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Voice Technologies Not Yet Ready to Push Literacy

Posted October 27th, 2017 at 9:11 am (UTC-4)
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Voice-enabled devices have the potential to unlock a world of information for illiterate populations around the world. But certain needs have to be met before voice recognition can significantly impact literacy, says a leading education technology expert. “There is so much going on where you need to be literate,” said Michael Trucano, the World Bank’s […]

Worldreader Pushes Digital Literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Posted February 12th, 2016 at 10:25 am (UTC-4)
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Mobile technology has put digital books in the hands of people in developing regions who otherwise have limited reading resources. But millions of schoolchildren in places like Africa still have few or no books to help them develop reading and writing skills. Worldreader aims to change that. Focusing mainly on Sub-Saharan Africa, Worldreader is a non-profit […]

Tech Sightings, September 18, 2014

Posted September 18th, 2014 at 2:35 pm (UTC-4)
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Make Peace, Not War The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the United Nations Development Program, and Build Up have teamed up to sponsor PEACEapp, a competition intended to showcase the work of game developers who create games to channel cultural dialogue and conflict management. October 15 is the deadline for entries. China’s Signal Hijacks Have […]

Q&A: UNESCO Takes Literacy Fight to Mobile

Posted September 12th, 2014 at 2:46 pm (UTC-4)
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Cellphones and mobile devices are opening up new avenues to improve people’s lives, particularly among the illiterate. And the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has been working to harness that mobile power for its literacy programs. In a chat with TECHtonics, Fengchun Miao, Chief of UNESCO’s ICT Education Unit in Paris […]