General:

This course meets approximately once per week. The general outline is as follows:
First Semester:

Learn the Sugar operating system

• Learn to add and delete activities, how to use the journal, and basic Sugar features
• Develop ways to teach Sugar
• Learn Etoys
• Learn Scratch
• For each lesson, come up with teaching strategies and ideas for a companion “game” to go along with the lesson
• Learn how to take apart (and put back together) an XO laptop
• For those interested, troubleshoot some of the broken computers to see if they can be repaired

Second Semester:

• As a class, select a subject for which we would like to develop a ten-lesson teaching “unit” 
• Break the subject into an appropriate number of lessons, and have each student work on a single lesson for use by global  communities. Sometimes, CSG Lower School teachers are used as subject matter experts. Sometimes CSG students are our beta testers. 
• Review Sugar, Scratch, Etoys and Etoys teaching strategies
• Teach CSG’s 4th graders to practice “in front of a room”
• Prepare for the trip

The trip:

• Work with the school to teach 3rd-8th grade students Sugar, Scratch, and Etoys.
• Develop curricula to be used by students in developing nations. 

Thanks for your interest! Please check back periodically to view our progress.

Pilot project provides laptops, training

Eric McCarthy newsroom@journalpioneer.com
Published on March 7, 2017

John J. Sark Memorial School students give a demonstration of the digital animation skills they acquired using laptops donated to them by Princes Charities Canada and One Laptop Per Child Canada.

LENNOX ISLAND – Carson Thomas thinks he will be better equipped going forward in doing Internet searches for school projects.

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Thomas and his fellow Grade 5 and 6 students at John J Sark Memorial School on Lennox Island spent two hours after school each day last week receiving computer animation and programming training.

Prince’s Charities Canada, the charitable office for His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, partnered with One Laptop Per Child Canada to provide computers and training to indigenous youth. Lennox Island was one of seven First Nations across Canada to benefit from the pilot project this winter.

Thomas said he learned how to change colors on computer projects and how to make his name animated and dance.

Matthew Rowe, Director of Operations, Prince’s Charities Canada, said the participating schools and their students get to keep the computers.

Rowe said the students in the Lennox Island project created digital animation projects, talking mostly in Mi’Kmaq, about the traditions of their community. “The idea was to build digital skills while getting them to create projects that were giving them a chance to use the language and to learn it,” he said.

While digital animation is a new approach for the students, Rowe said the Grade 5 and 6 students was a good age range to work with. “They actually soak it up like sponges,” he said of the simplified coding language.

Grade 5/6 teacher, Nicole Gorrill, said the students already possessed basic computer skills but the shared project taught them new skills. “What happened, for most of the students, it really piqued more of their interest for technology,” she observed. “They’ve been learning these new computer skills, but they are also now able to kind of take what they’re learning in their cultural class here at the school and they have a new way of displaying that so that they can teach their friends or other family members,” she suggested.

“It’s been really, really good to boost their self confidence.”

Grade 6 student, Kavon Bernard is excited about the potential. He’d like to “make animations, set them up to the internet and get famous on animation.”

The students, working in teams of two, prepared one to two minute animation projects which they shared with other students, family members and elders. Lieutenant Governor Frank Lewis and former premier Robert Ghiz, a member of the Prince’s Charities Advisory Council were in attendance for the presentations.

“Lots of big, big smiles today,” Gorrill said in describing her students’ sense of accomplishment.

Rowe said schools involved in the pilot project also receive a year of ongoing support.

http://www.journalpioneer.com/news/local/2017/3/7/lennox-island-students-learn-digital-animation.html

What is the Innovation Center?

It is a space for ideas and creativity. With volunteers and partners commited to improving the learning process, we have developed innovative and sustainable projects to increase the quality of education in an effort to transform communities.

How was it created?

In order to support the incredible potential of Nicaragua and Central America, the Extremeña Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AEXCID) through the Foundation for Development of Science and Technology (FUNDECYT-PCTEX) providded funding and supported the creation of the Experimentation and Free Software Development Center in 2015.

Our Philosophy

We believe the transformation of the educational community depends on the development of educators. This is why our projects focus on strengthening human talent through simple and low cost solutions to complex situations.

“Innovative Learning”

As our world evolves, we must adapt through the use of innovative learning methodologies.

Projects.

Humanizing Robotics

Given the significant contribution of robotics to education and human development, we work to “humanize robotics” as robotics serves to strengthen 21st Century skills in children, teachers and families.

* Robots are built using free hardware, which allows the incorporation of recycled parts.

* Teachers use the XO Laptop to teach robotics, math, physics, natural sciences and community projects.

We utilize the methodologies and functions of four types of robotics platforms: Arduino, Icaro, PicoBoard and PiBot:

• An electronic and open source platform, Arduino is easy to understand and use. We use it to teach electronics and to demonstrate the functions of all of the components in the breadboard.
• Is a free hardware platform that can be programmed using the XO Laptop and TurtleArt activity.
• With light and sound sensors, this robotic board can be programmed using the Scratch activity. It is used by children in participating schools to play music and other programming activities contained in the XO Laptop.
• Is a Rasberry Pi robotics kit with ultrasonic sensors. It can be controlled using Wi-Fi.

