February 2009 - change - Mailing Lists

olpc internship program
by Yaw Anokwa 25 Feb '09

25 Feb '09

should be interesting experience ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *One Laptop per Child - Africa Internship Program* Students have played a pivotal role in every revolution, except learning. That will change in 2009. Through One Laptop per Child, student teams from around the world will each deploy 100 XO-laptops throughout Africa this summer. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student with an interest in education, technology or capacity building, our internship will provide you with unprecedented hands-on experience. Student Teams will: - travel to one of the 53 African countries of their choosing for *9-10 weeks* - participate in a *10-day orientation in Kigali, Rwanda* at OLPC-s office - receive a *$10,000 (USD) team stipend* - deploy *100 XO laptops*, including hardware and support - collaborate with other teams as part of a life-long global network empowering a generation - send 1 representative to *MIT/OLPC-s all-expense paid summit* from Oct 10th-12th 2009 About OLPCorps Africa Our interns will be active members of our innovative 1 to 1 laptop-learning project and hold key roles as leaders in our grassroots movement. OLPC summer internships, which are full-time commitments, begin June 8. Teams will work closely with the One Laptop per Child team to design and implement XO deployments, join a uniquely African OLPC network, and lead a growing social movement. How to apply: For more information on OLPCorps Africa and specific application requirements, please visit our website: http://www.laptop.org/en/participate/get-involved/OLPCorps.shtml. Proposals must be received by March 27th. Note: Latin America internships are available in Peru & Uruguay. Please contact nia(a)laptop.org Contact olpcorps(a)laptop.org with any questions or concerns.

1 0

CIS Sponsored Change Event with Microsoft Research's Technology for Emerging Markets Group
by Melody Clark 24 Feb '09

24 Feb '09

change.jpg microsoft Research's Technology for Emerging Markets group WHAT: Microsoft Research will be presenting a two-hour series of 15-minute talks on some of their projects ( <http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/groups/tem> http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/groups/tem) Food and drinks will be provided. WHERE: Gates Commons (Rm 691) of the Allen Center ( <http://www.washington.edu/home/maps/southcentral.html?CSE> http://www.washington.edu/home/maps/southcentral.html?CSE) WHEN: Thursday, March 5th, 2009, 11am-1pm SPEAKERS: . Kentaro Toyama: ICT4D research strategies, featherweight computing, and UIs for semi-literate users . Indrani Medhi: UIs for non-literate users, free-access PCs for slum households, mobile banking UI, and UI options for delivering services over mobile phones . Bill Thies: Electronic pillbox, UI options for delivering services over mobile phone, and DVD-based interactive multimedia . Aishwarya Ratan: Technology for microfinance, free-access PCs for low-income workers, and value of digital literacy . Saurabh Panjwani: PC+projector in a classroom, ICT in education, and pedal-power generators . David Hutchful: MultiPoint templates for easy content creation, and connecting NGOs via the Internet . Nimmi Rangaswamy: ICT in Indian slums, middle-class TV consumption in emerging markets, and Internet cafes SPONSORED BY: Center for Information & Society (CIS) with support from the iSchool, HCDE, CSE, and Change. Box 354985 Seattle, WA 98195 Tel 206.616.9101 Fax 206.616.5149 <mailto:cisinfo@u.washington.edu> cisinfo(a)u.washington.edu <http://www.cis.washington.edu> www.cis.washington.edu

1 0

Fwd: Digital Technologies and Marginalized Youth: Reducing the Gap (IDC 09 Workshop)
by Yaw Anokwa 24 Feb '09

24 Feb '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Juan Pablo Hourcade <hourcade(a)cs.uiowa.edu> Date: Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 09:20 Subject: Digital Technologies and Marginalized Youth: Reducing the Gap (IDC 09 Workshop) To: Juan Pablo Hourcade <hourcade(a)cs.uiowa.edu> Dear colleagues, I want to draw your attention towards the workshop "Digital Technologies and Marginalized Youth: Reducing the Gap". This will be a pre-conference full-day session and at the Interaction Design and Children (IDC) 09 conference and take place on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 in Como, Italy. For more detailed information on the workshop, please visit: http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~hourcade/idc-workshop/ Deadlines: Submission deadline for position papers: April 8, 2009 Acceptance notification: April 20, 2009 Final version: May 4, 2009 We would be happy to receive your contribution! Please spread the word! Edith Ackermann, University of Aix-Marseille 1, MIT Media Lab, University of Siena Francoise Decortis, University of Liège Juan Pablo Hourcade, University of Iowa Heidi Schelhowe, University of Bremen

1 0

Call For Papers - Digital Divide/s and Inclusion/s mini-track - HICSS 2010
by Karine Barzilai-Nahon 23 Feb '09

23 Feb '09

Sorry for cross-posting ----- Hello everyone, The Digital Divide/s and Inclusion/a minitrack in HICSS calls for papers that study digital divide/s, inequalities and inclusions in different levels, methods and perspectives. Possible focus may be on international, national, local, sector, communal, and individual level. Both empirical and theoretical papers are invited. Following the success from the past three conferences, we invite submissions to the 2010 mini-track. Deadline for submitting papers: June 15th, 2009 More information can be found here - http://ekarine.org/news/dd/ Best Karine ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Karine Barzilai-Nahon - http://eKarine.org Director, The Center for Information & Society - http://www.cis.washington.edu The Information School University of Washington Mary Gates Hall, Room 330V, Box 352840 Seattle, WA 98195-2840 Office tel. - (206) 685-6668 Skype- karine-barzilai-nahon

1 0

FW: [Faculty] Reminder: Engineers Without Borders TONIGHT
by Richard Anderson 23 Feb '09

23 Feb '09

________________________________ From: voting-faculty-admin(a)cs.washington.edu [voting-faculty-admin(a)cs.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Benjamin [markbenj(a)u.washington.edu] Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 9:54 AM To: faculty(a)engr.washington.edu Subject: [Faculty] Reminder: Engineers Without Borders TONIGHT A friendly reminder that the EWB dessert gala is tonight at 6-9 pm in the Walker-Ames Room. If you plan to attend, let me suggest that you skip your dessert at lunch! If you'd like to purchase one or more tickets in advance, please respond to this email, and I'll deliver the the tickets to your office later today. A number of faculty have generously invited staff or students to join them, which is a great idea. The suggested donation is $15 for students and $30 for non-students, but any donation is welcome. I hope to see you tonight. Mark

1 0

Talk by Matt Flannery (CEO of Kiva.org) on March 5
by Sunil Garg 22 Feb '09

22 Feb '09

[sent to me by a friend] http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=52609902611 Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009 Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Location: Town Hall Street: 1119 8th Ave Please join Seattle Microfinance and UW's Social Entrepreneurship Club as they host Matt Flannery, the CEO and Co-Founder of Kiva.org. Matt will discuss microcredit as a means of poverty eradication, how technology helps facilitate development, and Kiva’s plans to continue innovating. Kiva is an innovative peer-to-peer microcredit site that enables individuals to make small loans to microentrepreneurs around the world. Matt has been featured on Oprah, written about in Bill Clinton’s book, Giving, and lauded on the CNN Heroes program. As CEO, Matt has led Kiva’s growth from a pilot project to an established online service with partnerships across the globe and millions in dollars loaned to low income entrepreneurs. Matt is a perfect example of how one person can start a movement for social change worldwide. His leadership in this field is an inspiration for young social entrepreneurs everywhere. Purchase tickets through: Balmer Commons: Monday February 23 through Wednesday Feb 25 and Monday March 2 through Wednesday March 4 Or online at: brownpapertickets.com/event/53835 The cost is only $5 for students!! To learn more about, or get involved with UWSEC, find our facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59620233768

1 0

CSE 590f Seminar, Lakshminarayanan Subramanian, Feb 25
by Richard Anderson 19 Feb '09

