“Every single lesson without fail” - How iPhones are helping students learn

By Kim Thomas –Future Lab http://www.futurelab.org.uk/

The iPhone is the must-have device for the cool and trendy: a multimedia phone that allows you to make calls, watch videos, search the internet, play music, help you find your way when you’re lost and locate the nearest restaurant. It can do everything, it seems, apart from the washing-up – and it probably won’t be long before someone creates an app for that.

One thing that the iPhone isn’t associated with, however, is education. So the decision last December to give 28 students at Gumley House Convent School an iPhone each for a year and see what happens was pioneering. The trial is being run by Brentford City Learning Centre (CLC), and the aim is to see if the devices help the students, ranging in age from 11-18, to learn more effectively, both inside and outside the classroom.

As expected, the usage of the iPhones has varied depending on the age of the students. The younger students took longer to adapt to the iPhones, approaching them initially with caution, while the year 11 students began looking up revision apps straightaway. Between them, the 28 students have downloaded 620 apps, a mixture of games and educational applications.

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Local govts focus on digital inclusion

By Serene Leow | 11 August 2010

Since January 2004, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China has been carrying out the Cun Cun Tong, or Village Connected Project. As the venture draws to a close, Wang Zhen Jian, Director of the Wenzhou Municipal Bureau of Informatisation, spoke to FutureGov about what’s been achieved so far.

More than three million farmers have benefited from the RMB 200 billion (US$30 million) project and village connectedness has been achieved, said Wang. There is a 29 per cent discrepancy between the internet penetration rates in urban and rural China, and the objective of Cun Cun Tong is to reach out and care for the rural community via internet services.

This has been done through a number of ways.

“By introducing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the rural community in China, farmers are able to use the internet as a platform to sell their produce. They can advertise their products online and attract buyers in this manner,” he said. The internet has also opened doors to a multitude of information on weather forecasts, market trends and up-to-date pricing data for agricultural products and services.

Through partnerships with companies like China Mobile, which adopted the Village Connected Project as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, three types of networks have been set up – the Basic Infrastructure Network, Rural Information Network and Network of Rural Sales Channels.

By establishing Rural Information terminals across the provinces, messages pertaining to crop distribution in Winter, pest control and disaster prevention have also been sent to farmers. The government hopes to build a “New Countryside” with the expansion of network coverage and introduction of modern telecommunications and information services to remote areas.

This goal is being achieved step by step, said Wang. China Mobile’s efforts alone, for example, has improved telecommunications coverage in 99.8 per cent of China’s administrative villages and 93 per cent of natural villages across 27 provinces. In 2009, there was an average of 33,000 calls per day on the Rural Information hotline service and approximately 700,000 hits on the Rural Information Network website set up by China Mobile across the nation.

The next step, said Wang, is to implement the Nong Xing 121 Project, which seeks to build upon the foundation of the Village Connected Project and improve on it. This initiative will focus on two areas, namely communications related to farming and the management of information in villages, he said.

Source: http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2010/aug/11/china-connects-villages-through-ict/

Indonesia to launch low-cost notebook

By Robin Hicks | 18 October 2010

The government of Indonesia is planning the launch of a low-cost notebook to help bridge the digital divide in the populous archipelago.

Ferry Yahya, Director, Center for Data & Information, Ministry of Industry, told FutureGov that the project was “conceptually already there”, but more work needed to be done to bring the price of the notebook below Rp 2 million (US$224).

The ‘One notebook, one home’ project, which aims to deliver internet connectivity to all of Indonesia’s 36 million households, will see notebooks manufactured locally using both local and imported technology and expertise, Yayha explained.

“The digital divide is a big problem in Indonesia, a vast country of 13,000 more than islands. The idea is to put a notebook into every home in the country, so that everyone can use the internet,” said Yahya.

The device would cost what the average Indonesian policeman earns in a month (Rp 2 million), and Yahya admitted that the project had a long way to go to make it affordable for all.

The news emerges one month after Indonesia’s archipelagic neighbour, the Philippines, hatched a plan to launch a low-cost tablet computer for use in schools.

This device would be a stripped down version of popularly available tablets, priced at down to around PHP3000 (US$70).

