CEDICT: Communication, Education and Development using ICT

2013-04-15

Geocoding and public aid data in Nepal

The Government of Nepal (GoN) recently hosted the AidData team on our first geocoding launch trip
as part of the Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN). We’re writing to update on some exciting developments underway in Nepal that are quickly taking AidData’s work to a broader audience of government officials, donors, and concerned citizens.
The GoN has been operating an Aid Management Platform (AMP) since 2010 with admirable results. AMP Nepal currently has information on nearly 700 development projects (both on- and off-budget) representing over $US 6 billion in disbursements, including over $1 billion in fiscal year 2012 alone. GoN officials use AMP for internal reporting, district-level aid analysis, and an annual public Development Cooperation Report, among other things. In 2012, with the support of AusAID, AidData geocoded over half of the AMP project portfolio. All remaining AMP projects will be geocoded in 2013 under the USAID HESN award.

Read more at: http://blog.aiddata.org/search/label/Nepal

2013-04-14

Half an Hour: The Great Rebranding

Stephen Downes:

"Seriously, what else can be said about a statement like this: " it will be offered locally with teachers at a scale of between 1 to 20 and 1 to 50. Because teachers matter.” It's like saying "we must at all costs limit education to small groups of people led by a teacher." The "distributed flip", advanced as this Great New Thing, is the connectivist model of MOOCs, but with small-group in-person attached.

The arguments in which the four elements of MOOCs - 'massive', 'open', 'online', and 'course' - are one by one putated to be 'optional' or 'unnecessary' seems to me to be a desparate attempt to cleanse MOOCs of any disruptive impact they may have on the traditional action of in-person teaching to a teacher to a small group of people."

See it on Scoop.it, via ICT for Education and Development

The Revolution 2.0 Index: Where Will The Next “Arab Spring” Occur?

In Networks of Outrage and Hope (NOH), Manuel Castells demonstrates the centrality of ICTs in the initiation, growth and mobilisation of recent mass protests: the Arab Spring, Iceland’s Kitchenware Revolution, the US Occupy Movement, and Spain’s Indignadas.
A central assertion is that cyberspace is a place of safety and autonomy for mass social movements, including those that grow into revolutions. Looking worldwide, though, that clearly isn’t true – try organising your revolution online in China, for example, and see how far you get.
But can we measure “how far” you might get?

Read more at: http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/the-revolution-2-0-index-where-will-the-next-arab-spring-occur/

2013-04-13

Open Educational Resources in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions

"OER is a burning topic in Malaysia, and many more institutions are in the process of embracing this movement." (Zaid Ali Alsagoff)

See it on Scoop.it, via ICT for Education and Development

2013-04-12

Smart Bracelet Protects Aid Workers in the Field

When fashion and technology mix, the results can garner unwelcome attention. And that’s just what the makers of this smart bracelet are hoping will happen.
A new high-tech wristband recently released to civil-rights and aid workers triggers an alarm when the wearer is in danger.
The greatest threat to workers is the stealth nature of attacks. These bracelets remove that danger.
GPS (basic mapping) and GSM (mobile phone) technology work together as a personal alarm that sends information about the wearer when danger is imminent. These alerts don’t simply go to police and co-workers; they are posted on Facebook and Twitter, signaling the world of an attack within minutes.

Read more at: http://mashable.com/2013/04/12/natalia-smart-bracelet/

2013-04-11

April 11, 2013: IJEDICT Weekly News is out

"IJEDICT Weekly News", by Stewart Marshall: a free, online newspaper with a curated selection of articles, blog posts, videos and photos about using ICT for education and development.

See it on Scoop.it, via ICT for Education and Development

Progress on Digital Inclusion Through The Cyber Educatives in Southern Patagonia

The paper focuses on the description of the progress of a cooperative ICT project for inclusion into the Information and Knowledge Society. This project is the result of the efforts of two universities as distant as the National University of Southern Patagonia and the University of the Balearic Islands, to empower Southern Patagonia communities to access quality education using ICT and take part in social and educational activities related to the empowerment through ICTs. The Cyber-Educatives’ and its facilitators’ role are emphasized as the main elements of the project to fulfil the objectives posed.

Read more at: http://zunia.org/post/progress-on-digital-inclusion-through-the-cyber-educatives-in-southern-patagonia

Need for partnership in promoting ICT in education

The purpose of this article is to offer valuable insights into the purpose, trend, and impact of public-privatepartnerships, and an understanding of the barriers they face, and therefore initiate and engage various education stakeholders in Tanzania into dialogue, debate and eventually actions towards motivating the increased private sector engagement in improvement of education sector programs.

Read more at: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=53302

Reaching Africa’s remotest

The development of Africa’s communications infrastructure reflects many of the complexities inherent in the situation of the Continent. Any examination of it must deal with matters of scale: the Internet is a fractal network spread over vast and minute distances, linking landmasses, countries, towns, villages and people across the world. On the continental level, there are thesatellites and the undersea cables which, since 2008, haveconnected most of the coastal states, and many of the landlocked ones. However, a connection to one of these cables, while hugely beneficial to a country on an economic and political level, is no guarantee of Internet for all: and it is in the diverse ways individuals connect to the Internet that we see the richness of “local innovation” that has been identified as a key topic for this year’s eLearning Africa conference.

Read more at: http://www.elearning-africa.com/eLA_Newsportal/reaching-africas-remotest/