Appropedia Blog

Innovative uses of the internet in education, in Mexico and India:

Universidad de la Tierra - Mexico

Located in the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca de Juarez, the Universidad de la Tierra is an alternative learning initiative through which students learn from the world by doing. This process happens largely in communication with others, in the form of study/reading circles ("communities of practice") and intercultural exchange. The NewWorkSpaces online community tool (Unitierra's space here) enables learners to access "collaborative technology that will help [them]...convene conversations, co-create and publish documents, invite others into...learning experiences, and exchange...knowledge and resources." Other means of sharing learning experiences include libraries, documentation centres, community radio, media campaigns, and publishing. These modes also provide dialogue opportunities around Unitierra activities such as those with indigenous communities engaged in cultural regeneration, technological and socio-political innovation, and social struggle (e.g. through workshops, videos, the creation of ecological dry toilets and solar arrays, organic agriculture, and alternative media). More.

Samvidha - India

This project is a response to the need to make relevant internet-based information accessible to all of India's teachers and students at a low cost. Carried out by the non-profit Media Lab Asia in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, the Samvidha project is an effort to bridge the digital divide by providing off-line access to curriculum-related internet content using a query-based system. Individual variations among the different students can be captured by their user profile, which includes each student's individual interests and capabilities. This idea of offering personalised content access and presentation is also reflected in the fact that navigation interfaces are offered in Bengali, Hindi, and English. Content which is appropriate for the user's needs is then emailed to the user in the school; information located on the internet is provided to the user in English or, where available, in a given Indian language. More. See also the Samvidha page on Media Lab Asia's website.

Thanks to The Communication Initiative Network for this news - "Where communication and media are central to social and economic development".

Relevant Appropedia wiki pages:

• Offline content collaboration
• ICT4D
• Portal:Learning