OLPC News
Disassembly of X0-1 laptop keyboard from OLPC
OLPC Learning Club DC XO Laptop Repair Workshop
Just snap off the handle guard like this...
One Laptop Per Child Works - With Teachers
One of the major innovations of OLPC consists in the idea that a computer given to a single child (also called 1:1 computing) is the best way to enhance the pupil's ability to learn effectively. It's called ONE-laptop-per-child after all.
In a recent article in ScienceDaily, strong evidence is presented that shows that 1:1 computing allows students in these programs to outperform their peers in traditional classrooms. According to findings of studies published in the Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment:
1:1 laptop use works Students who have participated in 1:1 computing report higher achievement and increased engagement. This new collection of articles brings together some of the best evidence to date on the implementation and impacts of 1:1 computing.
All of the studies that examined the impact of 1:1 computing on student achievement found that students in the 1:1 settings outperformed their traditional classroom peers on English/Language Arts standardized tests by a statistically significant margin. Study authors also reported on evidence of increased student motivation and engagement, as well as changes in teachers' instructional practices.
This is great news for OLPC. So far the evidence of the effectiveness of 1:1 computing was circumstantial and anecdotal. These are the kind of studies that OLPC should have not only follow closely, but also actively sponsor, and possibly enhance with their own on-the-field experiences and surveys. Although that was never done, it is never too late for OLPC to back up such studies, and to provide additional supporting data.
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Teachers matter in 1:1 success
Regardless of the OPLC involvement, the outcomes of these studies is clear. Is this a clear strong, although indirect victory or endorsement for OLPC? Not really. The article clearly states:
"One of the most salient findings was the critical role that teachers played in the success of each 1:1 program," Bebell said. Additional factors critical to student success across 1:1 technology settings included:- Having a strong commitment from school leadership
- Developing consistent and supportive administrative policies
- Creating professional development opportunities for teachers, particularly the sharing of best practices
It appears that the key for success of the 1:1 computing initiative are teacher involvement and a strong school commitment. In other words, handing out laptops to individual students and let them to learn independently, is not what is found to work effectively. Teachers' involvement, training and professional development is the real key for success. Unfortunately, on a global scale OLPC performs poorly in this regards.
Teachers' training and professional and curricula development is left to local groups and and it happens countries where the role of teachers has been recognized. It should not be a surprise to note that in these countries the OLPC initiative is known to have been the most effective. When such local involvement of teacher' training and curricula development was missing, the program has not shown any significant sign of success.
Therefore, having a global push for sharing experiences, promoting teachers' collaboration and training is the determining factor for the success of the overall OLPC effort.
It is unfortunate and heart shuttering to witness OLPC lack of recognition of the relevance of teachers involvement in the learning process. A laptop will never be able to replace a teacher. It will only be an effective tool for students to improve their learning and teacher to extend their teaching. Scientific evidence now backs this strongly. Let's hope OLPC will follow.
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One Laptop Per Child Works - With Teachers
How Open Learning Exchange Nepal is Changing Lives
Helping an OLPC Deployment in Gabon
Pass saturday, I met with the team that will go to Libreville in Gabon, Africa this month to deploy 110 XO laptops in a school. You can have more details about the OLPCorps LavalUniversity Gabonproject.
The team launched a call for help to the local LUG for helping them be sure that everything is alright before they got there. They want to confirm that all the hardwares, softwares, procedures, etc are good and without error. The project team did a really good job and I think they are ready to go there but a validation before leaving is a great initiative.
What impress me is the answer they got from the community. In a short time, all the aspect of the project was covered! The project is heavily based on wireless architecture so a local group ZAP Québec jump in and offer their help to validate this part of the setup. For the software part (School Server, XO install, etc) and procedures, Rene and me will do the validation.
I was really impressed that many groups joined their efforts and gave their free time to help such a good project. I also like the impression we gave of our community to the project team. We often hear that the free softwares community is a place where people help each other. I am happy to have seen this in action and do my part.
Jeff Saucier wrote OLPC deployment in Gabon and its republished here with his permission
Critical Success Factors in OLPC Afghanistan Deployment
Was OLPCorps 2009 an OLPC Failure?
When Beth Santos presented at OLPC Learning Club DC about her OLPC São Tomé experience, her description of the OLPCorps deployment had me asking one very intense question:
Beth Santos: OLPCorps savior
Was OLPCorps São Tomé a failure?
When Beth first went to Sao Tome to volunteer with Step Up, she didn't expect to work with XO laptops. She just wanted to help the São João school. On arrival, she found XO laptops stored in a closet, unused since the OLPCorps volunteers left.
