Caura Futures seeks to fill a paid part-time internship for the development of an Android application that will facilitate learning in remote environments with little to no Internet access. In particular, the application will be tested by members of four Native South American groups for developing curricula that will support native language preservation and restoration, natural history knowledge, crafts, and knowledge of rituals and history. One of the first field tests of the application will involve teaching the recognition of 125 species of local birds to native grade school students in their own languages, using bird songs and spoken names recorded by indigenous ecologists over the past several years.
Caura Futures, a non-profit rain forest conservation organization that partners with indigenous peoples, is offering the internship as part of a long-term cultural library project. UC Berkeley School of Information professor Tapan Parikh will advise on the design and technical development of the application. Dr. Parikh and his research group have designed and implemented several new community information platforms supporting applications in agriculture, health, education, microfinance, governance and other areas. The successful applicant will have a strong background in Android programming and a minimum of 10 hours per week to work on the project. Genuine interest in the concept we are developing is essential. The project intern will be expected to log hours worked and to communicate regularly with us. We will be meeting every two weeks to assess progress on the project, with a weekly check-in by telephone and email. Our goal is to have an initial prototype of the application to be functioning by mid-December of this year. Depending on the success of the first phase, there may be an opportunity for the internship to be extended for additional app development. There is also the possibility for work on field implementation of the app in 2015 in the Amazon Basin. Contact Send email to Dr. Parikh ([email protected]) and/or Tarek Milleron ([email protected]) describing abilities, potential commitment, and interest. Include expected graduation date, major, relevant coursework and experience. _______________________________________________ change mailing list [email protected] http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change
