Rising Voices

Ever since the Uruguay government had started to implement the Ceibal project, with the goal of providing one free XO laptop to every public school student, a transformation has began. The children of Uruguay who are receiving these XO laptops are embracing them as a part of their lives.

Within 2009, all children and teachers of primary and public schools in Uruguay will have their own laptops (OLPC) donated by the State. With the help of a Rising Voices Micro grant, Pablo Flores of Ceibal Plan will organize two workshops for the young laptop-toting students to show them how to set up a blog and take advantage of other social media tools.

We hear the term ‘citizen journalism’ almost everywhere. But to be precise, what is it? Why do we need to embrace citizen journalism? What effects does it have on a society and how can it give a voice to the people who are under reported in the mainstream media?

We will find the answer to those questions in this feature and learn how the Rising Voices projects are embracing citizen journalism.

The OLPC (Hundred Dollar) laptops currently miss many applications to help students learn and participate in the classroom. The Plan Ceibal (Blogging Since Infancy) of Uruguay, a Rising Voices grantee arranged a programming “jam” to get local programmers involved in developing innovative applications for the OLPC laptops including new media tools like blogging. Learn more about it in this week’s feature.

In hope of getting local Uruguayan programmers to develop educational applications for the XO laptop, Rising Voices grantee Pablo Flores of the Ceibal Project, is organizing a programming “jam” this weekend in order to introduce local programmers and get them thinking about developing innovative applications that particularly suit the needs of the hundreds of thousands of Uruguayan students who now carry their bright green laptops to school each day.

One of the most exciting developments from last week’s batch of posts is that many Rising Voices participants are using their blogs as more than just spaces of communication. They have realized that by tapping into the support of a community, they are able to start campaigns to help their neighbors in need.

Rising Voices grantee Pablo Flores, who is in charge of the implementation of the One Laptop Per Child program in Uruguay, believes that the XO laptop is more than just an educational tool. He also sees the lime green laptops as an important communication device which he hopes will allow all Uruguayan students to be heard by the rest of their country and participate in the online conversations which will affect their future.