OLPC Shines at Project L.I.F.T. Annual Meeting

By: Torie Leslie, OLPC facilitator at Allenbrook Elementary School

On October 26th, 2012 the nine CMS Project L.I.F.T. zone schools and community
partners joined forces to host the L.I.F.T annual community meeting. This event
included breakout sessions centered around L.I.F.T’s commitment to appropriate
technology for all students. The “OLPC Lounge” stood out as a shining star during
this time as students, their families and community members enjoyed quality time
with XO laptops and OLPC support staff members. All visitors to the session had the
opportunity to ask questions and explore Activities on the Sugar Learning Platform.

One of my favorite memories from this event was when a 4th grade student was
sitting with his sister who is in Kindergarten and he explained how to open the
Speak Activity so she could type in her name and hear the robot speak her name. He
said to her, “You can use my XO for now but you’ll be getting your own soon!”

Check out this video from the evening created by my colleague, Monique Pollock,
facilitator at Ashley Park Pre-K-8.

 

Universal Accesss Awards

Last Thursday November 1st 2012, Knight Foundation invited OLPC to attend the Universal Access Awards at the University of Miami.

The Universal Access Awards event is designed to recognize those individuals, entities and institutions in South Florida who have made a positive impact in our community by using technology that increases access to information, reduces the cost of technology or increases connectivity among members of our community.

Robert Hacker, CFO OLPCA
George Martinez, Director/IT Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation as a proud sponsor of the event, submitted a video of OLPC’s  project at Holmes for the ceremony.

As part of the foundation’s Universal Access Initiative which supports projects in communities across the country to ensure digital access for all.

 

The awards were presented by the South Florida Digital Alliance/Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition, which works to create technology infrastructure and services to advance economic development and individual empowerment in the community.

 

Robert Hacker, CFO OLPCA
Melissa Henriquez, Educational Coordinator OLPC

 

OLPC Adds Digital Books from Cloud 9 World

MIAMI, November 5th, 2012 — In an ongoing effort to supplement the XO Laptop with
applications and content from leading international providers, One Laptop Per Child
(OLPC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world
access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, confirmed today that is
expanding its relationship with digital book providers.

Cloud 9 World has entered into an agreement with OLPC to make its books available
for free on the XO. The Cloud 9 World books focus on helping children to develop
the proper values in a modern world. Cloud 9 World books focus on universal values
including courage, compassion, respect, acceptance, honesty, patience, responsibility
and gratitude.

“OLPC is pleased to partner with Cloud 9 World to expand the third party educational
content on the XO laptops,” said Rodrigo Arboleda Halaby, Chairman and CEO of
OLPC. “Cloud 9 World’s innovation in content, combined with OLPC’s innovation in child
computing technology, provides a truly unique package for the world’s children”.

Maria Candelaria Smith, co-founder of Cloud 9 World, stated “At Cloud 9 World we are
so happy about our partnership with OLPC.  Knowing that many children around the
world will enjoy and learn about virtues and values through Cloud 9 World books brings
us an immense sense of joy.”

 

About Cloud 9 World
Cloud 9 World is a company dedicated to the promotion of universal values and morals that govern a civil and just society. These values are used to guide our interactions with others, with our friends and family, and in our business and professional behavior. Cloud 9 World books speak of values through engaging stories that strive to instill in each child a sense of humanism, a deep concern for the well being of others and for his/her nation. Cloud 9 World Books hopes that in spreading the message of these values, we can
create a society where people are kind, compassionate and respectful to each other.

Media contact
Maria Candelaria Smith
maria@cloud9world.com

The Reading Project in Ethiopia explained by the OLPC team involved in the experiment

OLPC San Francisco Community Summit is a community event that brings together educators, technologists, anthropologists, enthusiasts, champions and volunteers. The purpose is to share stories, exchange ideas, solve problems, foster community and build collaboration around the One Laptop per Child project and its mission worldwide.

During the 2012 SF Summit, the team involved directly in this experiment, presented some of their experiences and details on the research:

Video 1: Matt Keller, Richard Smith

Video streaming by Ustream

Video 2: Richard Smith, Ed McNierney, Scott Ananian and Chris Ball:

Video streaming by Ustream

“If kids can learn to read, then they can read to learn” Nicholas Negroponte – Tablets Reading Project in Ethiopia

MIT Technology Review’s annual EmTech is the premier conference focused on emerging technologies and their impact. Each year, this unique event brings together key players from the technology, engineering, academic and management communities to discuss the technological innovations that are changing the face of business and driving the global economy.

During the last conference, Nicholas Negroponte presented the latest information about the Reading Project, an experiment/research, conducted with kids in Ethiopia to see what can happen without a teacher, because these kids have none.

During September, MIT Technology review posted the article “Another Way to Think about Learning” describing some of what was going on. Recently, a new article explains more on the latest findings; “Given Tablets but No Teachers, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves

After several months, the kids in both villages were still heavily engaged in using and recharging the machines, and had been observed reciting the “alphabet song,” and even spelling words. One boy, exposed to literacy games with animal pictures, opened up a paint program and wrote the word “Lion.”

Learn more about the Reading Project explained by Nicholas Negroponte in the following video (min 57:53):

Watch live streaming video from emtech2012 at livestream.com

Nicholas is back to the stage on a Panel: minute 2:19:20