sessions. The online sessions will be guided by subject-matter specialists. Each of the sessions is important in fostering learning and sharing within the sub-region and beyond about key telecentre issues. The EA-TLF is an East African telecentre event that occurs twice a year, with rotating venues within the sub region, and focusing on different themes. It is part of the global framework of Telecentre.org (www.telecentre.org), which includes gatherings that are focused on facilitated learning and sharing of ideas and solutions among telecentre practitioners. As such the EA-TLF uses open-space facilitation methods, in which every participant is a learner and facilitator. Telecentre practitioners in the sub-region are encouraged to contact the following national network leaders who are charged with selecting national participants to the event, who will be facilitated by the organizers: 1) Sekiku Joseph (Tanzania) at sekiku at satconet.net 2) Paul Barera (Rwanda) at pbarera at yahoo.fr 3) Ken Chelimo (Kenya) at chelimoken at yahoo.com 4) Sulah Ndaula (UgaBYTES) at ndaulasula at ugabytes.org Participants from Burundi are advised to contact Pamela Ogwal of UgaBYTES at opamela at ugabytes.org . We encourage participants who can self-pay to contact their respective national representatives. For details about the event see below: Third EA-TLF Theme: "PROMOTING ICT FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT: MEETING THE MOVEMENT CHALLENGES" Event Details and Dates: -Online sessions: 14th ?-25th May 2007 (hosted on UgaBYTES mailing list) -Face-to-Face Session: 4th-5th June, 2007 -Telecentre Visit: 6th June, 2007 Deadline for Expression of Interest: 11th of May, 2007 Themes of the Third EA-TLF: -Connectivity improvement: The session will explore various connectivity options that are reliable and affordable to telecentres. Ideas such as bandwidth sharing and pay-as-you-go connectivity will be discussed. -Management skills-building: The session will cover skills development in the most important areas of management that affect telecentre performance. The areas will be identified by participants. -Knowledge-sharing and Online support services: This will be an ongoing side program throughout the days of the event. It will focus on developing practical skills and an understanding of how the telecentre community can access and use online tools (web 2.0 tools) and technology like blogging, podcasting, wikipedia, and the like. The session will also explore the existing online support services that can be utilized by telecentre practitioners, such as online support centres, online training, and online resources. -Partnerships for Content development: This session will focus on understanding how telecentre practitioners can develop content and services while partnering with NGOs and community-development groups. Ideas such as involvement with malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention and education campaigns will be discussed. This discussion will help telecentre practitioners to develop practical skills in identifying key stakeholders in content development, as well as key issues and challenges in identification and development of content. It will also be important in identifying ways of deepening socio-economic impact created by telecentres. -National network enhancement: The session will examine issues concerning network funding and sustainability, practitioner and network capacity building, promotion of CMCs for rural development, and enhancing e-business in telecentres. -Capturing and sharing our stories: This session will discuss how telecentre practitioners can effectively capture, assess, and share their impact in the community, using multiple tools. It will also discuss the importance of telling our stories and highlighting our successes. -Strengthening the EA-TLF: Fundraising for EA-TLF (ways, means, and approaches to source funds for an inclusive EA-TLF); how to market an event and the telecentre concept and activities; how to forge local, national, regional, and international links; the role of the media. -Identification of the next host country and setting the core strategy. -Exhibitions: The forum will have an information point where all participating organizations can display their work, and have information leaflets and materials. This point will be kept accessible throughout the forum period. Hope to read from you online and see you in the face-to-face to event! -- Sulah Executive Director UgaBYTES - Kabalagala (Uganda) Tel: 256-414-370163/267247 Mob: 256-712-314-969 skype: sulah.ndaula Email: ndaulasula at ugabytes.org ================================================= Together we can strengthen the telecentre movement. Have you used the online support-centre today: http://www.ugabytes.org/supportcentre ? You can get help on any issue or review