RE: [DDN] rich media children's story
Phil... and all I have been working on a project over the last year that may interest you in your story writing endeavours. Dubbed RPG Storyteller it is a Macromedia Flash based game engine used as a platform for delivering role playing game (RPG) based stories. The game parses an authorable xml document containing the story, as a page based, choice driven RPG game. RPG Storyteller is in Alpha development stage though this is well advanced and capable of delivering a complex, non-linear and changing storyline. Functions include normal save, load, restart and delete game options, game help systems and encounter-based scenarios. The latest authorable version is available for download as a full authoring package along with fully documented tutorials that explain the xml document structure and the content authoring environment. RPG Storyteller is available for free download from http://eduforge.org/projects/gameflashobjs/, a New Zealand government supported web site for educational innovation. Regards Aaron Aaron Griffiths | Online Services Manager | Software Educational Resources Ltd Contact | DDI: 64 9 415 5666 ext. 112 | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Fax: 64 9 415 5667 Location | 1/45 Paul Matthews Rd., North Harbour, Auckland, 1311 Postal | PO Box 302-105, North Harbour Post Centre, Auckland, 1330 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Phil Shapiro Sent: Thursday, 27 July 2006 11:02 p.m. Subject: [DDN] rich media children's story hi Digital Divide Network community - i recently finished work on a rich media children's story project which i'll be distributing for free on the web. this story has been translated into japanese and swedish already. i'm hoping to get it translated into more than 20 languages. for those who might be interested, the story can be found on the web via a link at http://sammybook.blogspot.com i used free software tools whenever possible in creating this flash file. - phil btw, i have a hunch this story is going to look and sound good on the rumored new ipod with 16 x 9 aspect ratio screen. sometimes you need to intersect the future before the future intersects you. -- Phil Shapiro [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/pshapiro http://philsrssfeed.blogspot.com http://www.his.com/pshapiro/stories.menu.html Wisdom starts with wonder. - Socrates Learning happens through gentleness. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook Launch, August 15, 2006 Toronto
Dear Friends, Here is an announcement about a youth HIV/AIDS best-practices handbook, which I thought to send to DDN because the use of ICTs was crucial to its development, and will be in terms of its continuing dissemination. The partners--including my own nonprofit, ActALIVE--posted to 30 or so eforums to gather the information, and to e-bulletin boards at TIG and elsewhere, and we searched through online databases of youth activists in Africa (at TakingITGlobal, the African Regional Youth Initiative, and the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS), to whom we did outreach. In total, the practices cover 95 projects in 25 countries, and we plan the same effort for follow-on editions, which we will disseminate in part via ICTs and e-media. A PDF and CD-ROM are already available, and a website presence is in the works, as well as a print edition, which will hopefully be available for the official Handbook launch at the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Toronto. One challenge will be to make this resource known and to disseminate it those with no access to ICTs. Suggestions in that regard are most welcome! Since ICTs have been shown to be highly effective means of communicating HIV/AIDS info to youth, we hope to narrow the digital divide to ensure that more receive this life-enhancing and life-saving material. With thanks and here's to practices making for perfect health! Janet (Feldman, [EMAIL PROTECTED], www.kaippg.org) African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook Launch, August 15, 2006 Toronto ActALIVE (http://www.actalive.org), the Standing Committee on Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS-International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA-SCORA, at www.ifmsa.org), and Development Partnership International (DPI)(http://www.developmentpartnership.org) are pleased to invite you to the formal launch of the first edition of the African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook. The session is scheduled as follows: Venue: Global Village Youth Pavilion, International AIDS Conference, Toronto Date: Tuesday August 15, 2006 Time: 12.45- 2.15pm The African Youth HIV/AIDS Best Practices Handbook is a compendium of 95 youth-led and youth-focused HIV/AIDS projects from 25 countries in Africa. It is intended to showcase the outstanding work of African youth to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to provide best-practices examples which can be replicated locally in Africa, and hopefully globally. This should help to encourage further education and prevention efforts, promote African youth leadership to curb the pandemic, and create as well as sustain opportunities for the participation of African youth in local, national, regional, and international efforts to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS. Use of the arts, media, and ICTs are all featured in the Handbook, as are some practices created and implemented with adult allies. Kindly contact Adebayo Samuel [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima [EMAIL PROTECTED] or call +234 84 751 002 for more information. We look forward to welcoming you at the launch. Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima Director, Development Partnership International 4 Eleme/Onne Road off Eleme Junction, Port Harcourt 51 NIGERIA http://www.developmentpartnership.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: +234 84 751 002 Fax: +234 84 751 002 Mobile: +234 805 518 2526 ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Free Guidelines from WGBH - Create Accessible Digital Media
