Education

I recently learned about a new initiative from DonorsChoose.org, a non-profit that accepts grant requests from K-12 teachers and makes them available to donors from across the country. DonorsChoose has set up BloggersChoose.org, a way for us bloggers to spread the word. Anyone can create a challenge, and then publicize it.

I've set up one on Economics and the World, though the only proposal I've found to include so far is one that's local: a high school in Richmond, CA. An economics teacher there is looking to buy copies of books that will get students fired up about learning the subject: Freakanomics, Nickeled and Dimed and the like.

If you're not in a position to give, consider putting together your own challenge, and publicizing it to your network!

I think it's an intriguing approach to fundraising, one that empowers individuals to multiply their own impact by involving others. Plus, they provide a tracking page to see how generous your blog readers are compared to others responding to challenges in your area.

Attached is a New York Times article from Davos about Microsoft's response to the One Laptop Per Child project by MIT's Negroponte. They propose using a cellphone as a computer connected to a TV and a keyboard. I don't know about the feasibility of Microsoft's proposal but the fact that they have one demonstrates the power of OLPC, open-source and market dynamics.

Laura truly is a family person. While I hardly ever visit relatives to avoid being a burden for anyone, she takes extreme care of getting in touch with everyone and visiting them everytime she's in town. This time, finally, I came along for the ride. So for the past 3 days she's been dragging me across town, uptown and downtown, East and West of New York, to meet her relatives from both sides of her family.

I need a couple of days at the school to show the teachers the blog we have up and teach them how they can start blogging themselves. I will make sure they have a plan and a commitment to add a couple of entries in the coming months. When I get back to Stanford, I will continue working on a audience for these posts, which I have already started this year.

This is just a proof of concept with much more data to be added, of course. This blog is just the beginning of the digital portfolios for the children of Projeto Uerê. As discussed on the project b

My mentor for RDVP, Allen Long, has suggested I make a list of the things I can be doing at Stanford and those I could be doing in Rio for assessing where I should be for the remainder of the program. This is mostly brainstorming, but any opinions/suggestions are welcome.

After reassessing the project with insight from my trip to Brazil, I have had to change the deliverables and their dates.  Here they are:

Having spent Thanksgiving break in Rio working at Projeto Uerê, I am reporting back on some minor changes to the project.  Overall it was a great success and despite the dire situation of many of the children, I was inspired and deeply moved by the work Yvonne and everyone at the school are doing to give the children a chance in life.

This was a short presentation I did for a class taught by Professor Lyris Wiedemann (Head of Portuguese Department at Stanford) trying to capture what Vamos Blogar is all about. Some of the highlights are the deliverables as they stand on November 2005, before the on-site trip scheduled for Thanksgiving Break.