questions and answers by telecentre practitioners. This service is a joint initiative of UgaBYTES, Telecentre.org, IDRC, SDC, and Microsoft. Submitted by Janet Feldman, kaippg at earthlink.net From mmaranda at afcn.org Tue Apr 24 22:32:52 2007 From: mmaranda at afcn.org (Michael Maranda) Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 21:32:52 -0500 Subject: [DDN] Drop Digital (in Digital Inclusion) Message-ID: <3feff8d60704241932l4210459ci3a4ee4dfe4c084e7@mail.gmail.com> Feedback welcome: Drop Digital (in Digital Inclusion and just about everywhere else) http://wrythings.net/2007/04/21/drop-digital-in-digital-inclusion-and-just-about-everywhere-else/ *What is Digital Literacy without deep dedication to cultivating Literacy and Judgment? What is Digital Citizenship without ongoing effort to promote a robust Civic Life? What is Digital Inclusion without a true effort and policy of Inclusion? What's the Expansion in Digital Expansion? Digital Government? Digital Community? Digital Neighborhoods? The Digerati? Don't get me started on Digital Futures and Opportunities? * Digital isn't the point, whatever the form: *e-this, i-that*. We single out recent technologies with magical promise by such signals as they arrive in successive waves. Technology that has permeated society is barely recognized as technology by most of us: *television, telephone, tricycles, fire and other dangerous things*. We know we need a mechanic when something goes wrong (if we aren't technically inclined), but with the newer technologies most of society remains mystified (including practitioners). *We can no longer participate in the perpetuation of that mystification through repetition and variation on the incantations. *We can't proclaim the benefits of indiscriminate innovations and extensions in and of the virtual world dreaming that that is enough and will necessarily and sufficiently transform our society. Digital Inclusion is the term of art that really broke the spell for me. "What art?" you may ask? the selling of networks and network consulting and ancillary services and technologies, whether wireless, WiMAX-WiFi or other broadbands and slices of spectrum. If we're Keynesiansafter all, then let's just say so. If not, or if we're moderated Keynesians, we had better be more critical of our technology planning and spending. (And by odd coincidence, promoting public discourse on media and technology is just the prescription for an inclusive, civic minded, digital and media literate citizenry ready to take up tools to their own purposes and to make investments toward common purposes.) We need to become serious about social justice questions, embrace them as the core of our movement. We need to become serious about issues that demand a holistic view, we need to treat our work in the context of the whole of lives of individuals, families and communities. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-digital. To be clear: *the digital divide has not gone away* but/and deserves our attention in so far as it is a divide, not because it is digital. I favor a positive view on the way forward as long as it doesn't deny where we are and what it will take. I see great potential in these technologies and in the expansion of communication capacity. I just want the digital in context and in service to the world we want and the dialogue that gets us headed there, and I want our individual and collective investments to consciously shape the character of our networks and our society. We can't take these outcomes for granted. The sales pitch is always promising. So, with each Digitized phrase, we must ask: *how does it stand on its own?*Can we forget the technical innovation of the moment, live without the distraction and get serious about living together? In our work promoting *Digital Excellence*, we're more than happy to *Drop the Digital*, we *emphasize the Excellence*. That's what we want from students, citizens, families, communities, companies, politics, education and the economy. If these digital prefix strategies are work-arounds (and no just new and improved sales pitches) for some of us? our attempt at concealing revolutionary socially transforming activity, it's time for a reality check. We have to become clear about our goals. If it's a dance of revolutionary work concealed behind revolutionary technologies and obstructed by reactionary policies and practices, make sure it is we who call the tune with the language we choose. Let's choose what we want and aspire to, not settle upon the limited scraps we may or may not get. -- Michael Maranda --------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter Co-Founder, Chicago Digital Access Alliance Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition President, Association For Community Networking Support the efforts of the Chicago Digital