[wp-edu] Re: WP edu in Africa

[Frerieke vanbree]

Hi all!

I have been scanning those emails with lots of curiosity the past week
and yes, today is the day to participate in this vibrant discussion...

..a few things I would like to 'talk' about

*1 - the PDF* ..yes great idea. I agree that it sounds a bit static, old
fashion and not really 'open source', web 2.0...but hey...it is so useful!

I am a Dutch Architect, living in Africa at the moment.....being here I
realized how lucky we are in America/Europe to have a great and fast
connection. Here in Africa we never know if the next 5 minutes will be on or
off.....so imagine (using Tom's -great idea btw- example) of using WPMU with
all the info....and the text doesn't load, the pages don't work and the
internet is down....
.....to have a down loadable PDF would be great.

I have been teaching (art, leadership, photography, blogging) students in
the slums here the past months and experienced that information on the
projector is so much more interesting for them then another hand out...so I
would actually suggest that besides the PDF there be downloadable Powerpoint
presentations (al though the file size -we pay per used bit!- might become a
problem) with specific topics. This could, through slideshare be a little
less static then a link to a PDF.

Language that is being used in a guide is extremely important. Students are
often so bright about innovation and have their own way of explaining things
to their peers…I would suggest that for example the pieces for students are
made BY students

*2 – Content guide *I would definitely want to see a piece on Wordpress and
mobile use in the guide! Mobile technology in Africa is the future! In
underprivileged communities…almost nobody has a personal computer…almost
everybody has a mobile phone!**

*3 – Automattic and education*
regarding your mail, Jim and the speculations around Automattic and the
intention of opening up this list….I can just say…thank you Automattic…I
would have never found that closed education list you are talking about Jim,
but I did find this one!

*4 – Wordpress MU 4 humanity!*

I need some tips from this clever community! The students and I keep a blog:
http://lovetotheworld.org ….

What's next? The underprivileged students are learning to blog, we now want
to start a WPMU at the domain that I own students4humanity.com or
blogs4humanity.com (at the moment there is nothing there yet!)  and make
this site a place where blogging students from Africa can meet blogging
students from all over the world, with the purpose of empowering youth by
youth, creating a sense of connectiveness, awareness, sharing of ideas and
creating actions around transformation in this world, with the end
goals….the millennium goals….eradication of poverty.

I am an architect (meaning….an old fashion architect, the one that designs
buildings, not the modern 'information architect') ….technology is one of my
passions… but hey I would need technical help (or time to do it myself) to
set this up in a powerful way.

*Let me start by asking…*

Would anybody be interested to be involved with this project? What tips do
you have? Would any of your students be interested to get involved? Does
anybody in this community have templates that I can use?

(also a note regarding funding…we need more computers, internet or mobile
phones to really make this happen here and in different parts in the
developing world…so if you have any ideas on this, let me know…)

let me know if you want more information about this project..

and for now…do tell your students to be inspired by the stories and
photographs of those underprivileged children here in Africa…and have them
leave some comments behind for the students!

Cheers!

*Frerieke*
-- 
Frerieke van Bree

www.lovetotheworld.org
www.umeebee.com
+27(0)782080548
skype: frerieke
twitter: frerieke
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