Technology

Hewlett-Packard and EDC are partnering with Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Bangkok Non-Formal Education and College of Management in Mahidol University to implement a Community Enterprise Support Project (CESP) to support the economic development of working-poor communities in Bangkok. Working together with stakeholders, the project provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with technical assistance, management advice, technology solutions, and IT capacity building.

STEP works with the Ministry of National Education (MEN for its initials in French) to build the capacity of its personnel to offer high-quality training and support to Madagascar’s growing numbers of teachers and schools. Based on STEP’s successful pilot program in the provinces of Toliara, Fianarantsoa, and Tamatave, MEN is expanding the program nationally with technical assistance from EDC.

In partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), EDC’s Sudan Radio Service has developed a new civic education radio series that will increase listeners’ knowledge of political developments and also promote increased discussion of political developments, tolerance of diverse viewpoints, and non-violent solutions to complex problems. The series, entitled “Let’s Talk,” is a weekly, 30-minute, multi-segment program produced in English and several Sudanese languages.

EDC serves as technology advisor in the development of an online toolkit designed to aid afterschool educators in the integration of technology and academic content. SEDL’s technical assistance effort is funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support their 21st Century Community Learning Center program, a $1 billion effort to fund afterschool programming.

EDC offers youth development professionals and educators comprehensive services and resources for using technology to create exciting learning environments. Created by the Morino Institute and now led by EDC, YouthLearn provides user-friendly tools to help organizational leaders and staff start or strengthen afterschool and in-school programs.

EDC is developing an interactive, animated CD-ROM for high school students in West Africa to teach them about Pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza. Through this e-Learning multimedia product—with computer games and a comic style story—students will learn about the transmission and dangers of the H1N1 virus, necessary skills to protect themselves, and how to communicate with parents, relatives, and friends about the dangers of transmission and appropriate preventive actions.

EDC is developing a web-based course on pandemic preparedness and response for communities. The primary audience is local decision-makers and practitioners, with additional modules for specific audiences.

The INTALEQ (INnovations in Technology-Assisted Learning for Educational Quality) project is a public/private partnership initiative that will help Yemeni students “step up” to the future by giving them a chance to master the types of skills necessary to flourish in the 21st century. INTALEQ (which means “step up” or launch in Arabic) offers a replicable model for leveraging the power and pull of technology, not just to teach computer and internet skills, but to improve core teaching and learning in Yemeni high schools, particularly in the essential areas of math and science.

The Shaqodoon program was created to provide Somali youth with greater access to training, internships, work and self-employment opportunities in order to productively engage youth and add to the stability and development of the region. Shaqodoon is Somali for “jobseekers”.

Funded by the State Department, EDC’s Darfur News and Information Service encourages constructive dialogue, mitigates tensions, and builds the capacity of Darfuri radio journalists to increase the provision of news and information in the region. This two year project offers news, information, and an educational shortwave broadcast service in Arabic, Fur, Masalit, and Zagawa for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable populations in Darfur. Special attention is given to explaining the Darfur Peace Agreement.