Access Alliance: http://www.digitalaccessalliance.org From amahan at comunica.org Thu Apr 26 09:23:39 2007 From: amahan at comunica.org (A.K. Mahan) Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:23:39 -0300 Subject: [DDN] CPRsouth2: Conference on "Empowering rural communities through ICT policy and research" Message-ID: <4630A7DB.1090807@comunica.org> CPR/south/2: Empowering rural communities through ICT policy and research* December 15-17, 2007 in Chennai, India *www.cprsouth.org *Organized by LIRNE/asia/ & TeNeT Group and RTBI, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, supported by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC)* **Communication Policy Research /South/ (CPR/south/) intends to build human capacity in the south by reinforcing and developing the values and commitment of scholars in the region or with interest in the region. The overall objective is to create policy intellectuals capable of informed and effective intervention in ICT policy and regulatory processes in specific country contexts. The conference aims to provide a forum for senior, junior and mid-career scholars to meet face-to-face and exchange ideas, establish networking opportunities and improve the quality of their scholarly work, in order to facilitate the long-term objective of fostering the next generation of active scholars and in-situ experts capable of contributing to ICT policy and regulatory reform in the region. The inaugural conference was held in January 2007 in Manila, Philippines. *_CALL FOR ABSTRACTS_* Abstracts for papers on ICT policy and regulation research carried out in the South will be accepted. The proposed sessions include: ? Data and methods for research on ICTs ? National and regional innovation systems ? ICT markets and competition ? Participation in ICTs: demand side studies ? Convergence ? Regulation ? Governance of ICT and ICT for governance ? Content ? International telecom policy ? Intellectual property rights ? Internet governance ? Comparative studies of ICT readiness _*YOUNG SCHOLAR AWARDS* _Fifteen Young Scholars from the Asia-Pacific region will be selected to participate in the tutorials scheduled to be held a day before and after the main CPR/south/ conference (December 14th and 18th, 2007). _*CONTACT INFORMATION* _Mail: CPR/south/, C/o LIRNE/asia/, 12 Balcombe Place, Colombo 08, Sri Lanka Telephone: +94 11 493 9992 / +94 (0) 77 775 6590 Fax: +94 11 267 5212 Email: info at cprsouth.org Website: www.cprsouth.org -- _______________________________________________ Amy Mahan, LIRNE.NET Coordinator Montevideo, Uruguay Tel: +598.2.410 2979 (-2 UTC) Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies ***www.LIRNE.net* World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies* www.regulateonline.org *Comunica_ _*www.comunica.org* ________________________________________________ From jc at coyotecommunications.com Thu Apr 26 09:39:43 2007 From: jc at coyotecommunications.com (J Cravens) Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 15:39:43 +0200 Subject: [DDN] U.S. Unready For Rise In Disabled Message-ID: From Web MD. This should be a concern to tech developers as well: ________________________________________________ Report: U.S. Unready For Rise In Disabled Experts Say Policy Reforms Needed For Growing Population Of Disabled Americans April 24, 2007 (WebMD) Experts warned in a report Tuesday that the U.S. is largely unprepared for a coming explosion in its disabled population. As many as 50 million Americans currently live with physical or mental impairments that prevent them from taking on regular work or life activities. But that number is expected to skyrocket as an aging population and rising obesity rates take their toll on Americans, concludes a report issued by a panel at the Institute of Medicine (IOM). "It becomes quite clear that disability will essentially affect the lives of most Americans," says Alan M. Jette, the panel's chairman. The number of elderly Americans is projected to double by 2030, a factor nearly guaranteed to push up the disabled population, the report says. ________________________________________________ -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Ms. Jayne Cravens MSc Bonn, Germany Kabul, Afghanistan (March - August 2007) www.coyotecommunications.com www.ivisit.com id: jcravens.4947 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> From jsalmons at vision2lead.com Thu Apr 26 10:48:22 2007 From: jsalmons at vision2lead.com (Janet Salmons) Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 08:48:22 -0600 Subject: [DDN] Updated Call: Handbook of Research on Electronic Collaboration & Organizational Synergy Message-ID: <002601c78811$f1de0770$d59a1650$@com> *Please share with your colleagues* The first call for chapters for The Handbook of Research on Electronic Collaboration