Mobile computers would bring an end to the days of children dragging heavy schoolbooks around, according to Science & Technology Secretary Mario Montejo. “We should really should replace books,” he said.

In the Philippines, internet penetration is around 30 per cent. In Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest internet community, it is around 19 per cent.

Source: http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2010/oct/18/indonesia-launch-low-cost-notebook/#

Obama signs technology access bill for disabled - Associated Press - 9 October 2010

By Darlene Superville

Blind and deaf people will be able to more easily use smart phones, the Internet and other technologies that are staples of life and work under a bill signed into law on Friday.

Such a step has been a priority of advocates for the millions of people who cannot see or hear.

In the East Room of the White House, where he was flanked on stage by lawmakers and Stevie Wonder, President Barack Obama portrayed the occasion as another step in guaranteeing equal access, opportunity and respect for all Americans.

He recalled celebrating this year's 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, banning workplace discrimination against qualified people with disabilities and requiring improved access to public places and transportation.

"We've come a long way but even today, after all the progress that we've made, too many Americans with disabilities are still measured by what folks think they can't do, instead of what we know they can do," Obama said.

The new law "will make it easier for people who are deaf, blind or live with a visual impairment to do what many of us take for granted," he said, from navigating a TV or DVD menu to sending an e-mail on a smart phone.

"It sets new standards so that Americans with disabilities can take advantage of the technology our economy depends on, and that's especially important in today's economy when every worker needs the necessary skills to compete for the jobs of the future," Obama said.

In one corner of the East Room, sign language interpreters translated Obama's remarks as he spoke. Across the room, his words scrolled on a large video monitor with help from a stenographer who transcribed them.

Under the law, the quality of life will improve for 25 million people who are blind or have difficulty seeing, along with the estimated 36 million people who are deaf or hard of hearing, advocacy groups say.

Nondisabled people stand to benefit, too. They may find the devices and screens easier to use.

The law sets federal guidelines that require the telecommunications industry to:

-Make getting to the Internet easier by improving the user interfaces on smart phones.

-Provide audible descriptions of on-screen action to help the blind more fully enjoy television.

-Add captions to online TV programming to help the deaf.

-Make the equipment used for Internet telephone calls compatible with hearing aids.

-Add a button or other switch to television remote controls for simpler access to closed captioning on television.

Paul Schroeder, a vice president at the American Foundation for the Blind, said many blind or deaf people have had to spend hundreds of dollars on costly accessories or software to make their cell phones and other devices easier to use.

"We hope that companies will start working immediately on making solutions available and affordable for people with disabilities," he said.

Blind since childhood, Schroeder described the bill as "life changing."

"As a person who is blind, it will bring some of the new technologies that are changing the workplace, education and leisure into my hands," he said.

Source: Associated Press, 9 October, 2010
URL:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101008/ap_on_hi_te/us_obama_technology_disabled

Active seniors win award for innovation - The Straits Times - 13 October 2010

By Judith Tan

Tourists on their first visit to Singapore are being approached by friendly senior citizens at the airport, offering directions and telling them where to claim their baggage.

Dressed in black polo tees and red vests, these seniors are part of the Changi Senior Ambassador programme run jointly by RSVP Singapore - a body for senior volunteers - and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

RSVP president Philbert Chin, 81, said being involved this way engages the seniors both mentally and physically, a goal at the heart of RSVP's activities for its members.

This philosophy has won RSVP Singapore this year's Outstanding VWO Award in Innovation, given out by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS). VWO stands for voluntary welfare organisation.

Meanwhile, the Outstanding VWO Award in Collaboration was shared by the Alzheimer's Disease Association and the Lions Befrienders Service Association. The two bodies were honoured for working tirelessly with other organisations to raise awareness of their respective causes.

Each of the two categories comes with a prize of $20,000, with the latter two associations splitting their prize equally. The winners also received plaques from Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon at the NCSS Members Conference 2010 at the NTUC Centre yesterday.

Dr Chin told reporters that, aside from being friendly faces and helping hands to lost tourists at the airport, RSVP members run Learning Journey, an outdoor interactive programme for school children and senior groups.