This should not come as a surprise. We predicted that abandoned XO laptops would be one legacy of OLPCorps. Technology adoption, in any culture, requires enthusiastic supporters with a long-term commitment to change. By parachuting in volunteers for a few weeks one summer, OLPC was setting up OLPCorps to have a temporary impact at best.
Beth's surprising opinion
After Beth finished her talk, I asked her if she thought the OLPCorps program was a failure, especially since she found few XO skills or OLPC knowledge in the community when she arrived. She surprised me by saying OLPCoprs in São Tomé was not a failure because they did the groundwork that made her experience possible.
OLPCorps found the local organizations, like Step Up, schools, and people that would be excited about an XO laptop deployment. They also did the initial hardware setup and XO familiarization that allowed the school to accept the XO laptops in the classroom.
But OLPCorps São Tomé was not there long enough to get the XO laptops into the classroom during the school day. It took a follow up visit by Beth to get actual educator adoption and student ownership. It took at least six months of daily in-person interaction to effect change at Sao Joao
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Kim Toufectis asked Beth a great follow on question: what skill or knowledge did she bring to São Tomé that was a critical success factor? While Beth didn't think she had any unique advantage for XO deployment success, I believe she had one that's the most needed in any XO deployment: determination.
She had the will and the drive to make things happen. She wasn't going to let 100 XO laptops languish in a closet even if she didn't have a clue about OLPC or one-to-one pedagogy. She's a go-getter and OLPC Sao Tome was lucky to have her.
She also proves that if OLPCorps is to be a success, it needs to invest in communities with the right volunteer for the long-term. It needs more Beth Santos to stay on site longer.
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Was OLPCorps 2009 an OLPC Failure?
Damn the Free XO-1.5 Laptops: We Want OLPC Sales!
One Laptop Per Child has announced they're starting to distribute C2 Test Model XO-1.5 laptops through their Contributors Program.
This is great news for hardware and software developers who are looking to code and test for OLPC. But it pretty much sucks for everyone else.
There is not a week that goes by without someone asking me how they can get XO laptops for their community-based project, their small deployment. XO-1, XO-1.5, and to my amusement, XO-2 and even XO-3 laptops - any XO laptop! They are shocked that OLPC will not sell XO's to them and confused when told about the Contributors Program.
Why? Because the Contributors Program is still a mysterious process where some groups get XO's and others don't, based on... Whim? Chicken bones? Negroponte's fancy that day?
They seek a clear, transparent process. Some way, any way to get XO laptops with certainty.
tweetmeme_source = 'olpcnews'; ShareAnd let's be clear - this isn't retail sales. We don't need OLPC on Amazon, though that would be the best. A simple, organized XO laptop eBay sale would be enough. Oh and please don't give me that "limited staff, resources" ine - that's just an excuse. ilovemyxo proves that you can sell small batches of XO gear to committed buyers.
So the Contributors Program is nice and all, but it really should be called "XO's for the cool kids," as it just frustrates everyone else.
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Damn the Free XO-1.5 Laptops: We Want OLPC Sales!
How Open Learning Exchange Nepal is Changing Lives
Wow! Watching this video from OLE Nepal I am so happy for them and sad for One Laptop Per Child. The success of OLE and the failures of OLPC are so self-evident:
See how OLE Nepal is focused on empowering the teachers? Hear how they're working with the established educational system? That's the path to XO laptop success - using technology as an enabler of educator evolution, not a bludgeon to force change.
Better yet, did you see the shoutout to the Teachermate? Yeah, OLE is the real education project.
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New Millenium Learners Conference 2010 - Day 3
New Millenium Learners Conference 2010 - Day 3
Today was the third and last day of the "New Millenium Learners Conference 2010". Since the conference ended at 1PM only the keynote, a single session and a closing panel took place. However it turned out to be a really strong finish which made for a perfect ending for what was truly a great conference.
Looking forward to NMLC 2012
After yesterday's constant crashes and issues I was very happy to see that ustream.tv worked like a charm today. The only thing that was slightly annoying is that my conference WiFi account ran out 10min before the actual end of the conference, hence the last few minutes of the last session are missing from the recordings.
As you can see below I've decided to structure this post a little differently then the two previous ones. You'll find the embedded recordings of the sessions with my comments and thoughts on the particular session below it. My overall conference summary can be found at the very bottom of the article.
On a related side note: The conference organizers said that audio recordings of all sessions will be made available in the near future. I'll make sure to let you know once they are online.
Keynote speech: Looking into the future: the importance of applications and quality content by Miguel Nussbaum (P. Universidad Católica, Chile)
There's really no way to do Miguel Nussbaum's justice in words so I'd strongly recommend you to look at the recording above. Some of the most memorable things he talked about where "one mouse per child" efforts in India whereby up to 40 pupils (each with their own mouse) used a single PC that used a video-beamer as an output device. You can get a pretty good impression of how this concept works in this YouTube video from Microsoft.
