Tomorrow marks the first day of my full blown research for my independent study project. I actually forgot that I made this blog until one of my friends started following me (yes, you Messi). Little did I remember, that my first post was a brief snipet about the importance of technology education. Well guess what folks, my entire project is orbitting that theme. In Uruguay, there is a program called Plan Ceibal which ensures that each student and teacher in primary school receive small laptops and has access to wifi.

When I first heard of this program, I wondered how functional and operational it would be. However, it is actually a model program of its kind on the global scale. Of course, every program has its drawbacks, so I will be looking into the role of NGOs that have alliances with Plan Ceibal to see the specific problems they focus on. I did find out that there are program developers in Uruguay who specifically develop educational tools for kids as part of an ongoing trend in Uruguay to develop free software. This part really interests me, because there are developers who want to capitalize on programming software by making it practically illegal for collaboration and distribution. The idea of free software is that it is in the public domain in order to be changed or improved. Anyway, now that I’ve had my small nerd digression….

I have been discussing my options with my assigned ISP advisor. I must say I am thoroughly relieved that she is my advisor, because she has been nothing but absolutely helpful in helping me solidify my focus and coordinate interviews. It should be an interesting piece of work, and more importantly, a perfect excuse for me to take a trip back to Montevideo! On a more personal side note, I honestly am worried about my Spanish capacity for all of these interviews I need to do. I have a working knowledge of the language, but it does prove to be difficult, especially when I need to be responsive. 

And I end with a quote:

I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. —Richard Stallman, President of FSF