and Organizational Synergy (http://www.vision2lead.com/html/esynergy.html ) formally closes April 30, 2007. We have been extremely pleased with both the quantity and quality of the submissions. Please see the list of invited authors and chapter topics: http://www.vision2lead.com/html/esynergy2.html . Now we are requesting a additional proposals targeting specified areas in order to ensure a comprehensive and balanced view of collaboration in education, business, social sector organizations and government. We are particularly interested in contributions that consider electronic collaboration within a single business, governmental or social sector organization; interdisciplinary collaboration within educational institutions or instructional practices within the classroom; collaboration across private sector or business organizations; cross-cultural skills development; and issues inherent in a digitally connected global society. If your proposal falls outside of the listed categories but within the scope of the original call for chapters and you wish to submit for consideration, we still welcome your proposal as a competitive entry in categories with a significant number of submissions. The Handbook of Research on Electronic Collaboration and Organizational Synergy (http://www.vision2lead.com/html/esynergy.html ) will examine structure, organization, technology tools and leadership practices that characterize successful collaboration in and across the fields of education, public and social sectors. See the call for chapters (http://www.vision2lead.com/Call.pdf ) or contact us at synergy at vision2lead.com . We are reviewing proposals as they are submitted. Editors Janet Salmons, Ph.D. and Lynn Wilson, Ph.D. will draw on their respective scholarly and practical experience with inter-organizational and intra-organizational collaborations in the fields covered in the handbook. Information Science Reference, (an imprint of IGI Publishing), has tentatively scheduled publication of print and electronic editions of the book in 2008. Janet Salmons Ph.D. VISION2LEAD, INC. Site- http://www.vision2lead.com Blog for educators- http://blog.elearn2lead.com Blog for learners- http://belearner.elearn2lead.com Blog for Handbook of Research on Electronic Collaboration: http://synergy.elearn2lead.com/ PO Box 943 Boulder, CO 80306-0943 303-443-3075 From jwne at temple.edu Thu Apr 26 16:33:32 2007 From: jwne at temple.edu (David P. Dillard) Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 16:33:32 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [DDN] REFERENCE: ENCYCLOPEDIAS: U.S. Wikipedia Users are Wealthy and Well-Educated Message-ID: REFERENCE: ENCYCLOPEDIAS: U.S. Wikipedia Users are Wealthy and Well-Educated U.S. Wikipedia Users are Wealthy and Well-Educated Despite concerns about accuracy and reliability, Wikipedia remains a popular online source of information, as a study from the Pew Center for American Life Project recently revealed. by Helen Leggatt BIZ Report A shorter URL for the above link: http://tinyurl.com/2psovu According to Pews latest survey, released this Tuesday, Wikipedia is used by 36 percent of American adults. The size and speed of the encyclopedic site means it is convenient, and fast, for consumers to source information on almost any topic. Interestingly, for a site whose content has been called in to question in terms of accuracy and reliability, the users are well educated and earn good salaries. Half of Wikipedia's online users were college graduates and 42 percent of users earned more than $75,000. "It is a testimony to the broadening reality on the Internet that people used to be consumers of information and now they are producers of that information," ======================================= The complete article may be read at the URL above. Pew / Internet 36% of online American adults consult Wikipedia It is particularly popular with the well-educated and current college-age students More than a third of American adult internet users (36%) consult the citizen-generated online encyclopedia Wikipedia, according to a new nationwide survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. And on a typical day in the winter of 2007, 8% of online Americans consulted Wikipedia. There has been ongoing controversy about the reliability of articles on Wikipedia. Still, the Pew Internet Project survey shows that Wikipedia is far more popular among the well-educated than it is among those with lower levels of education. For instance, 50% of those with at least a college degree consult the site, compared with 22% of those with a high school diploma. And 46% of those age 18 and older who are current full- or part-time students have used Wikipedia, compared with 36% of the overall internet population. In addition, young adults and broadband users have been among those