A revolution in education

What impact would there be if we were able to offer one-on-one tutoring for every single Bermudian child?  Could it revolutionize our education system?  Could it help us achieve the standard of education that we so desperately seek for our children?  What if it were not only possible but also cost effective?

World globalization is making the world a smaller place. While it may make it easier to outsource jobs, it is also making it easier to buy skills from around the world for a much cheaper rate. What if globalization could be used as a means to give our children a better education? What if we could hire tutors from the other side of the world to work one-on-one with every Bermudian child as a means to assist our in-classroom teachers?  A radical idea that just might work.

Online tutoring by the likes of companies like TutorVista is an incredible concept and may well be a tremendous solution for revolutionizing our education system.  It's premise being to take graduate degree level tutors in India and have them tutor children one-on-one over the Internet, unlimited, 24/7 for $100 a month.   Skeptical?  Check out the video clip of it from the Today Show or the articles in the New York Post, CNET News, or the San Francisco Chronicle.

How would we achieve such a thing?  We could begin by taking a hint from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative and endeavor to equip every child in Bermuda with a laptop capable of communicating with a tutor.  Combine it with island wide high speed wireless networks and change the format of the Bermudian classroom to incorporate assisting with both in-class work and homework with online tutors.  Top it all off with standardized testing across the board to ensure that all students are achieving the levels required for progression.

Could we achieve one on one education for every single Bermudian child?  Could it revolutionize our education system?  Could it help us achieve the standard of education that we so desperately seek for our children?  What if it really is cost effective and if so, whats stopping us?

e-Government without the e

What exactly is the point of touting the greatness of e-Government if the government web portal is horribly outdated?

This is a question I asked myself as I passed a poster on the wall at Blackhorse tavern advertising bus service running until 8:45pm for St. David's beginning in July 2006.  This seems coincidental as I've been complaining about the lack of reasonable evening bus service to St. David's recently only to discover that the issue isn't the bus service at all, it's my source of information:  the e-Government portal.

Taking a look at the e-Government page for Route 6 to St. David's it clearly showcases services stopping at approximately 6:30pm.

So, given that according to the poster the new changes to route #6 began back in July of 2006, what does that say about the e-Government portal in terms of being a reliable source of information?

Gov.bm not working?

Gov.bm is opening ridiculously slow.  Actually, slow would be an understatement.  It is quite abysmal, I've tried opening it numerous times with no success. 

It's been months that the site has been running slowly.  Something should have been done about this quite some time ago.

Update:  I finally got a response

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Server Application Unavailable

The web application you are attempting to access on this web server is currently unavailable.  Please hit the "Refresh" button in your web browser to retry your request.

Administrator Note: An error message detailing the cause of this specific request failure can be found in the application event log of the web server. Please review this log entry to discover what caused this error to occur.

 

Another update:

Gov.bm site is now back up and responding at a much more reasonable pace

The power of suggestion

Reciently I wrote about a simple suggestion for the gov.bm website to include "bus schedule" in the search of the gov.bm website so it was easier to find.  Not too long after I did, I recieved a kind email from the e-government department thanking me for my suggestion.  This came as a pleasant surprise as I have been uncertain if anyone from government was keeping tabs on the various blogs that are out there.

It is very encouraging to know that government is willing to take suggestions from the public, as I know there are many great Bermudian ideas out there to be shared.  Perhaps you have a few?   If you'd like you can feel free to send them to me via mail {at} 21square.com or even better, start a blog of your own.

Gov.bm suggestion

Just a thought.  Why does putting "bus schedules" into the search field on the gov.bm website not actually take you to the bus schedule?

Government Portal is too slow

Over the last few weeks I've noted that the gov.bm portal is getting slower and slower.  It's not a huge concern but it is a bit of an annoyance for those trying to access the information available online.

My hopes are high that those behind e-government are working to improve the situation.  If anyone has any updates or estimates on when it'll be improved, let me know, it'd be appreciated.

Bermudamaps.bm

While reading the Keynote Address from the 8th Annual Microsoft West Indies Government Conference I noticed a mention of the www.Bermudamaps.bm website which I thought was really slick.  Government has done a very good job at taking the land valuation site and improving it with satellite data.  This is something I'd mentioned to the Minister of Telecom a year ago and either the ministry was already working on it or they took my advice.  Either way, I'm pleased to see the new map site with added detail.

I'm hoping we shall soon see road construction/closures noted on the map so that people can see where and for how long specific routes will be affected. 

It would also be tremendous if they were to overlay real time traffic modeling on top of this kind of GIS mapping so one could begin to get an idea of how traffic design and congestion affects the roadways at different times of the day.

It would also be cool to copy the www.ChicagoCrime.org concept and overlay crime data on top of this style map.  Construction projects currently underway would be another one.

A true homerun would be to create an open API for people to tap into and build their own overlay's, such as listing tourism activities, event locations, things to do, etc.

Pursuing greater e-Government

Consider the recent launch of Special Development Orders for a variety of projects.  In some eyes they may be the guide to a great future for Bermuda, yet for others they may not.  The problem with our system of government today is that it does not involve enough feedback from the people.  Take Southlands for example.  It may be a great solution to revitalizing tourism, but are all Bermudians equally willing to sell off what is left of our open space to achieve it?