He also mentioned that one of the main challenges when it comes to using computers in education is the integration of conventional and digital learning resources into lesson plans. Hearing this it was impossible not to think of OLE Nepal's inspiring efforts in this area.
Another important aspect that was discussed is the fact that technological networks really have to support social networks and other factors within a classroom. Some of the examples mentioned here included PDA based learning projects that Nussbaum had been involved in.
He also presented a three-stage model when it comes to the implementation of 1:1 computing in education:
- find a model that works (being effective)
- replicate it in several other places (being transferable)
- scale to the desired size (being efficient)
Not entirely surprisingly it was mentioned that in almost all cases the biggest challenge is stage 3 of that model. Definitely some good food-for-thought!
Last but not least he emphasized the fact that there are a lot of hidden costs when it comes to implementing computers in education. This topic came up repeatedly in the follow-up discussions and during previous sessions and it was really interesting to hear the many different view-points that people had on this issue.
The follow-up discussion with the audience turned out to be fascinating as well. The topics which were being discussed included:
- the distinction between digital inclusion and classroom integration
- the notion that bringing 1:1 computing into education on a large scale is similar to running a start-up company as one doesn't have blueprints in many cases
- the fact that the additional costs of deployments also very much depends on the existing infrastructure in a school, city, region or country
Session 1: Is 1-to-1 worth the investment? How does this policy align with other educational policies? chaired by Michael Trucano (The World Bank) with presentations by Franz Kühmayer (Austria), Oystein Johannessen (Ministry of Education, Norway), Alejandro Piscitelli (Argentina), Robert Fogel (Intel) and Charles Fadel (Cisco).
After the morning session being extremely inspiring and engaging and therefore setting the bar very high the next session had somewhat of a hard time keeping up. However two of the panelists did give really great talks.
Alejandro Piscitelli from Argentina had prepared a powerful presentation that included a great video prepared by students which consisted of the famous "Another Brick in the Wall" music video combined with statements by Seymour Papert and Sir Ken Robinson's must-see TED talk.
He also expressed his surprise about the fact that nobody at the conference had really mentioned Sugar and so he spent quite a bit of time talking about it and Sugar-on-a-Stick. He went as far as to say:
"The most important innovation from One Laptop per Child is the Sugar interface."The last speaker of the session was Charles Fadel from Cisco who offered a somewhat skeptical view of things which in my opinion was a refreshing counterbalance after the majority of the conference had often seemed overly enthusiastic. One of the most interesting aspects was that he also separated learning in the context of ICT into three stages:
- learning through ICT
- learning with ICT
- learning about ICT
Fadel ended with a slide that asked people to consider reframing the discussion and think about it if it were really pedagogy-centered. He also mentioned that just focusing on knowledge probably wasn't enough and that skills should be considered as well.
The following discussion turned out to be very interesting as well since it quickly moved away from specific 1:1 computing in education topics to broader political issues and economic issues that have quite a lot of influence on relevant initiatives and efforts.
Again I'd really recommend you to take a look at the video recordings yourself as the two presentations mentioned above and the following comments and discussions are really well worth seeing.
Closing session: lessons learned and next steps with contributions by Eugenio Severin (IDB), Michael Trucano (The World Bank), Francesc Pedró (OECD), and Christian Dorminger (Austrian Ministry of Education). [As mentioned above here the recording unfortunately ends in the middle of Francesc Pedró's summary.]
The speakers of the clossing session provided a good summary of some of the main topics and issues discussed during the conference. It allowed for some reflectation of the broad variety of aspects presented during the past 2 1/2 days. Francesc Pedró also provided some interesting insights into OECD activities over the coming 12 to 18 months and I think it's safe to say that we've got many exciting things to look forward to in the field of 1:1 computing in education.
Conference summary
If you have made it this far and have also read my summaries from day 1 and day 2 and/or my tweets you probably won't be surprised to hear that I enjoyed the conference a lot and found it to be extremely inspiring. Apart from the many things I learned through the fruitful discussions and the various presentations it was great to catch up with old friends and meet so many new and interesting people.
As with every event there are always things that one could do better but admittedly I can't think of too many. Aspects that do come to mind are the almost complete lack of mention of open-source software and open learning materials and content. I also would have liked to see academia being more strongly represented to both broaden and deepen the discussions between what will normally be an audience consisting of many practitioners. Last but least some people pointed out that the format of the conference was very much an old millenium style. So I think that experimenting with things like a more modern barcamp approach could definitely yield interesting results.
In the end I want to thank all involved people - but particularly the organizers - for their hard work and enthusiams that made the "New Millenium Learners Conference 2010" a very memorable event indeed.
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