Guidelines for Creating Accessible Digital Media Published by WGBH Boston, MA (July 2006). The WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), a division of public broadcaster and access technology pioneer WGBH Boston, announces publication of Accessible Digital Media: Design Guidelines for Electronic Publications, Multimedia and the Web. These guidelines, providing step-by-step solutions for making a variety of electronic media accessible to users with sensory disabilities, are now available free of charge at http://ncam.wgbh.org/publications/adm/ . A free CD containing the guidelines is also available; e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] to order single or multiple copies. These guidelines are the culmination of the Beyond the Text project (http://ncam.wgbh.org/ebooks), conducted by NCAM and funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education . Project staff studied methods for integrating accessible multimedia into e-books and digital talking books (DTBs), and the results of this research have been incorporated into the guidelines. The document is a greatly expanded version of recommendations first published in 2000 and revised in 2003, under projects funded by the National Science Foundation . Accessible Digital Media: Design Guidelines for Electronic Publications, Multimedia and the Web presents solutions to accessibility obstacles in a format designed to educate and assist digital publishers as well as Web and content developers. As with tools previously created by NCAM, including MAGpie (free, do-it-yourself captioning and audio description software) and CaptionKeeper (a tool for migrating captions created for analog video to digital formats), NCAM anticipates that the ready availability of these guidelines will help accelerate the creation of e-books, DTBs, software and Web sites with accessible images, multimedia, interactivity, data tables, graphs, and mathematical and scientific expressions. Geoff Freed, project manager for Beyond the Text, comments, While the guidelines focus largely on content creation for educational materials, the solutions and recommendations are not restricted to academic settings. Lifelong learning is expected of every individual in the 21st century and advancement in the workplace is often tied to learning new skills and concepts. Corporate trainers and knowledge-management experts in all fields utilize interactive and Web-based content for professional development, and learning materials of all types now include multimedia movies and audio clips and a variety of interactive elements. Those interested in building accessibility into digital materials may also want to review the results of another NCAM initiative which promotes the design of accessible learning management systems, used by many schools, universities and workplaces. NCAM's Specifications for Accessible Learning Technologies (SALT) Partnership established an accessibility working group within the IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS). This work, producing specifications for a universally designed infrastructure for adaptable learning systems, will result in an international standard from the International Organization on Standardization (ISO). Please contact NCAM if you have comments about these guidelines or suggestions for future revisions. We also encourage you to visit NCAM's Web site (http://ncam.wgbh.org) to explore other ongoing access initiatives. About NCAM NCAM is part of the Media Access Group at WGBH, which also includes: The Caption Center, which first developed captioning for TV in the early '70s and, Descriptive Video Service®, a TV access service launched in 1990 to offer description of on-screen action, settings, costumes and character expressions to people who are blind and visually impaired. Since its founding in 1993, the National Center for Accessible Media has been the RD pioneer in the field of media access, advancing the accessibility of all forms of media in a wide range of venues, including movie theaters, the Internet, digital television and mobile media in the home, classroom, workplace and community. For additional information about all of NCAM's activities and the projects, please visit http://ncam.wgbh.org. CONTACT: Mary Watkins Media Access Group at WGBH [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 617 300-3700 voice 617 300-2489 TTY ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] ICANN, the linguistic digital divide IDN
