[IAEP] Related projects

[Edward Cherlin]

> On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 1:47 PM, Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com> wrote, in part:
>> There are many elements of a global education project that Nicholas
>> wants no part of. Some leading issues:
>>
>> * Pilots/bake-offs with evaluation and publication of educational results
>> * Sustainable renewable power for villages
>> * Internet for villages
>> * Teacher training
>> * Businesses for students
>> * Microfinance
>> * Health projects beyond offering software
>> * Social and political organization
>> * Explaining Constructionism
>> * Involving volunteers in sales
>> * Management, so that deployments or G1G1 will actually work, and so
>> that localization projects happen for target countries
>>
>> It is not yet clear whether OLPC will support communication between
>> target communities and the wider world, including volunteers, the
>> education community as a whole, media, and so on, or even between
>> students in different schools and in different countries. I intend to
>> propose a secure communication system for this purpose, in which
>> children will be protected and other participants will be
>> authenticated.

On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 3:31 PM, Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com> wrote:
> I am thinking that at least two more organizations
> are necessary:
> (1) a global consortium of research organizations --
> probably mostly universities -- that are looking at the research
> issues you raise;

Also Engineers Without Borders and the like.

> and
> (2) an organization to help launch local
> enterprises to address the deployment issues you raise.

Technology transfer and local capacity building, as the development
jargon has it. Unquestionably.

> -walter

Sounds good to me. For a start, we need people interested in these
issues, and suggestions for more. Then we need an IT infrastructure,
including hosting and sysadmins, somewhat similar to OLPC and
SugarLabs, but probably without the code repository, and with some
database capabilities that they don't offer. At that point we can get
some people together to write the grant proposals and business plans,
and invite participation.

I am working with several organizations on some of these issues, and
know where others are, including a list of what I consider to be world
best practices. But nobody has addressed these issues on the scale
needed, with the integration needed between components, and with
funding by the resulting economic development after an initial startup
period.

"What do you think, Sirs?"
Joel, Invention Exchange, MST3K
-- 
Edward Cherlin
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay