Liberation Technology – Page 4 – Public Intelligence Blog

Now owners of Android phones can connect to each other without an internet connection thanks to Serval Mesh app

Serval Mesh, full mesh darknet, quietly released for Android
“You set up your phone, I set up my phone, it connects them directly, so no infrastructure is needed. It can also relay calls, so if you can get a connection to bob and I can get a connection to bob, we can both talk even though we can't get a connection directly to each other.”

Serval Project
“Serval is revolutionary, free, open-source software under development for mobile telephones, letting them communicate even in the absence of phone towers and other supporting infrastructure.”

Serval Android App page
“So with using your existing number, and not requiring Internet Access, our software is making the best of what you have, whether in a disaster or emergency situation, or where poor economies or regional & location restrictions can mean zero infrastructure, we enable communication using just existing mobile phones. Our software is :

Continue reading “Owl: Autonomous Internet First Step – Android Unleashed”

2012/12/202012/12/20

Yoda: Ten Ways Mobile Learning Will Revolutionize Education

04 Education, Academia, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Liberation Technology, Mobile

10 Ways That Mobile Learning Will Revolutionize Education

Fabio Sergio, FastCodeDesign, 20 December 2012

LIST ONLY — Read full article.

1. Continuous learning
2. Educational leap-frogging
3. A new crop of older life-long learners and educators
4. Breaking gender boundaries, reducing physical burdens
5. A new literacy emerges: software literacy
6. Education's long tail
7. Teachers and pupils trade roles
8. Synergies with mobile banking and mobile health initiatives
9. New opportunities for tradtional educational institutions
10. A revolution leading to customized education

Phi Beta Iota: Entire article strongly recommended. We would have added “just enough, just in time learning” but find the over-all list compelling.

2012/11/24

Yoda: Addictive Macro-Learning – The Future

04 Education, Academia, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Collective Intelligence, Liberation Technology

Totally Addictive Education: The Future of Learning

Steven Kotler

Forbes, 8/27/2012

EXTRACT:

Today’s educational system is all about standardization. We treat every kid the same. But not every kid learns the same. Some need the microscopic first, others the macroscopic. Some people are tangential learners, some prefer their facts in a linear fashion. Some are quick, others slow. Thankfully, this is changing.

. . . . . . .

Microscopic learning doesn’t really harness this system. It builds the patterns up slowly, one block at a time, but rarely does it require the kind of intuitive BIG PATTERN RECOGNITION that macroscopic learning demands. By keeping things microscopic, we’re keeping things boring. Sure, kids learn this way, but not all kids and, anyway, it’s not much fun.

Read full article (two screens).

2012/09/272012/09/27

Yoda: Ana Cristina Pratas – Digital Bridges for Learners

04 Education, Academia, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Cultural Intelligence, Liberation Technology

Digital Bridges for Learners

Ana Cristina Pratas

CristinaSkyBox, 27 September 2012

Although I have always tried to reach out individually to students, whether through their preferred learning style, topics which related to their social environment and interests, or with activities they enjoyed in class, never has there been a point in time when the emphasis of learning was so learner-centred as now. With the increasing implementation of mobile tech, learning is revolving around the student: with their iPads, they can work calmly through their iBooks or create their own book with materials which they choose and are relevant to both themselves and their course work.

In turn, this also has implications for the teacher – new roles in the classroom and often new approaches and patterns in teaching. However, with all the freedom of learning, there are hiccups which also occur. How willing are students to (initially) take on the responsibility for their learning, particularly when they have grown up in cultures where rote-learning was customary or where they were comfortable in shifting responsibility of their learning outcomes to teachers?

All freedom demands responsibility and accountability – characteristics which students are not always ready to take on board.

Freedom is also a learning process and bridges need to be built, put in place for both learners and teachers.

Full post and two graphics below the line.

Continue reading “Yoda: Ana Cristina Pratas – Digital Bridges for Learners”

2012/09/252012/09/25

Penguin: Bandi Mbubi at TED – Demand a Fair Trade Cell Phone

02 Diplomacy, 05 Civil War, 07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, 11 Society, Civil Society, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Corruption, Government, IO Deeds of War, Liberation Technology

Your mobile phone, computer and game console have a bloody past — tied to tantalum mining, which funds the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Drawing on his personal story, activist and refugee Bandi Mbubi gives a stirring call to action. (Filmed at TEDxExeter.) Bandi Mbubi would like to make sure that you are using a fair trade cell phone.

Bandi Mbubi grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, experiencing first hand the political unrest and oppression which have since worsened there. As a student activist, Bandi suffered persecution and fled the country, seeking political asylum in the U.K. But Mbubi has kept his home country on his radar, noting how the mining of tantalum — a mineral used in cell phones and computers — has fueled the ongoing war there in which 5 million have died.

While Mbubi sees the cell phone as an instrument of oppression for this reason, he knows that phones can also bring great freedom. And so he has formed CongoCalling.org, a campaign to inspire both the public and companies that make electronics to pay attention to how tantalum used in consumer electronics is mined and traded.

Mbubi is also the Director of the Manna Society, a center for the homeless in South London, and a Trustee of Church Action on Poverty.

TED Video (9:22)

2012/07/312012/07/31

Mini-Me: Do-It-Yourself Cell Phones – A Tipping Point for Humanity

Advanced Cyber/IO, Hardware, Liberation Technology, Mobile

Huh?

Open-Source Phone Pushes The Boundaries Of DIY Tech

Tired of high cost mobile phones? Feel guilty that while you’ve got a paper thin phone, it’s hard to recycle elements are destroying the planet ? Turns out, you don’t need Samsung or LG to stay in touch with those you love.

David A. Mellis, from MITs High-Low Tech group, has created a DIY mobile phone out of easily obtained electronic parts and a little bit of plywood. It may not have the internet connectivity or giant touchscreen of your current mobile phone, but it’s a completely self-made, operational phone, which means it’s low impact and free from the constraints of mass production.

open phone diy — Click on Image to Enlarge

According to Mellis, the initial prototype combines a custom electronic circuit board with a laser-cut plywood and veneer enclosure. The phone accepts a standard SIM card and works with any GSM provider. Cellular connectivity is provided by the SM5100B GSM Module, available from SparkFun Electronics. The display may only be about 1.8″ across, but it does offer color images. Currently, the software supports voice calls, but the folks at High-Low Tech say SMS and other functionality could be added with the same hardware. Altogether the prototype contains about $150 in parts.

open phone diy inside — Click on Image to Enlarge

“By creating and sharing open-source designs for the phone’s circuit board and case, we hope to encourage a proliferation of personalized and diverse mobile phones,” say the designers. Want to give it a try? The source code, circuit design files (Eagle), and case design files (Inkscape) are hosted in the damellis/cellphone repository on GitHub.

Phi Beta Iota: Combined with OpenBTS and Open Spectrum, this puts the stake in the heart of both governments and corporations seeking to create scarcity instead of infinite access.

See Also:

Open Source Everything Headlines

2012/07/272012/07/27

16-17 August 2012 London The Global Summit (Occupyish)

#OSE Open Source Everything, Advanced Cyber/IO, Cultural Intelligence, Liberation Technology, Mobile

In the new global economy, innovation happens in diverse sectors.

The Global Summit is where it all comes together.

As the Olympics come to a close (on August 12), we’ll begin linking social innovators with the teams and technologies they need to create rippling social and economic impact. Be part of it!

The Global Summit 2012 Biennial Meeting :: Aug 16 & 17, 2012

*Main Venue Address: 200 Aldersgate, St. Paul’s, London EC1A 4HD

*Benefit soiree August 15 held off-site (private location TBA).

Time & Dates:

Daily Registration, AM Tea & Danish – 8-9am
Thursday August 16th – Program Begins (Sharp Start) 9am – 9pm
Friday August 17th – Program 9am – 6pm

Delegate registration includes:

2 days of hands on solutions in action with other thought-leaders
2 Full Meals (Sustainable Vegan Cuisine) per day August 16 & 17
3 breaks per day, with tea and snacks
Special Workshops and networking events
Access to collaboration & networking software
Full training in 7 Stages to Sustainability (at Summit and online)

Summit Home Page