The recent news that the US government has in principle ceded control of ICANN http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/27/ntia_icann_meeting/ is related to an issue that seems to get less coverage - that of Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) and the interest behind that in a more multilingual internet. Language of course is one of the factors of the digital divide and it has been particularly problematic in the case of diverse scripts (and, although it is often overlooked in discussing writing systems and ICT, even Latin scripts with extra letters and diacritics beyond ASCII ANSI). The Guardian has an interesting article exploring this issue in the context of internet governance at http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1830481,00.html (excerpts below). I've tended to see IDN as a subset of the larger issues of content, but in a way, resloving the technical issues involved in multilingual domain names contributes not only to making the web more welcoming to more people and peoples, but also to facilitating the processing of more localized content in languages that are not yet well represented on the web. Sort of a wedge issue, in other words, for the multilingual internet. Hopefully the new developments with regard to ICANN will help in this process. Don Osborn Bisharat.net PanAfrican Localisation Project Despite everything you may have heard, the global resource we all know as the internet is not global at all. Since you are reading this article in English you probably won't have noticed, but if your first language was Chinese, Arabic, Hindi or Tamil, you would know very different. At most websites you visit you will be scrabbling to find a link to a translated version in your language, seemingly hidden amid tracts of baffling text. Even getting to a website in the first place requires that you master the western alphabet - have you ever tried to type .com in Chinese letters? . . . Icann was first approached in the year it was created - 1998 - with the aim of introducing internationalised domain names into its system. But it has yet to introduce a single one. Many members of the global internet community have cried foul at the endless delays from a company based in the least linguistically diverse area of the world (the US has speakers of 170 different languages, compared to 364 in Europe and 2,390 in Africa). The Guardian, 27 July 2006, Divided by a Common Language http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1830481,00.html ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Partners sought to translate open learning resource kit for street children in Africa
Partners sought to translate open learning resource kit for street children in Africa An interesting CD-ROM with learning resources in Amharic for street children was just released by the Forum on Street Children in Ethiopia and BBC; it was prepared together with the concerned young people. Partners are now being sought to translate the kit into other languages. This is a very useful product and a good model that deserves to be more widely distributed, hopefully in much more African languages, says Armelle Arrou of UNESCO's Information Society Division. Individuals and organizations interested in partnering with FSCE and BBC to develop other language versions should contact Amakelew Cherkosie ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and Andrew Law ([EMAIL PROTECTED] ). The Forum on Street Children - Ethiopia (FSCE) is an indigenous not for profit, non governmental organization established at the end of 1989 by a group of social development professionals working in child-focused organizations. It is using ICTs to support aspects of their work and has recently opened a new ICT-based learning centre in Nazret. SOURCE: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=22606URL_DO=DO_TOPICURL_SECTION=201.html _ posted originally by: Chris Schuepp Young People's Media Network - Coordinator Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: www.unicef.org/magic Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/youthful-media The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC. Forwarded by Janet Feldman, [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Fwd: $14 Million Study Proves (???) Student LaptopsIneffectiveAcademically
A note from a tenth grade student -- Forwarded message -- From: shantanu jha [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Jul 28, 2006 11:12 PM Subject: Re: $14 Million Study Proves (???) Student LaptopsIneffectiveAcademically To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] The fundamental problem with laptops and mathematics/science is that there is just not enough computer science taught today. It is impossible to be a mathematician or scientist these days without being heavily involved in the use of computer modeling. Every mathematician, scientist, and engineer will have to become fluent in the use of Mathematica, Maple, MATLAB, or some other computer algebra system, and this cannot be done without computer science. The links between mathematics and computer science are incredibly far-reaching as well, giving considerable pedagogical value to the use of computers in mathematics. For example, any given for or while loop we use is basically a finite induction process directly analogous to the method of inductive proof we use constantly in mathematics. Recursion, another oft used computer science technique, appears often when we deal with generating functions and recurrence relations - which, in turn, are two of the areas of mathematics that lend themselves best to analysis via computer science methods. I'll only comment briefly on reading. There is no good reason that one can't read as much with the use of a laptop and the internet than with a book. Give someone a laptop with internet access, and they have a key to an immense amount of online material. Whether it is reading the classics or reading a math textbook, there is almost always an online alternative that is cheaper than buying a book. Merely go to http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ and search for any great work of literature and it shall be found. Of course, everything I said does not apply to the average student. However, for the student that enjoys the tools that laptops