who are earlier adopters of Wikipedia. While 44% of those ages 18-29 use Wikipedia to look for information, just 29% of users age 50 and older consult the site. In a similar split, 42% of home broadband users look for information on Wikipedia, while just 26% of home dialup users do so. The Complete Report may be read at this URL below: Sincerely, David Dillard Temple University (215) 204 - 4584 jwne at temple.edu Net-Gold General Internet & Print Resources Digital Divide Network Educator-Gold K12ADMINLIFE From davjrj at verizon.net Sun Apr 29 15:42:31 2007 From: davjrj at verizon.net (Dave Jenkins) Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 12:42:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [DDN] U.S. State Level Digital Divide Policies Message-ID: <878735.45607.qm@web84214.mail.re3.yahoo.com> I am interested in state government efforts to ensure that government remains accessible to all as we transition to more technology centered access points as is the case with modern e-government. I am particularly concerned about people who for one reason or another do not own computers and have little or no access to e-government services. Some solutions could be the establishment of telecenters, internet literacy programs and policies that ensure services and forms remain available through traditional off-line access points. Is anyone aware of any state policies and/or programs that address this issue? I would appreciate any insight. Thanks, Dave Jenkins From sjha at vsnl.com Sun Apr 29 00:13:56 2007 From: sjha at vsnl.com (Satish Jha) Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 00:13:56 -0400 Subject: [DDN] Access to Knowledge - Two or A2K2, Yale Law School 2007 Message-ID: <94d7347e0704282113i1459e230m98c962ce2b2b1900@mail.gmail.com> The Second Access 2 Knowledge conference being held at Yale Law School has been most interesting for me from several points of view-- just to name a few.. I did not expect that the world of academia had changed so much in a couple decades.. from the times I studied in Cambridge, MA when even supporting United Nations from outside the US perspective seemed a bit radical, I heard some of the finest intellectual arguments why the US understanding of freedom of expression, IP, trade etc was perhaps among the most limited in its understanding.. Including in some of the debates that the social movements in India are passionately engaged in, some of the most fascinating arguments were brought up at the conference. It seemed that the debate from the point of view of what should be than what is and dissecting "what is" from the point of view of where we would like to be heading. The efficient posting of all the deliberations on the net through wiki was very encouraging and can be accessed through the following URL: http://research.yale.edu/isp/a2k/wiki/index.php/Broadband_WiFi_in_Developing_Countries#Satish_Jha -- _________________________________ https://www.linkedin.com/in/satishjha From cmeisch at hotmail.com Mon Apr 30 16:39:24 2007 From: cmeisch at hotmail.com (Charlie Meisch) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:39:24 -0400 Subject: [DDN] U.S. State Level Digital Divide Policies In-Reply-To: <878735.45607.qm@web84214.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Message-ID: To Dave's question, is there a national database of such projects/policies? Cheers, Charlie Meisch cmeisch at hotmail.com ----Original Message Follows---- From: Dave Jenkins Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group To: digitaldivide at digitaldivide.net Subject: [DDN] U.S. State Level Digital Divide Policies Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2007 12:42:31 -0700 (PDT) I am interested in state government efforts to ensure that government remains accessible to all as we transition to more technology centered access points as is the case with modern e-government. I am particularly concerned about people who for one reason or another do not own computers and have little or no access to e-government services. Some solutions could be the establishment of telecenters, internet literacy programs and policies that ensure services and forms remain available through traditional off-line access points. Is anyone aware of any state policies and/or programs that address this issue? I would appreciate any insight. Thanks, Dave Jenkins _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE at digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to digitaldivide-request at mailman.edc.org with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _________________________________________________________________ Mortgage refinance is Hot. *Terms. Get a 5.375%* fix rate. Check savings https://www2.nextag.com/goto.jsp?product=100000035&url=%2fst.jsp&tm=y&search=mortgage_text_links_88_h2bbb&disc=y&vers=925&s=4056&p=5117