ConnectedLearning.us

Recycle Your Old Computer Equipment

Got some old computers and monitors taking up space in a closet or in a corner? Pull them out and put them to good use. Many old computers are still good enough for someone to use.

Connected Learning will refurbish and reuse your “moderately” old (but still working) equipment for free. Connected Learning will recycle your “really” old equipment for a fee.

So what’s moderately old and what’s really old?

I securely erase all data from your hard drives, whether I refurbish them or recycle them. I pay a responsible recycler (no landfills, no trips to China) to haul the really old equipment away after I have scavenged the equipment for parts.

I will either give your upgraded and refurbished computer to a middle school student’s family through my Connecting Students project, or resell it for $50.

Call John Gregory (220-2083) to arrange a time to drop off (126 South 6^th) your computer. I’ll come collect your equipment if you’ve got more than one computer and one monitor.

Pete Seeger’s new album… At 89… The song “If It can’t Be Reduced” contains these lines…

“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.”

which come from the Berkeley, California city council.

This is an organization that I came across a year ago. I recently checked out its website with fresh eyes. What they say is important.

“TWENTY FIRST CENTURY CHILDREN
Every child in America needs 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers and leaders in the 21st century.

There is a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces.

To successfully face rigorous higher education coursework, career challenges and a globally competitive workforce, U.S. schools must align classroom environments with real world environments by infusing 21st century skills.

This skills set includes:

• Information and communication skills (information and media literacy skills; communication skills)
• Thinking and problem-solving (critical thinking and systems thinking; problem identification, formulation and solution; creativity and intellectual curiosity)
• Interpersonal and self-direction skills (interpersonal and collaborative skills; self-direction; accountability and adaptability; social responsibility)
• Global awareness
• Financial, economic and business literacy, and developing entrepreneurial skills to enhance workplace productivity and career options
• Civic literacy”

Through the eyes of Connected Learning, I would change the focus above to every PERSON, not just every child. Leaving that one small amendment aside, that skill set covers a lot of important ground.

Doug Belshaw is writing his thesis on what it means to be digitally literate. His thesis proposal is online now here.

“However, due to the scale of social change witnessed over the last 25 years, coupled with the almost exponential rate of technological development and uptake, resolution of this tension is becoming increasingly difficult for schools. What does an ‘educated’ person look like in the 21st century? Are traditional literacy skills enough? Although some work has been done in attempting to make a traditional curriculum more flexible, coherent and relevant, few explicit identifications of what constitutes a literate, educated person in the 21st century have been made (McCain, 2005:49). Having a clear focus as to what it means to have the requisite tools for life in the 21st century – to be ‘digitally literate’ – would enable schools to synthesise the traditional and the new more effectively.”

“Information and communications technologies have a central role to play in the quest for development, dignity and peace.” link

Taken from a GAID meeting in Santa Clara on February 2007.

I just discovered GAID – the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. So what is it… It’s a United Nations program whose mission is as follows.

“The Alliance responds to the need and demand for an inclusive global forum and platform for cross-sectoral policy dialogue on the use of ICT for enhancing the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, notably reduction of poverty.”

Yikes, that’s a mouthful. Here’s what I boil it down to – computers can help eliminate poverty. Here is another little tidbit from the GAID website that I like.

“The Alliance reaffirms the belief that a people-centered and knowledge-based information society is essential for achieving better life for all.”