August 2009 - change - Mailing Lists

a look back at tapan parikh’s cam toolkit
by Yaw Anokwa 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

it's been a while since there was a post on the change blog, but we are ramping for the start of the school year with this post: http://change.washington.edu/2009/08/a-look-back-at-tapan-parikh-cam-toolki… if you'd like to blog about something, just let me know! yaw

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IPID - Announcement: 2010 Technology for Innovation and Education in Developing Countries (TEDC) Conference to be held in Maputo, Mozambique on January 21 ~ 23, 2010.
by Yaw Anokwa 21 Aug '09

21 Aug '09

Good day! We are pleased to announce the 2010 Technology for Innovation and Education in Developing Countries (TEDC) Conference to be held in Maputo, Mozambique on January 21 ~ 23, 2010. We seek high quality submissions of original unpublished research on thoughtful and purposeful applications of technology for purposeful education in developing countries. Researchers and educators with new perspectives on how technology can play a role in facilitating or supporting social and economic development through education are strongly encouraged to submit their work. The goal of the 2010 Technology for Innovation and Education in Developing Countries is to bring together researchers, businesses, educators, governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss appropriate and relevant applications of technology in educational programs in developing countries. Organizations such as the World Bank and UNESCO are encouraging developing countries to utilize technology in the creation of a knowledge economy. Unfortunately, this push results in an all-too-common problem of using technology for the sake of using technology without sufficient thought to the educational purposes and benefits. The aim of TEDC 2010 is to discuss the role educational technology can play in social and economic development in developing countries. Authors should keep in mind the conditions, constraints, and resources, and social/economic priorities in developing countries differ sharply with that of industrialized nations, creating special challenges for the technical, business, and educational research communities. Successful entries will take these realities into account in proposing any technological applications in educational settings. Listed below are potential topics for paper submissions. Whichever topic area is explored, please speak to the issue of how the technology can be used in a practical educational way to advance social/economic development. Please make the papers as locally relevant as possible. Applications and systems multimedia applications adaptive learning environments open source tools for teaching and learning databases, data warehousing and data mining for (mass) education portals, web tools asynchronous applications distributed education Novel technologies and methods alternative (low-cost, low-energy) technologies wireless and mobile learning platforms information retrieval for slow/unreliable connections hand-on and hands-in technologies modular robotics as manipulative technology for creativeness interaction design for diverse users Learning settings special education non-formal education vocational training and continuous education literacy applications ICT education distance learning Impact of technology project deployments cultural issues in educational development minority language requirements cross-language interfaces human-computer interfaces cultural usability Resource sharing collaborative learning in local environments human-computer interfaces for resource sharing teaching resource management grid computing infrastructures Evaluation and policy issues gender issues universal access technology as a tool for fighting poverty cost-benefit analyses sustainable educational technology license issues of open source courseware For further information, please visit the conference website at http://cs.joensuu.fi/tedc2010/index.html or contact me directly at: thomaslechner(a)gmail.com We look forward to hearing from you! Thomas Lechner Conference Program Chair University of Georgia

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Mozilla Service Week
by Sunil Garg 20 Aug '09

20 Aug '09

As forwarded by a friend, please share with anyone who might be interested: Idealist is partnering with Mozilla (the organization behind the Firefox browser) on their first annual Mozilla Service Week which will match thousands of "techie" volunteers around the world with nonprofits in need of help with IT, web design, programming, blogging, and more. Mozilla Service Week will take place September 14-21, 2009, and organizations are so eager for volunteers that a couple of thousand of them have already posted their opportunities. If you are comfortable with technology and would like to help out, or if your organization could use some help, please go to: http://mozillaservice.org And to help spread the word to nonprofits and techies around the world, please go to: http://www.idealist.org/if/mozservice09/en/Spread/default -Sunil

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Virtual Volunteer positions (Mozilla Service Week)
by Brian DeRenzi 19 Aug '09

19 Aug '09

For the Mozilla Service Week on Idealist.org, D-Tree and other oganizations have some virtual volunteer positions [help out without having to travel] available. The two I know about from D-Tree are: Web Developer: http://www.idealist.org/if/mozservice09/en/av/VolunteerOpportunity/176680-2… Java/XML Expert / XForm Developer http://www.idealist.org/if/mozservice09/en/av/VolunteerOpportunity/176568-2… Pass along to anyone who might be interested. Seems like a good fit for people who want to get involved but can't commit to major travel just yet. Brian

