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. 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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Micronesia Reflection Guam Marshall Islands 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 10, 2008

Although the mission of the trip is to understand the situation of visually impaired students in Micronesia, I absolutely get the benefits of visiting these islands and enjoying the scenery. Our first destination on this trip was Pohnpei, in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Getting to these islands is not simple.

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Micronesia Guam Honolulu Hawaii 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. This was a big relief, since we would be responsible for making sure these books are accessible to disabled students in Micronesia. The books were by major publishers that I recognized.

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Micronesia Classroom Student Language 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 5, 2008

The final stop for my Micronesia trip was Guam, a U.S. The Consortium is made up of six island nations, commonwealths or territories: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Federated States of Micronesia (including Chuuk and Pohnpei), Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.

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Guam Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 18, 2008

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. Our official visit to Pohnpei started with calls on key education leaders. Our main host was Carlina Henry, who was terrific.

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Micronesia Library Student Education 100

Tech Soup

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

Territories of A merican Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Attention 501(c)(3) nonprofits and libraries in U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands! You can now request technology product donations through TechSoup.org.

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Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Micronesia Samoa 45

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 20, 2008

I found out that there is a hierarchy of remote islands. There are the big main islands, which are reasonably remote, like Pohnpei or Weno on Chuuk (my next stop). These islands have international air service like the Island Hopper I talked about in an earlier post.

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Guam Social Grant Instructional 142