Mayatan School

TeacherJay has not posted for about 10 days and he must apologize to his diligent readers. He was on an annual working vacation in the small town of Copán Ruinas, Honduras. Although there was internet access, he was just too busy to sit down and write. On a hillside just outside of town there are some wonderful things happening at the Mayatan School. There will be much more about this school in the future… along with a new website .

One Laptop Per Child

Wouldn’t it be great if every child, everywhere, had her or his own laptop computer to use? Not just any laptop, but one specifically designed for children that was rugged enough to withstand harsh environments, did not need constant software upgrades and had an operating system that was easy to learn and came packed with educational software. Well, that is the goal of the One Laptop Per Child project and they already have a few prototypes out there. Today’s post looks not just at the organization, but also at the new possibilities their success may bring and the consequences it could have for some of the world’s poorest people.

History Lessons

History is written by the victors. Ten people could witness the same event, and if you asked them all afterwards what happened, you would probably get eleven different versions. Much of what we read in history books is from the American perspective, and over the years the text has been trimmed to include only the most favorable parts. Today’s post looks first at the book, History Lessons: How Textbooks from Around the World Portray U.S. History, and then points out some of the problems plaguing the teaching of history and current events in the American school system and introduces the non-profit, Americans for Informed Democracy, that is aimed at reversing the trend of American isolationism.

Wikipedia in Education

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit has become a source of information for millions. The site has close to 2 million articles in English and, while less is offered, is also available in dozens of other languages. Many students at all levels, but especially in high school and college, may use the site for research. Is this a good idea? What do they need to know when evaluating the veracity of Wikipedia articles? How should the site be used responsibly? Should it be ignored altogether? Today’s post gives some suggestions on using the site, but also asks more questions.

Nabuur

Have you ever wanted to put your skills to use to help people in a developing nation? Most of us probably have at some point in our lives, but something stopped us… maybe it was distance, time, money, or just not knowing where or how to help. Well, Siegfried Woldhek, former CEO of the World Wildlife Foundation, and Nabuur.com may just have a solution for you. Here is Woldhek, explaining why he started Nabuur: