Resources for the promotion of literacy

Google, LitCam and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning have collaborated to form The Literacy Project, a website containing various resources on reading and education.

In this website one can search for books, scholarly articles, videos, and innovative projects that promote literacy through the help of Google's information search features. One can also link up with educators, organizations, clubs and groups that engage in reading as well as child and adult literacy.

For more information you may visit the website of The Literacy Project at http://www.google.com/literacy/.

How ICT brings people together despite the differences

It is very well known that Israel and Palestine have a long standing conflict. But citizens of both countries have tried to cooperate and work together on certain things.

In one instance I had a chance to witness how Israeli and Palestinian teens work together at the Intel Computer Clubhouse Teen Summit. The Computer Clubhouse Program is present in both countries, among more than 100 communities, are doing well in building creative and technological skills of underserved youth. Read the story of Raz and Mohammad.

Another company called Global Hosted Operating System or G.ho.st, also feature Israeli and Palestinian software engineers working together on a free web-based virtual computer. You can read their story here.

It's amazing how information and communications technologies become instrumental in bringing people to work together despite major differences. :)

Let's Get FOSS into a Higher Level of Philippine Education

by Gener Luis Morada

The Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team or PAPT which is mainly composed of the elements of the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and the Optical Media Board, have recently announced they would be intensifying their campaign against the use of pirated software for 2009. Time and time again the PAPT has made this pronouncement and yet it seems that they are still having a difficult time in curbing the use of pirated software in our communities in spite of spending millions of pesos of tax payer’s money and countless hours of investigative work. It is not that they are not trying hard enough for it they have raided and persecuted in court countless companies that they caught using pirated software. Maybe, they have failed to realize that there is something in our system that has been telling people that using pirated software is not a crime considering that they have been using it and have been setting as an example to countless numbers of today’s students.

Being an Open Source Educational Technology Advocate has been very frustrating. I have the opportunity to visit a number of public and private schools in the different parts of the country. Might it be the schools that offer elementary and high school levels to technical vocational schools, still I find a majority of them using pirated software in their offices and computer laboratories. Worst some public schools were given computer units that they could use by the Commission on Information and Communication Technology with Edubuntu software installed then later being formatted to pirated Windows systems.

It is time for us in the open source community to exert our influence in asking for a definite policy on technical education with regards to the use of pirated software in our school system from the Department of Education. We have always been wondering why there is a breakdown in the value system in our communities and these breakdown will continue as long as our schools are setting an example that it is just fine to break the law since they are openly showing that they are using pirated software in their operations. The Department of Education should make it clear to the school administrator might it be coming from the public or private schools that if they could not afford to buy licensed software then the best thing to do is to use open sourced software for their operations. We will be able to break the cycle of corruption in our society by the schools providing an example that as one of the basic pillars in our society they are following what is required by law.

I happen to spent the day yesterday at the Rosario National High School in Rosario, Cavite as part of the team of Agham and CPU that handled the career orientation seminar of the fourth year students. There I met Mr. Noel Z. Alberto the ICT coordinator of the said school. Having been enlightened on the need to use open source software as part of the values formation of the school, he embarked on a program in which he mass migrated the computer systems that they are using in their school from pirated Windows XP to Ubuntu 8.10. In the course of the day we were able to talk what he is currently experiencing in the sudden shift from proprietary software to open source software.

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I think that education will play a big part in gaining more appreciation for FOSS.

ICT4E - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Link

E-Bonding

Bagay na bagay ang comic strip na ito sa aming magkakapatid. Nang magkaroon ng wireless router sa loob ng bahay, at magkaroon kami ng sari-sarili naming mga netbook, parang katulad ng nangyayari sa comic strip ang nangyayari sa amin ngayon!

Text/SMS language does not ruin spelling

Instead, it requires users to have sound knowledge of sentence structure and grammar.

More on this at this article.

Private sector gives P4B for education

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Private sector assistance in education has been gaining ground with more than P4 billion so far given this school year, Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said on Wednesday.

Mr. Lapus said the Education department is asking for more participation from business chambers, nongovernmental institutions and corporations in the program.

The Education chief was here for the inauguration of the rehabilitated Gabaldon building at the Zamboanga East Central School.

"We solicited assistance from the private sector through the adopt-a-school program with the government providing 150% income tax deduction as an incentive," he said.

Mr. Lapus, who has spent more than two decades in the private sector before joining the government, said most of the private sector assistance went to rehabilitation of schoolbuildings and acquisition of text books, chairs, computers, and even medical care for public school students.

He added the P4-billion assistance from the private sector proved the success of the department’s networking program.

"It takes the entire community to build and support a school. It’s a community effort," Mr. Lapus noted, adding that the support in education has to be consistent.

He said strong private involvement in upgrading public schools was shown during the "Brigada Skwela" (school brigade) where participation doubled in rehabilitating schools nationwide. The program is conducted before the opening of the school year.

In the 2009 budget, the Department of Education allotted P167.94 billion, a 13% increase from 2008’s P149.25 billion, for school rehabilitation, but Mr. Lapus said the amount is still "inadequate."

The growing support of the private sector and international donors has offset the fund lack, he added. "Denying the children schooling is denying the human being a fighting chance for the future," he said.

Meanwhile, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has allotted more than P6 million for training programs of out-of-school youth in Western Visayas.

Buen Mondejar, TESDA regional director, said the program will start this month.

"The funds will be equally divided among the 18 congressional districts in Western Visayas, amounting to P330,000 each," Mr. Mondejar said during the opening of the sixth Aklan Product Showcase held in SM City Iloilo.

Some 50 out-of-school youth will benefit from this project. The agency will train the qualified applicants, provide allowances and other expenses, Mr. Mondejar said.

He added the project is part of pro-poor and livelihood programs. TESDA Director-General Augusto Syjuco was assigned by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to spearhead the pro-poor and livelihood programs in Western Visayas.

TESDA was tasked to formulate a comprehensive development plan for middle-level manpower based on the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan. — Darwin T. Wee and Harthwell C. Capistrano, BusinessWorld