Acting as tour guides, RSVP volunteers take their charges to places such as the Marina Barrage, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and the Old Ford Factory to show them what makes Singapore tick.

'It is like a sort of national service we seniors do and enjoy doing,' Dr Chin said. He described RSVP as a 'bottom-up driven' organisation which gives its members a say in the kind of programmes it runs.

Besides the awards presentation, the NCSS Members Conference 2010 brought together 500 members to address key issues in the social service sector.

Speakers yesterday were Professor Andrew Scharlach, a specialist in elder care, and Mr Ho Kwon Ping, the executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, a developer and manager of premium hotels, spas and resorts.

At the event, a website which VWOs can use to promote their products and services was launched. Items sold include batik coasters and cushion covers by the Metta Welfare Association, and door hangers and magnets by the Centre for Adults at the Association for Persons with Special Needs.

An NCSS spokesman said a single website would provide a centralised platform for its members to showcase their products: 'Previously, these products and services were hosted on the VWOs' own sites, making it quite difficult for the public to go from one to the other.'

Source: The Stratis Times, 13th October 2010
URL: http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_589922.html

MP to launch social enterprise programme - Oct 13

By S Ramesh

Among the constituencies, the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng ward under the Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency has the largest number of rental homes - nearly 4,500 - and half of its residents are 50 years and older.

And its MP, Dr Lily Neo describes the task of finding jobs for these elderly residents as a challenge, on top of helping the hardship cases that she encounters during the meet-the-people sessions.

Said Dr Neo: "Some even ask for milk powder funding, and some just say, 'Can I have some money to sustain me for the next week?' It sounds strange in Singapore... (but) yes, I am meeting these problems here."

To help these residents, the ward has set up a social enterprise programme which pays participants $5 an hour to undergo training in craftmanship. The final products are sold on the market. Currently, 30 residents are on the programme, which will be officially launched next Sunday during a ministerial community visit by Law Minister K Shanmugam.

The ward also has a meal and grocery programme targeted at the elderly and needy, which involves nearly 200 hawkers, sundry shops and supermarkets in the area.

Under this programme, which was started in September 2007, vouchers in denominations of $2 are redeemable at neighbourhood stalls. So far, $223,638 worth of vouchers have been distributed to about 200 needy residents.

With the next General Election due by February 2012, Dr Neo, who entered politics in 1996, was asked whether she would be contesting it.

Adding that the decision lies with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Dr Neo said: "(I) feel fulfilled in my work here as I have been able to work with so many needy people. It's great that I have been able to make a difference to them."

Source: Today Online - 13th October, 2010
URL: http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC101013-0000084/MP-to-launch-social-enterprise-programme

NCSS launches new online initiative for VWOs - Oct 13, 2010

By Mustafa Shafawi

A new online initiative has been launched for volunteer welfare organisations (VWOs) to promote their social enterprises.

A dedicated webpage hosted on the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) corporate website has been set aside for them.

The NCSS says this would give the VWOs higher visibility and better accessibility of their products and services.

Members of the public will find links to eight VWOs' webpages. These include Metta Welfare Association, which will showcase craft items such as batik coasters, and the Association for Persons with Special Needs' Centre for Adults, offering door hangers and magnets.

Last year, the NCSS website received more than 310,000 visits.

At its members' conference yesterday, NCSS also gave out awards to outstanding VWOs.The Outstanding VWO Award in Innovation was presented to RSVP Singapore - The Organisation of Senior Volunteers.

The NCSS said RSVP's talent at germinating an impressive range and variety of ideas has resulted in significant social impact.

This is exemplified in its creative Changi Senior Ambassador, Learning Journey and Senior Guiding Programmes.

Reaching out to a vast spectrum of society from tourists to school-going children, the programmes benefit the seniors who get to interact with the young.

The NCSS Outstanding VWO Award in Collaboration was presented to the Alzheimer's Disease Association and the Lions Befrienders Service Association.

It said the partnerships they have fostered with a wide range of partners have resulted in considerable reach and expansion of their services to the less fortunate.


Source -
Today Online - 13th Octber, 2010
URL: http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC101013-0000070/NCSS-launches-new-online-initiative-for-VWOs