- eInclusion Limerick: UpComing Project Activities
Limerick City Community ICT Steering Group invite you to:
TechFast 2008
(Breakfast and some food for thought!)
Can you spare an hour on a May morning, for breakfast including short presentations focused on technology and inclusion?
For Whom: Those involved in leadership roles in Limerick City (Community and Voluntary leaders, Education and Training Co-ordinators, Leaders in Statutory agencies etc.)
Where: Clarion Hotel, Steamboat Quay, Limerick
When: The series commences on Friday 9th May and runs for 4 consecutive Fridays.
Breakfast and presentations will commence at 9.15 a.m and will last for 45 minutes with a brief Q & A afterwards. We promise to finish at 10.15 a.m. sharp
The project is supported by funding from the Department of An Taoiseach.
Numbers are limited and Booking is essential. Contact edoyle@paulpartnership.ie to book a place.
Date
Speaker
Theme
9th May
Jim Breen, CEO, Pulse Learning
Inclusive e-learning
16th May
Gerard Walter
Senior Policy Advisor, Forfas
Future skills needs, technology and inclusion
23rd May
Colm Butler, Director, Information Society Policy Unit Department of the Taoiseach
E-Inclusion – a national perspective
30th May
Dr. Fergal McGrath
Director, AIB Centre for Information and Knowledge Management
Meeting the challenges of the emerging digital economy
2 comments:
Thanks Elaine for this morning it was well worth attending. Jim Breens presentation definitely generated some new ideas but I think the iPhone because of cost will have to wait a bit.
Cost of hardware will always be the main obstacle when trying to equip any disadvantaged community. Their are projects running in both India and Africa using wireless enabled Laptops using the Linux OS and Open Source applications that are way below the cost of our cheapest budget price Laptops!!
Again we dont need to reinvent the wheel, what I am talking about has been done in areas far more disadvanted than Limerick, and appears to have succeeded.
I will pass on Links to websites that will explain more about what the possible alternatives are.........slan
Well done Brendan, Elaine & Jim - very stimulating presentation & discussion this morning.
For me the key issue in eInclusive learning is to start with the individual. We must understand and make each individual aware of the possibilities and choices that they have. They must decide “I want to” do whatever is their choice, before we can help them on how to do it.
We must address the “know what” (ie. Awareness) first and only then the “Know how” (support, training, learning etc).
While ICT in just a tool to achieve that, it is becoming an ever more important tool for everyone. Reading, Writing and ICT Literacy are now core skills for everyone to be aware of their options and possibilities in our society. As your report shows the Digital Divide is increasing, as ICT is becoming mainstream for most services, communication and even interaction with our friends and communities. The Internet is knowledge and power. So individuals who do not use it are becoming even more marginalised.
I totally agree with Jim, that you need to go for the big visionary Impact, rather than the safe “guaranteed to succeed” smaller initiative. Still behind that must be the work of many many people who do the smaller evolutionary inputs that actually directly impacts on and changes individual’s lives.
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