Technology for Education Fund

Hello Technology for Education supporters,

Thanks for your continued interest in helping us improve the quality of education with the use of technology!

Funding to the Technology for Education Fund is currently supporting the Mortel Family Foundation’s work in Haiti. The Foundation supports a partnership between Palmyra Middle School in Pennsylvania with classrooms in Haiti, connecting the students and sharing learnings via a wiki.

The Mortel Family Foundation has now been raising funds on GlobalGiving for five years, and we recently had the opportunity to host some of the students from Palmyra at our office in Washington, DC. The students first visited the Embassy of Haiti, where they were given a tour complete with displays of art, culture, history, and education. The students had the opportunity to present the Palmyra-Haiti Technology Project to embassy staff as well, and visited with His Excellency Paul Altidor, ambassador to Haiti, before they left.

The students then visited GlobalGiving’s office to learn more about the operations behind the source of their Technology for Education funds. It was a great opportunity to be the recipient of site visitors since GlobalGiving staff is typically used to visiting the organizations and projects on our site instead. It provides interesting perspective to be asked a lot of the questions we often ask our grantees, especially when those questions came from the constituents from one of those grantees. It was quite the virtuous circle.

We look forward to updating you on the educational connections that continue to develop between these student groups in Haiti and the US with the aid of technology.

Sincerely,
The GlobalGiving Team

Dear Technology for Education Supporters,

Thanks for your continued assistance in improving the quality of education in Egypt, Haiti, and India.  With your help, the Technology for Education Fund has now raised more than $100,000 via GlobalGiving.

The Fund continues to support CARE’s efforts in Egypt and India, as well as the Mortel Family Charitable Foundation’s work in Haiti. 

CARE’s work, specifically, targets the use of PCs in the comfort of classrooms that provide safe spaces for girls to develop social networks amongst themselves.  Schools provide one of the only safe spaces, outside of the home, for girls to meet with each other, learn together, and share ideas.  The ease of access to the internet and computer training should help girls link with their counterparts globally, enabling them to expand their worldviews. 

October 11th was the International Day of the Girl Child, as declared by the U.N. in 2011.  This year’s theme focused on innovation for girls’ education.  We couldn’t be more proud and happy to be doing work that fits into this year’s theme and supports the International Day of the Girl’s mission of helping girls reach their full potential. 

Thank you for your help in reaching this worthwhile goal!

Sincerely,
The GlobalGiving Team

Thank you for your continued support of the Technology for Education Fund! 

The Fund continues to support three programs in equal measures: CARE’s programs in India and Egypt, as well as the Mortel Family Charitable Foundation’s work in Haiti, fostering education and learning through technology.

In April, the Intel Education Service Corps (IESC) visited the Mortel Family Charitable Foundation’s schools in St. Marc, Haiti to conduct trainings for students and provide volunteer technical support for the schools’ computer rooms.  The students in Haiti are supported by a joint wiki platform with students in Palmyra, PA, on an ongoing basis as well.  IESC works closely with NGOs in developing countries to deploy technology solutions based on Intel platforms.  IESC works with NGOs to define education technology solutions that meet the NGOs’ needs and prepare specific plans for deployment, training, and long-term sustainability. Volunteer teams spend at least one month preparing for their assignments and two weeks in the field implementing solutions.  The IESC team that visited the Mortel Family Charitable Foundation’s schools in St. Marc prepared for its trip via Skype sessions, which allowed the students in Palmyra to learn about the trainings and technical support as well. 

Thank you all for your continued support of the Technology for Education Fund on GlobalGiving, and thanks to the Intel community for its support – funds, time, and talent - for your continued support of this worthy cause.

Sincerely,
The GlobalGiving Team

Happy New Year, Technology for Education Supporters!

We hope 2012 is off to a great start for all of you. We’re writing to provide an update all the great work helped by the Technology for Education Fund in 2011. 

In 2011, the Fund continued to support three projects: CARE’s work in India and Egypt, and the Mortel Family Foundation’s work in Haiti. 

In Egypt, CARE continued to work with PCs in classrooms, providing safe spaces for girls to learn, share ideas, and socialize.  The program has increased computer literacy among its students, providing them with better skills for future studies and/or employment; it has strengthened teachers’ and other staff’s capacity to integrate technology into the school’s curriculum and instructional design; and it has created positive and active social networks for the girls participating in the program.

In Haiti, the Mortel Family Foundation was able to build a computer room for grades K-6 at Les Bons Samaritans school and the recently opened James Stine College, both in St. Marc.  These computer rooms provide internet access and interactive white boards to students who previously had little, if any, experience with technology.  The increased connectivity has helped expand their worldview and, combined with the schools’ talented teaching staff, will help prepare the students for graduate school, technical programs, or employment after graduation.

In India, Intel employees visited CARE’s work to help deploy Intel classmate PCs in various schools.  At the Udaan school, designed to help girls catch up from a gap in their schooling, Intel volunteers taught students practical skills like navigating a desktop, using a mouse, opening, saving, and formatting but always ended class with a fun activity like using the computers’ cameras.

Your continued generosity and support have made this progress possible – we can’t thank you enough!

Best wishes,
The GlobalGiving Team