OLPC and the Foundation Zamora Teran, participated in a photo exhibit hosted by the United Nations as part of the 55th Commission on Social Development. The exhibition was held at the UN headquarters in NYC during February of 2017. The exhibit focused on efforts around the world to implement strategies for eradicating poverty to achieve sustainable development for all. OLPC and FZT were featured due to their work to eradicate poverty through education. Please click here to see the photos:

http://unsdn.org/2017/01/30/csocd55-photo-exhibition-showcases-poverty-eradication/

In 1992, Father Jorge Villalobos Ortega, a Mexican priest, arrived in the city of Medellin, Antioquia, and beyond the beauty of his mountains he could see the belts of misery that surrounded the Valley of Aburrá.

He asked a group of young people to whom he lectured on human value: Why are we indifferent to the situation of poverty and violence in Medellin?

In response, the group began to visit the surrounding community in order to experience its reality. The group visited with the families of the Moravia neighborhood, the Morro sector, the old dump of Medellín, in order to better understand the community’s needs. Local residents had an opportunity to share their dreams and ideals with the group.

In 1993, the group opened an educational room and 33 children came to receive an education. It became clear to Father Villalobos and his group that the community needed education and training in order to become the creators of a better future.

A People United and Youth for Peace Foundation

These experiences led to the creation of a People United and Youth For Peace Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to providing education, training and protection to vulnerable children and young people, in order to meet their educational and training needs. The Foundation provides resources, continuous training and social responsibility exercises in order to improve the quality of life in the community.

The Foundation provides  protection and education to the most vulnerable population of Medellín and its metropolitan area. Currently, there are five  Educational Centers located in the most vulnerable areas of the city, including the Moravia, Santo Domingo (La Esperanza), Manrique (La Honda), Belén (Villa Café) and Robledo (Pajarito) neighborhoods. The Foundation feeds more than 3,200 children, young people and adults. It provides educational opportunities from Early Childhood, Pre-school, Basic Primary, Basic Secondary to Adult Education. It houses  170 children and young people in the Bohio de María Home who have suffered domestic violence, abuse or neglect. These children and young adults receive counseling, education and training and range from 3 months of age to university graduates.

At present, 1399 XO Laptops are being used in the educational centers. The educational component is supported by the Marina Orth Foundation.

http://www.genteunida.org.co/

Fundación Gente Unida (The Foundation for United People- the “Foundation”) is a non-governmental organization created to provide education, training, and protection of children and young people in vulnerable situations. The organization works to meet their basic and educational needs with available resources, in an effort to improve their quality of life.

In 1992, Father Jorge Villalobos Ortega, a priest from Mexico, arrived in Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia.

He saw beyond the beauty of the mountains to the shantytowns surrounding the Valley of Aburra. He spent time with a group of young people and participated in conferences on human values, and he asked them: “Why are you indifferent to the poverty and violence in Medellin?” The group began a profound and painful experience as they visited families living in the impoverished Moravia neighborhood. The group discussed the needs of these families and they shared their hopes and dreams with the young group.

In 1993, Father Villalobos Ortega started an educational program involving 33 children from this community. The goal was not only to meet the children’s immediate needs but also to teach them so they could become the builders of their own futures.

The social work of the Foundation is the concrete expression of its commitment to solidarity that every human should have for one another. The Foundation is actively working to build a more just society based on love, as the Hindu proverb states: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

The Foundation provides protection and education to the most vulnerable people living in the Medellin metropolitan area. There are currently five educational centers located in the most disadvantaged areas of the city: Moravia, Santo Domingo (La Esperanza), Manrique (La Honda), Belen (Villa Café) and Robledo (Pajarito). The educational centers feed and educate 3,200 children, youth, and adults.

Educational programs include early childhood, preschool, primary, secondary and adult education courses. More than 170 children and youth live in the Mary Bohio Home, a shelter for children who have suffered from domestic violence, abuse, and/or neglect. The Foundation provides a home, care, and education for these children who range from 3 months of age through college age students.

In 2009, the Foundation launched the PERLAS project, a program focused on using a laptop for learning. More than 2,000 OLPC Laptops were incorporated into the classroom in an effort to make learning more fun and enriching for participating children. Children were given an opportunity to use a technological tool that would soon become their best companion in their academic training.

Children had the opportunity to participate in the world of technology, the world that was reserved only for those with sufficient financial resources, despite the pervasiveness of technology in our daily lives.

In 2010, additional 374 OLPC Laptops were acquired in order to include 1st through 5th graders in the educational program. Each OLPC Laptop given became an immediate ally of the child. Children now had a friendly team of support as they entered the world of technology, a world that seemed distant and unattainable  before.

Thanks to the OLPC Laptop, homework became a more pleasant task and students had the opportunity to chat, share activities and play without having to be physically close to one another. This was certainly a surprise for the students!

The Foundation created a unique security system for the OLPC Laptop. When a machine is lost, the computer turns off and is unusable. The technical teams also created activation keys for the machines according to the school calendar. All coding was generated on the Foundation’s servers.

At present, there are 1399 OLPC Laptops in use in the Foundation’s educational centers, as follows:

ï‚· Moravia Headquarters: 230 OLPC Laptops version 4.0

ï‚· Sagrada Familia: 206 OLPC Laptops version 4.0

ï‚· La Esperanza: 384 OLPC Laptops versions 1.75 and 4.0

ï‚· Luz de Oriente: 579 OLPC Laptops version 4.0

The OLPC educational program and use of the OLPC Laptops are being supported by the Marina Orth Foundation during 2016. The Foundation is grateful for this collaboration!