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How Online Classrooms Are Helping Haiti Rebuild Its Education System
November 25, 2010
When University of the People founder Shai Reshef welcomed 16 Haitian students to their first day of class last Thursday, he told them that life might prevent some of them as it does students in every part of the world from completing their degrees at the free, online university.
They looked at me and said, you just dont understand, Reshef says. We cannot drop out. We have to finish it. Thats our lives. Its like dying if we dont graduate.
Haitians have good reason for thinking of education a bit differently than much of the rest of the world. In a country where just over fifty percent of the population meets the CIA World Factbooks definition of literacy, a college diploma is a precious commodity. And when Januarys earthquake damaged or demolished 87% of the countrys institutions of higher learning, it became even more precious.
While reconstructing the destroyed universities is a long-term task, University of the People is hoping to give Haitian students a way to continue their educations before its completed. By opening a center where students can take advantage of the scarce electricity, computers, and Internet connection required to enroll in the University of the Peoples free online courses, the organization hopes to not only ease Haitis current woes, but also help build its future.
Joining the Global Classroom
Photo source: The Challenge for Haitian Higher Education by INURED
Since last Thursday, two shifts of students have been filtering in and out of the student computer center. The first group of eight comes from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The second group stays from noon to 4:00 p.m. Some of them travel as much as an hour and a half each way to attend, walking up to 30 to 45 minutes from their homes to get to a road where they can take a shared taxi or tap-tap.
The students have all passed the same tests and application process as their 700 peers from 100 different countries who are also enrolled in University of the People, and when they log into their classrooms, its with these peers not the other students in their physical proximity that theyre learning with. Because of this global environment, all of the courses are taught in English.
University of the People currently offers associate and bachelor degrees in computer science and business. Courses are 10 weeks long, and theyre each taught by one of more than 2,000 volunteers (not a bad teacher to student ratio for a university, Reshef jokes). Students have weekly reading assignments, homework, and quizzes. At the end of each course, theres an exam that contributes to their final scores.
While these new students have always been eligible to enroll in the university, there were other restrictions before the center was built. According to Lubin Charles, the administrator at the center, Internet connections in Haiti can cost as much as $60 USD for one month.
The Impact of Online Study
A report that the Inter-university Institute for Research and Development (INURED) wrote about higher education in post-earthquake Haiti noted brain-drain as one of the biggest challenges for Haitis future.
An uncalculated number of professors, professionals and students have fled Haiti after the earthquake, contributing to the brain-drain of a critically needed people for the country, the report states. Most of the fellowships and scholarships granted to Haiti will compound the emigration of Haitian scholars to foreign countries.
One of the advantages of online education is that the students can access quality education while in Haiti. Unlike those who leave to the states to study which if they succeed in doing so, they never return we want to keep them [in Haiti], Reshef says.
University of the People has partnered with the Haitian Connection Network, an NGO that has been in Haiti for more than a decade. The organization helped the university set up the infrastructure, and they will also help students find jobs in Haiti or internet jobs with international companies once theyve completed their degrees.
If you have [a] university diploma, you will find a job in Haiti, Reshef says. Thats like a precious thing to have. Any one of them will find a job because there arent a lot of university graduates in Haiti.
A Model for the Future
University of the People plans to open up more student computer centers in Haiti; hoping to accommodate 250 students. The organization is already talking with four additional partners.
One potential partner is a foundation that has built a program for students who werent able to continue with their education after the earthquake. That organization would like to use University of the People to help students resume their studies. Another partner has talked about facilitating more student computer centers in other parts of Haiti.
Reshef says that University of the People intends to expand the centers to other parts of the world that, like Haiti, could benefit from online education if online were more accessible.
Charles, who found the job as the learning center administrator when one of the students needed a recommendation for his application, is optimistic about the model: Sincerely, everything is going well. Students are really excited. They always come. And they are there on time I am optimistic that this program will help Haiti. We really need that. We cant talk about rebuilding Haiti without good education.
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5 Fresh and Free To-Do List Apps for iPhone
November 25, 2010
We all lead busy, hectic lives, which means that its all too easy to forget a task here and there. A to-do list can really help keep you on track, but pen and paper lists are easily lost, especially if you are disorganized to begin with.
Making a to-do list on the device you take everywhere your phone is a great way to get organized. You can whip it out at any point to add an item, or joy of joys cross one off.
Weve taken a look at the to-do lists in the App Store and have come up with five fresh options that will help your productivity in specific ways. Best of all, each one is free.
1. Lucid Lists Free
This list app offers great functionality and is perfect for anyone who needs reminders for recurring tasks. Whether its returning library books, de-fleaing the cat, car maintenance or just a nudge to call your grandmother, Lucid Lists helps you set up reminders for repeating tasks.
Tasks are categorized as raw denoting a new or far-off task, ripe, which means ready for action, or rotten if youve missed the due date. This system provides an at-a-glance look at what needs doing and should help anyone stay on track of regular chores.
Developer: Kembipro
Best for: Ongoing time management
2. Errands To-Do List
This functional app offers a calendar-based way to manage your tasks and alerts to make sure you remember to do them. Add a new item to your to-do list and you can set up folders, priority levels, due date and due time. Setting a due time means you can accompany the task with an alert to go off at various timed intervals before its due.
You can also view monthly calendars that show tasks due on different dates, which is a great way of getting an overview of just what it is your to-do list has in store for you.
Developer: Yoctoville
Best for: Anyone who needs reminder alerts
3. HomeWork Lite
Ideal for anyone who has a very busy home and work life, this app separates the two areas, offering a micro-managed way of keeping on top of all your tasks, as well as personal projects and study.
Within the work, home, project, school and personal sections, you can add to-do items and other tasks into a plethora of sub-sections such as appointments, documents, events, yard work, etc. Theres even a to-think category, if youre so busy you need to remind yourself to do so.
Developer: Manumatix
Best for: Control freaks
4. Listable
Listable is a very capable option for anyone who shares to-do lists with partners, housemates or colleagues. Once youve set up a list, you can share it via an e-mail invite. The new collaborator can then view the list on his or her iPhone, or online if they are iPhone deficient.
The lists themselves are simple you create tasks as text entries and then tick them off or delete them once complete. The app also offers an activity stream view, so if you have shared lists with others, theres an at-a-glance way to view who has done what, and when.
Developer: StackBuilders
Best for: To-do list collaboration
5. ListPro
The developer describes this app as the ultimate list making toolkit, and with its free price tag, wed definitely agree. ListPro is a seriously comprehensive app that lets you create any kind of to-do list, from simple checklists right through to custom lists as complex as you care to create.
Its not just the creation options that are complex the options within the lists leave no stone unturned. Within to-do lists you can highlight, indent, and add categories, priority ratings, flags and more. Once youve created your lists, you can then re-arrange items, filter results and send an e-mail reminder.
Were just touching the surface of what this app is capable of. If youre a die-hard to-do list fan, or want to try and become one, this app comes highly recommended.
Developer: Ilium Software
Best for: List fiends
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