19 Feb '09

CSE 590f, Computing and the Developing World Seminar February 25th, 4pm, CSE 403 The CATER initiative: Sustainable Networks and Systems for the Developing World Laksminarayanan Subramanian NYU Computer science, as a field, has largely focused on problems that occur in the developed world. The Internet and the World Wide Web have largely remained urban phenomena and a significant fraction of the developing world, especially in rural and underdeveloped regions, remains disconnected from the rest of the world. Bridging this digital divide requires us to address several important and challenging computer science research problems whose solutions could ultimately have significant impact in the developing world. In this talk, I will describe our current efforts in Cost-Effective Appropriate Technologies for Emerging Regions (CATER) (http://cater.cs.nyu.edu) a multidisciplinary research initiative that focuses on the development of appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) solutions for pressing problems in developing regions. I will discuss our current research efforts in addressing three grand challenges in this space: (a) developing low-cost connectivity solutions; (b) extending the Web to developing regions; (c) building new distributed mobile applications for enhancing healthcare and financial services. Bio Prof. Lakshminarayanan Subramanian is an Assistant Professor in the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU. His research interests are in the space of networks, distributed systems, security and technologies for developing regions. He received his MS in 2002 and PhD in 2005 from UC Berkeley.

1 0

Change Event in 1 week!
by Natalie Linnell 19 Feb '09

19 Feb '09

Change is a group of faculty, students, and staff at the University of Washington who are exploring the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in improving the lives of underserved populations, especially in the developing world. We will be hosting a poster session with light refreshments on Thursday, February 26 from 5:00-7:00 PM in the atrium of the Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering. In addition to helping network those interested in this field, the event will also kick off a speaker series on ICTs in Development that will start March 5 with a presentation by the Technology for Emerging Markets group from Microsoft Research India. Contact Natalie Linnell (linnell(a)cs.washington.edu) by Monday Feb. 23 if you are interested in presenting a poster of your work and please forward this announcement as appropriate. When: Thursday February 26, 5:00-7:00 PM Where: Atrium, Paul Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering http://www.washington.edu/home/maps/southcentral.html?CSE

1 0

Reminder: CIS Speaker Series Wednesday, February 18th 3pm
by Melody Clark 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

______________________________________________ SPEAKER SERIES DIGITAL STUDYHALL: VIDEO BASED INSTRUCTION IN RURAL INDIA WHAT: CIS is hosting a monthly Speaker Series which will include a presentation by a UW researcher (faculty/staff/student) accompanied by two panel members from varying disciplines. WHERE: Mary Gates Hall Rm. 420 WHEN: February 18th, 2008 3-4pm LECTURER: Richard Anderson Computer Science Department TITLE: Digital StudyHall: Video Based Instruction in Rural India ABSTRACT: Digital StudyHall is an education project in Lucknow, India that aims to link together strong urban schools with poor rural schools through facilitated video instruction. Lessons are video recorded in the urban schools, and then shown in rural schools by classroom teachers. A key component of the instruction is that the classroom teachers will stop the video for classroom activities. The Digital StudyHall project is about three years old and has been replicated at a number of sites in India and Bangladesh. To date, the evaluation studies of Digital StudyHall have been limited looking at results of a small number of schools without adequate controls. In this talk, I will first give background on the Digital StudyHall project, and then describe a research study that we are starting with twelve schools in Lucknow which have not previously been involved with the project. The goal is to assess educational outcomes of the teaching methodology and also to gain a deeper understanding of deployment costs and issues. Additional information about Digital StudyHall is available at dsh.cs.washington.edu. PANEL MEMBERS: Mike Eisenberg (Information School) and Steve Kerr (College of Education) ______________________________________________ Box 354985 Seattle, WA 98195 Tel 206.616.9101 Fax 206.616.5149 cisinfo(a)u.washington.edu www.cis.washington.edu

1 0

DigitalICS project wins second-place in Nokia's Calling All Innovators Competition
by Yaw Anokwa 17 Feb '09

17 Feb '09

Announced at the GSM World Congress in Barcelona. See below for press release. Congrats to Yael! http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1291207

1 0