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Reflections on Micronesia

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

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. It's great to go to completely different places, spending time learning about history, politics, issues and culture from new perspectives. Waste disposal is hard on these tiny islands.

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Visiting Schools in Pohnpei

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

The main goal of visiting Micronesia is for me to gain a real-world perspective on schools and books for students with disabilities. Students on Pohnpei learn in the vernacular (Pohnpeian) until they are in third grade, when they start learning English. Most classrooms have desks and textbooks and all have chalkboards.

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Meeting Key Leaders in Pohnpei (including the Governor!)

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

The Federated States of Micronesia has its capital on Pohnpei (it's one of four states in the FSM), so we met with both leaders from the federal FSM government as well as from Pohnpei State. Pohnpei State includes the island of Pingelap, which has 10% of their students with a hereditary condition called achromatopsia.