Our government believes that it is a trade that will provide the best future for our island and they may be correct.  However, should the beliefs of government take precident over the believes of individual citizens?  Objectors to Southlands have until Friday of next week to review the huge plan that is inches think, during regular business hours by visiting the planning office.  They may also write letters of objection prior to that date in an effort to sway the minds of government should they care to.  Either way, government shall make it's decision on the approval of the Special Development Order shortly following that deadline.

The issue with this process is that it really isn't accessable for most people.  In modern times many individuals would like to be informed about the future that will impact us directly.  As a person who works full time and perhaps has other obligations outside of work, how easy is it for you to review any of the projects that may be of interest to you?  How easy is it for you to give a fair and honest review of proposed plans and decide whether you think they are great solutions for Bermuda's future?

What if e-Government meant you could visit gov.bm and review the plan in your own time.  Would it give you the ability to do a fair review and become 'informed' about the future plans for our island?  If the plans are good ones, would it be difficult to gain your support?  If not, could government be more open about accepting constructive feedback for how the plan could be improved to better benefit most if not all Bermudians?

Visiting the website for the planning department today yields little information.  The 'Planning Initatives' page on the site lists the following

The Year Ahead 2003/2004

In the upcoming year the Department will give priority to completing its review of the 1992 Bermuda Plan.  This project was given an impetus with the publication of the 2000 Census results.  Key stakeholders, professional organisations, leading NGOs and affected Ministries will be called upon to comment on the Plan's policies and to put forward ideas for dealing more effectively with the planning and environmental issues of the day.

What impact would it have if today that page had reviews of the Southlands project?  What if today it freely posted arguements both for and against it for all to view?  What if today you could read up on the plan for yourself, understand the details and implications, understand what it will mean for our future both for a projected boost in tourism and the projected costs to our infrastructure, environment and open space?  What if you could contribute your own views?  Would Southlands have a different perspective for you, could you be convinced to change your view?

Perhaps it's worth the sacrafice, perhaps it is not.  Only by knowing the inner details can one truly make an informed opinion.  Our government has done a great job with putting our laws online along with the land valuation department and other projects to make our government more accessible.  Would it not be a great continuation of the trend to launch planning and other departments into the e-government era as well?

One Laptop Per Child

I am quite amazed by the launch of the One Laptop Per Child project who's aim is to empower every youth in undeveloped countries with access to the best education possible.  By equipping children with laptops, mesh based internet connectivity and the ability to make class sessions collaborative.  By tapping into open knowledge based resources such as open source software and online open book projects technology access to open source software and open book/textbook projects like google books.  It is incredible how movements are being made to empower every child around the world with such technology at their fingertips.

I can't help but compare this to our own predicament regarding education.  We have a 48% graduation rate and "60 percent of the Island’s 16- to 25-year-olds do not have adequate literacy skills for a modern, knowledge-based society."  This amounts to quite a crisis on our hands and we're struggling to figure out what has been a worsening trend for years.  We live in a society who's lone major industry is heavily based upon knowledge capital and, as such, in order to compete we need to stay at the top of ability in terms of technology.  I would have much rathered to have seen us spend $15 million equipping every child with a laptop, internet connectivity and collaborative/interactive schooling programs then spending it on a football team. 

I guess I'm still bummed that we've spent $26 million in two years on sports and my generation is still in the dark when it comes to a leg up in a increasingly demanding world.

METEC Town Hall Meeting

Kudos to North Rock for sending out the notice below of a discussion on proposed changes to our telecom regulations.  I very much would have liked to be able to attend this event, however unfortunately this is one circumstance where I regret having a requirement to attend Regiment as it conflicts with the timing of this meeting.

Considering that it is the Ministry of Environment Telecommunications and E-commerce (what environment has in common with telecommunications entirely escapes me, but thats a different discussion), it would be nice if they created an online discussion forum including summaries of what was discussed at this meeting for those of us who are unable to attend.

Somehow I doubt it, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

 

Dear Valued Customer;

North Rock Communications invites you to attend the Town Hall Meeting being held by the Ministry of Environment Telecommunications and E-Commerce (METEC) this Thursday, February 8 2007 at the Cathedral Hall from 5:30 to 7:30.

The purpose of this event is to allow the Ministry to present and explain the recently announced proposed changes to Bermuda's telecommunications regulations to the public and to allow you to ask questions of a panel, and express your views.

North Rock has put together a document outlining our views that can be accessed from www.northrock.bm/pdf/Reform.pdf

To view the complete METEC recommendations visit the Telecommunications Notices section of the www.gov.bm portal.

There has been much discussion in the media on the negative impact that these changes will likely have throughout the Telecommunications Industry. We encourage you to attend the Meeting so that you have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the proposed changes and express your views.

Sincerely,

North Rock Communications Ltd.
info@northrock.bm
Tel: 441-540-2700
Fax: 441-540-2701
TTY: 441-540-0585 for the hearing impaired