Some Thoughts on the UNESCO Evaluation of CMC's

These comments are meant to be prompts more than anything else. For the special group in this ning, I hope it gets us thinking and coming up with some discussion and ideas about alternative approaches. I am no expert and do not have first hand knowledge of CMC's--but draw on my 20 years of blended teaching experience along with the Creative Economy ideas and experience I do have.

--Fee for services. These should not be charged to the users of the CMC's/Telecenters (I'll use these terms interchangeably) The whole point is to alleviate poverty, not charge the poor a pittance. Besides, it is what we call 'chump change' and really not worth the hassle. Rather charge the Government for the service of providing access to their resources as eGovernment emerges. Charge the NGO's for providing dissemination of their program and agendas. And finally charge the schools for each student who uses the CMC--even if it is a nominal sum. Most importantly wealth is created by sustainability, utilization of existing resources, and self knowledge.

---CSR should provide the seed money based on an exchange for emergent 'products' that will eventually arise from the fertile soil of the CMC. So, in exchange for seed funding or equipment used by the CMC, the pool of interested investors has first rights of refusal to an appropriate percentage of the 'products' that emerge. But it has to be a long term arrangement.

---Creative economy and cultural resilience. One very legitimate 'product' are the cultural works that are encouraged and nurtured in the CMC. We don't charge the musician for recording their music, but should they eventually sell some of what was produced in the CMC -- an appropriate percentage returns to the CMC. Following the Productivity Centered Learning model, a group of entrepreneurs in the CMC market the products--in this case the music, perhaps as 'promoters' and manage the accounts as part of their business experience. Obviously there is a great deal more to this discussion, but this is just a prompt to begin the discussion. A 'cultural observatory' follows the model of the bio reserve.

--Bio Reserves and the community observatories. As the biome which sustains the Community is itself the curriculum--students create data observatories, both qualitative and quantitative, of their environment. This enhances the ecotourism business, provides data for scientists and earth watchers, and a site for students and teachers throughout the world to visit for immersion in education. And so an assessment can be made of progress and outcomes. In the process an inventory of species and value added sustainable products are discovered and marketed, such as medicinal herbs, etc.

---Sustainability is considered in the realm of the whole systems which make the longevity of the community--and hence its CMC, viable. The emphasis is taken off the need to provide a financial sustainability at this time, which clearly was a criticism the evaluators had--and focused on Design Science of the systems such as food, waste, power, water, nutrition, local agriculture. etc. By immersing the students in the design of their world they have the opportunity to innovate and improve the whole systems of survival on which they and the CMC depend. Along the way they learn a variety of disciplines, especially the ones we call STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics--and especially Design.

---Mash-up the models: CMC's incorporate Cultural Centers, Learning Centers, Multimedia, etc. It is not the divisions into various types of Centers, but the interdisciplinary, cross disciplinary ground that bears fruit and diversifies the students and the income possibilities. This is exemplified in the whole systems approach. It is reinforced through web 2.0 platforms and cultivates the habits of networking, so critical for 21st Century Learning Skills.

---Internship model, not volunteers. Volunteers need to be people of means. The target populations should be Interns in the process--and they should all be paid something, it does not have to be a great deal, but must honor their work and provide incentive and means to continue.. For example, Where there are language barriers, interns are paid to translate the manuals and learning materials into the native tongues. The native tongues have to be honored and preserved, while teaching english or french. This motivates the students to learn the dominant computer languages and preserves their native tongue by rewarding their scholarly activity, and so empowering other native speakers. This returns to the cultural observatory and lays the groundwork for a transition to a knowledge economy, in this case a knowledge and preservation of the unique culture which is at risk in a globalized world. This will be worth a great deal more than money in the very near future.

--Internships are at the heart of the Productivity Centered Learning Model and I will try and expand on this soon as well. But the language example is illustrative. The challenge I initially faced was to realize that quickly the students knew more than I did. I had to find the courage to be their student as well as their teacher. This is called reciprocal apprenticeships and opens the door for the students to learn as teachers, the most powerful form of learning.