A program to create sustainable educational technology centers in developing countries was launched this week, with the hope of generating grass-roots interest in common political and cultural issues.
The Alliance for Global Learning (AGL) was created by Schools Online, I-Earn, and the World Links for Development, a division of the World Bank Institute.
The program is designed to "enhance teaching and learning, promote equal access to communication and information technologies in the developing world, and foster global citizenship and understanding."
The alliance plans to establish a network cluster -- consisting of a resource center and five satellite schools -- in each country. Each resource center will have 10 to 15 networked computers and a central server with an Internet connection. Satellite schools will each have one computer and a monitor to organize access for teachers and students.
The resource centers will conduct teacher training and develop curriculum for the satellite schools and their surrounding communities.
Michael Chertok, the director of marketing and development at Schools Online, said such centers often become community hubs that offer a variety of activities, education, and training.
"There is a tremendous need and demand for this, and it means so much just to put a computer in these places, where they may not have even had any textbooks before," Chertok said. "Suddenly, they have access to all the resources we have on the Net, even audio-video resources, which really opens up a window of possibilities."
Past I-Earn initiatives include a Holocaust/Genocide project that was designed to promote respect for human rights. Another project focused on indigenous cultures and linked groups in the United States, Thailand, South Africa, Argentina, and Australia so people could explore their commonalities and differences.
Chertok said that these educational projects are also meant to be a catalyst for grassroots action in underdeveloped parts of the world.
"The real focus is not only engaging collaboration, but using it as a basis to get kids to take action within their own countries on a topic. It's more than just communicating across the Internet, it's a basis for bringing issues into the real world."