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ICTD Post-Doc Fellowship at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa
by Yaw Anokwa 18 Aug '09

18 Aug '09

Postdoctoral Fellowship available at NMMU, Summerstrand Campus, starting January 2010. For more information, please contact Prof. Janet Wesson at Janet.Wesson(a)nmmu.ac.za directly. Additional contact details below. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Computer Science Posting Number: Date Posted: Job Description: The Department of Computer Science and Information Systems (CS&IS) at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), Port Elizabeth, South Africa, wishes to recruit a post-doctoral research fellow to undertake research in the CS&IS research focus areas. CS&IS strives to serve the needs of the ICT industry by developing highly qualified Masters and Doctoral graduates through applied research, frequently in collaboration with industry partners. CS&IS has excellent expertise and research facilities in IT in education (school and university), IT in community development, mobile computing, Service Oriented Architecture, automated assessment of programs, evolutionary robotics, ICT in the workplace, IT Project Management and Usability Engineering. Candidates must have a PhD in Computer Science, advanced knowledge and skills in one or more of the CS&IS research focus areas, and a strong motivation to pursue academic research. They must have excellent written and verbal English communication skills. Candidates will be expected to take a leadership role in developing new collaborative projects, assist in writing research proposals and papers and co-supervise postgraduate students. International candidates are preferred. If a candidate is appointed, he or she must be able to start from 1 January 2010 or as soon after as possible. If you are interested, email your Curriculum Vitae together with a covering letter to Prof Janet Wesson (see Contact Information below). The letter must provide information on your Computer Science knowledge and skills, a description of how you could contribute to the current research of CS&IS, and the names, email addresses and telephone numbers of three referees. Contact: Prof Janet Wesson Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6031 South Africa Email: Janet.Wesson(a)nmmu.ac.za Phone: +27 (0)41 504 2323 Fax: +27 (0)41 504 2831 Website: http://www.nmmu.ac.za/csis

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Research Grants on ICT for Development
by Yaw Anokwa 17 Aug '09

17 Aug '09

The University of Nairobi, with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada, is glad to invite your institution to participate in ICT research grants and scholarships. There are opportunities for graduate students in your institution pursuing Masters or Doctoral studies in Computer Science/Information Technology/Information Systems or ICT intensive disciplines geared towards development to obtain either Masters scholarships or doctoral research grants. The documents attached contain comprehensive information on the grants' program (Announcement) and an application form (Application Form). The documents can also be obtained from http://www.ict4dgrants.org. Kindly forward this to the relevant faculties in your institution, and any other institutions around you with similar faculties. Please note the deadline of submission of applications is 30th September, 2009. I look forward to getting some applications from your institution and to your university's participation in the project. Yours faithfully, Prof. Timothy Mwololo Waema - Project Leader School of Computing and Informatics, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

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Call for Presentations for the mHealth event in Washington DC
by Yaw Anokwa 13 Aug '09

13 Aug '09

From: ACM SIGCHI General Interest Announcements (Mailing List) Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 1:19 PM To: CHI-ANNOUNCEMENTS(a)LISTSERV.ACM.ORG Subject: Call for Presentations for the mHealth event in Washington DC Hello everyone! I wanted to make sure that you were aware that the call for presentations and registration for the mHealth Summit (cell phone as a platform for healthcare in underserved communities) is now open. The link is: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=b5cf7bfc-b867-4877-911b-ce b61c994166. The time is short. The call closes on August 28th (in order to enable us to assist with visas for international travelers), but thankfully we are only asking for an abstract-not a full paper-outlining the talk that the person proposes to give at the event. The date is firm as we have a program committee meeting following the close in order to decide on papers. Thanks for your assistance in advance!! Kristin M. Tolle, Ph.D. Senior Research Program Manager for Biomedical Computing | Microsoft External Research | Health and WellBeing Team

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Fwd: [Cs-grads] FW: Apply now: Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2010
by Yaw Anokwa 12 Aug '09

12 Aug '09

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Lindsay Michimoto <lindsaym(a)cs.washington.edu> Date: 2009/8/12 Subject: [Cs-grads] FW: Apply now: Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2010 To: cs-grads - Mailing List <cs-grads(a)cs.washington.edu> ________________________________ From: GSEC [mailto:gsec@u.washington.edu] Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 2:14 PM To: Lindsay Michimoto Subject: Apply now: Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2010 Please share this announcement widely with interested applicants. Thank you! ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) Social change is serious business Do you have an idea for an innovative, commercially-sustainable business that addresses a problem of poverty in the developing world? If so, we invite you to apply for GSEC! GSEC engages creative minds around the world to encourage bolder and less conventional business solutions to global poverty. Open to all students around the globe—and across fields of study—GSEC plans are judged on the quality of life in the developing world, financial sustainability, and implementation feasibility. Semi-finalist teams from around the world will be invited to Seattle for GSEC Week (March 1-5, 2010), where they pitch their business ideas to judges and the UW community, visit regional companies, and compete for up to $17,500 in prize money, including global health awards. Business ideas may focus on any industry area, such as global health, environment, energy, agriculture, education, or technology. Multidisciplinary teams are highly encouraged. Application deadline November 11, 2009 Apply online here. Applications consist of an executive summary of the business idea. Semi-finalist GSEC teams will be selected in December 2009 and paired with mentors to develop their business idea before GSEC Week in March 2010. Details and application: http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/gbc/globalsocialentrepreneurshipco… ------------------------------------------------------------------------ About GSEC Each year, the Global Business Center brings the world to University of Washington: a select group of interdisciplinary teams are invited to Seattle to participate in GSEC Week at the UW Foster School of Business. Teams attend exclusive company visits, receive feedback on their presentation and pitch their business ideas to judges as they compete for prize money. >From affordable, nutritious meals for slum dwellers in Mumbai, to mobile wind turbines in Kazakhstan, to solar oven-powered water purification systems in Tanzania, GSEC business plans demonstrate the power of business to create sustainable, positive change to some of the world’s most challenging social problems. Since GSEC began over 300 students from more than 25 countries have participated in the program. GSEC fosters interdisciplinary collaboration—across fields of study and among academic institutions. Student team members from the UW alone have come from the schools of business, engineering, health sciences, international studies, law, and public administration. GSEC is organized by the University of Washington’s Global Business Center at the Michael G. Foster School of Business, with the support of Microsoft (GSEC Grand Prize sponsor) and the UW Department of Global Health. Become a fan of GSEC on Facebook Visit us online http://www.foster.washington.edu/centers/gbc/globalsocialentrepreneurshipco…

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Literacy Bridge is a frontrunner in online vote for donation from Paul Buchheit
by Sunil Garg 03 Aug '09

03 Aug '09

Here's a bit of press about Literacy Bridge, and an opportunity to vote at http://moderator.appspot.com/#15/e=90c6a&t=90c6b -Sunil Sent to you by Sunil Garg via Google Reader: It's Bill Clinton as David and a Seattle non-profit as Goliath via TechFlash - Seattle's Technology News on 8/3/09 Bill Clinton is a master vote getter, so it's no surprise that his non- profit Clinton Foundation is leading an online election to receive what could be a sizeable donation from the creator of Goole's Gmail. But the tiny Seattle non-profit Literacy Bridge -- which has developed a small, portable audio device called a "Talking Book" -- is at least staying in the race against the 42nd president. The competition was created by Gmail lead developer Paul Buccheit, who two months ago wrote in a blog post: "I'm going to donate a bunch of money, but I want random people on the Internet to decide where it goes." The PSBJ's Clay Holtzman has details on the race -- being conducted on Google Moderator -- noting that The Clinton Foundation had almost twice as many votes (520) as Literacy Bridge (270). It is a true David vs. Goliath battle. The Clinton Foundation had revenue of about $130 million in 2007, while Literacy Bridge (created by former Navy Officer and Microsoft employee Cliff Schmidt) had about $79,000 in revenue last year. And it turns out that Literacy Bridge was actually the front runner until recently when the Clinton Foundation ramped up efforts, reports Holtzman. (You can't count out Clinton who has been called "The Comeback Kid" before). The Talking Book is currently being tested in Ghana. The nonprofit says the low-cost device is designed to "improve literacy skills for children and adults, while also enabling knowledge to be shared with those who do not have access to text." READ MORE and COMMENT Things you can do from here: Subscribe to TechFlash - Seattle's Technology News using Google Reader Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

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