offer for academics, it is an invaluable tool. I think introducing technology into schools today suffers from much the same problem as U.S public schools do on a broader level - no matter what new and innovative teaching method you may have, the students that don't want to learn will not. While engaging the students with images and technology may help, the students have to meet you half way there. At 2:01 PM -0400 7/23/06, John Thompson wrote: Reading and mathematics are probably the two areas where you would least expect to find a positive impact on test scores. -- Why is that? John We carried out research in 10 one-to-one laptop schools, and reviewed research from hundreds of others. Laptops are least frequently used in mathematics instruction. With rare use, there is little chance that they would help raise test scores. (Why they are rarely used in mathematics instruction is another question, but I guess that most teachers find the range of software and online resources for teaching math unhelpful, especially given the way most US math instruction is geared. One exception is Gometer's Sketchpad, but that is mostly used at the high school level, and the majority of one-to-one laptop programs are in middle schools.) As for reading, one major contributor to reading gains is extensive reading -- and that much more easily takes place from books, rather than the screen. Computer-based intensive reading tutorial programs are usually so mind-numbing that teachers and students fail to implement them well. There are of course some creative ways to use laptops to promote reading comprehension , yet much more common and frequent uses of laptops are to develop research skills, writing skills, data analysis skills, etc. And laptop use often takes place in classrooms that emphasize multimedia/multimodal literacy. None of this means that laptop use will hinder reading scores, but it's also unlikely that it will raise scores -- especially in the first year of implementation. Mark -- _ https://www.linkedin.com/in/satishjha -- _ https://www.linkedin.com/in/satishjha ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] CPSR seeks a part-time Communication Director for its San Francisco office
As board secretary, I would like to forward the following message to this mailing list. My apologies if you receive this more than once. Please direct all inquiries to - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Regards Robert Guerra CPSR, Board Secretary web: www.cpsr.org ### Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (cpsr.org)) seeks a part-time Communication Director for its San Francisco office. The Communication Director will be responsible for both the day-to-day office operations of CPSR and for being the organization's primary liaison between CPSR members and other organizations, the press, and the public. On the day-to-day side, the CD will maintain the organization's financial budget, help organize board meetings and conferences, and maintain records for writing the CPSR annual report. In large part, however, the CD will work as an activist on CPSR's issues, following debates within our space, writing press releases or blog posts on relevant issues, and working to bring more members to the organization. The CD will also write the organization's weekly newsletter. Experience with organizing conferences and outreach campaigns would be helpful. Applicants must also be competent with content management software (we use Plone), and have experience with online activism (including familiarity with blogging software, wikis, and e-mail campaigns). CPSR is a progressive, global organization aimed at helping computer scientists, engineers and technologists promote the responsible use of computer technology. Founded in 1981, CPSR educates policymakers and the public on a wide range of issues, including electronic privacy, online civil liberties, access to technology in developing nations, voting technology, and green technology. The position starts at 24 hours/week and offers bonuses for expanding our membership and donations. To apply, send your resume, cover letter, and two writing samples (these may be blog posts) to [EMAIL PROTECTED] No calls, please. Deadline for receipt of applications is August 9. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Recent i4D article on the FOSS Movement
Kindly find links to the recent i4D article on the FOSS Movement. The spirit of the FOSS movement PDF Version: http://www.i4donline.net/July06/745.pdf HTML Version: http://www.i4donline.net/articles/current-article.asp?articleid=745typ=Feat ures I4D Magazine Open Content Section: http://www.i4donline.net/July06/content.asp Forwarded for Informational Purposes by --- FOSSFP: Free Open Source Software Foundation of Pakistan ® Secretariat E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: www.fossfp.org ; www.ubuntu-pk.org -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.4/402 - Release Date: 7/27/2006 ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] Wikimania, anyone?
Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone on the list was planning to attend Wikimania in Boston this weekend at Harvard Law School. It's the second annual Wikipedia summit. I'll be there all weekend, as well as at Dan Gillmor's citizen journalism retreat on Monday. Drop me a note if you're planning to attend. http://wikimania2006.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page -- -- Andy Carvin acarvin (at) edc . org andycarvin (at) yahoo . com http://www.andycarvin.com http://www.digitaldivide.net http://www.pbs.org/learningnow -- ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
