Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 8, 2008

Micronesia left quite an impression on me. Apparently, typhoons are a big deal in Micronesia. Micronesia is hard to sum up in a few words. I saw aspects of American and Japanese society overlaid on a societies trying to preserve their traditions and languages. Waste disposal is hard on these tiny islands.

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Micronesia Reflection Guam Marshall Islands 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 20, 2008

The main goal of visiting Micronesia is for me to gain a real-world perspective on schools and books for students with disabilities. For the most part, the English language textbooks were as modern as textbooks you'd see in mainland U.S. The books in the local languages were not in as great a shape.

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Micronesia Classroom Language Student 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 5, 2008

The final stop for my Micronesia trip was Guam, a U.S. The native people of Guam are called Chamorros, and the language is resurgent. But, we're hoping to tune up the local language synthesis, or supplement our text e-books with human narration, which might be more practical. The presence is growing: the U.S.

Guam 100

Guam Micronesia South Korea Marshall Islands 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 22, 2008

She has also made Micronesia her professional mission focus. Donna asks about his language development, and finds out that he had a fair number of single words. Donna is the main reason I'm involved with this project: she's an itinerant teacher of the blind in rural Minnesota.

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Micronesia Guam Children Minnesota 100