Natural disasters in the Caribbean

Haitian children temporarily relocated in a school in Port-au-Prince’s Tabarre district during Hurricane Gustav.

VIDEO: UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes Louis-Georges Arsenault discusses preparing for and responding to natural disasters in the Caribbean.

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Storms batter the Caribbean, displacing thousands

Jude Law and Jeremy Gilley visit Afghanistan to promote peace

Women and children affected by flooding in Bihar

Caribbean storms displace hundreds of thousands of children and their families

Hurricane Ike has made its unwelcome presence felt in the Caribbean this week, leaving a path of destruction across many smaller islands before slamming into eastern Cuba, which had already borne the brunt of Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna. Meanwhile in Haiti, an estimated 800,000 people, including 300,000 children, are struggling to recover from massive flooding caused by the back-to-back storm systems. The government has officially requested international assistance. Large quantities of humanitarian supplies were pre-positioned prior to hurricane season in the Caribbean, but the number of storms that have developed this year was unexpected. Watch the video.   high | low Learn more about the storms battering the Caribbean Jude Law and Jeremy Gilley visit Afghanistan to promote peace British actor and Peace One Day envoy Jude Law recently travelled to Afghanistan with film director Jeremy Gilley, the founder of the Peace One Day global campaign for ceasefires and non-violence. During their two-day mission, they screened a new documentary, ‘The Day After Peace’, about the efforts of ordinary Afghans to stop the fighting in their country. Mr. Law and Mr. Gilley asked all parties involved in the conflict to observe International Peace Day again this year. It is scheduled to take place on 21 September. More… Women and children worst-affected by flooding in Bihar, India Flooding along the Kosi River has affected almost 2.7 million people in India and about 70,000 in Nepal. The displaced population is largely marginalized, each of them surviving on about 46 cents a day. An estimated 500,000 marooned individuals have been evacuated and 198 relief camps providing food, water and medical supplies have been set up. UNICEF has supplied bleaching powder to purify water and oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhoeal dehydration – as well as disposable delivery kits, plastic sheeting, vitamin A supplements and other relief supplies.

Great sites for teaching and learning

Microsoft Worldwide Telescope – Teach Astronomy
Worldwide Telescope is a free Microsoft application that lets you travel through outer space. You can pan in and zoom in close to moons, planets, solar systems and galaxies. Images are taken from the Hubble Space Telescope and ten earth-bound telescopes.
Read more… (09/01/2008) (in freeware)
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

Babbel.com – Learn French, German, Italian, Spanish or English (ESL)
Babbel.com is a great website and community that lets you learn French, German, Italian, Spanish or English. You can also use the site to find new online friends or language partners that speak the language you want to learn.
Read more… (08/21/2008) (in online)
http://www.babbel.com

Babysmash – Computer Play For Toddlers
Baby Smash is a free “keyboard banger” game for very young kids (ages 1-3 years). It disables all system keys such as ctrl-esc, alt-tab and the Windows key, so that the kids do not exit the program accidentally or harm the computer.
Read more… (08/03/2008) (in freeware)
http://www.hanselman.com/babysmash/

scratch.mit.edu – Let Kids Program Their Own Games And Animations
Scratch is a programming environment for beginners, where kids can use a simple programming syntax to create their own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art, and share their creations on the web
Read more… (06/06/2008) (in freeware)
http://scratch.mit.edu

Kerpoof.com – Drawings, Movies, Cards and Stories Online
The website http://www.kerpoof.com turns your kids into true cartoon artists. Doodle, create a movie, build your own greeting card or draw a comic strip using predesigned elements in this free multimedia software.
Read more… (05/26/2008) (in online)
http://www.kerpoof.com

http://www.classtools.net – Build Your Own Quiz Games
The website classtool.net lets you create fun quiz games using your own questions or word lists. Practice your skill in any subject playing Flash arcade games such as Manic, Miner and Word Shoot.
Read more… (05/20/2008) (in online)
http://www.classtools.net/

Phun – 2D Physics Simulations Sandbox
In Phun, you can create objects of different shapes and density, connect them with chain or springs, fixate them and then press the “play”-button and watch them interact.
Read more… (03/19/2008) (in freeware)
http://www.phun.at/

Starfall.com – Online ABC Exercises
Starfall.com is a free on-line service to help children learn to read. It includes lots of ABC animations, animated interactive books and other reading exercises. There are also lots of downloadable materials such as handouts for classroom use. Perfect for home schooling. The site is completely ad-free.
Read more… (03/14/2008) (in online)
http://www.starfall.com

Boohbah.tv Zone – Cute Games For Toddlers
Boohbah.tv is a very cute website that offers lots of small and ingenious games and fun for young kids (2-5 years old). Most of the games simply let the children acquire basic computer skills such as using the mouse.
Read more… (02/14/2008) (in online)
http://www.boohbah.tv/

Arcademicskillbuilders.com – Learn Math Playing Arcade Games
Arcademic Skill Builders is a website that hosts several fun online multiplayer arcade racing games that will teach you addition, multiplication and division.
Read more… (02/06/2008) (in online)
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com

Mobile Computing Promotes Field Research

Canutillo Middle School educators wanted to to step-up their math and science curricula and they wanted integrate technology into day-to-day activities. Yet visits to the old-fashioned computer lab couldn’t do the job.

Their hopes required help. Canutillo Texas is a small Texas town, about 15 miles from the Mexican border, and at the outer rim of El Paso’ sprawl. English is the second language for ninety percent of the school’s 700 students, and every student in the district qualifies for free or reduced lunch subsidies.

An HP Technology grant brought mobile computing into the classroom, and to the state park five miles away. The school received five HP Compaq tc 4200 Tablet PCs, five HP digital cameras, five HP digital projectors, and five HP printers along with professional development from ISTE.

A field research project, decided the staff, provided what they were looking for: hands-on experience with technology and a cross-disciplinary project that emphasized math and science. Franklin Mountain State Park, the nation’s largest urban park with 37 square miles within the city limits of El Paso, provided the field and desert blooms.

Students marked off a one-square meter study area at the park and counted animal and plant species. Photographs and video clips documented their finds, and handwritten notes on the geography and geology were recorded directly on the tablets via ink-writing technology.

Back in the classroom, the students worked with the data for a variety of project. In science, they analyzed their soil samples. In math class, they learned how to calculate averages and percentages. With wireless Internet bringing the web to them, students performed extensive research to create a library of plant species native to their local desert habitat. If students found an undocumented plant, they would photograph it and identify it through further research.

Teachers were gratified to see test scores improve, a climb they attribute to compelling engagement leading to greater retention. Another development, however, was even more rewarding for this learning community. The tools encouraged frequent, high-quality presentations in the classrooms, and the staff watched self-confidence take root and pride grow. That is a positive development now, and they hope that down the road it assists job and college entrance interviews.

Joe Bueno, Lead Technology Teacher, explains, “Many of our students are shy. They don’t have a lot of experience talking in front of other people. Having the technology helped them feel more comfortable presenting. It was truly wonderful to see them open up and show confidence in themselves.”