Start a Laptop Project to Change Kids’ Lives Worldwide!

Nonprofit One Laptop per Child is offering free XO Laptop loans and a strong network of dedicated Volunteer Mentors for visionaries of all ages, enabling grassroots projects worldwide.

Over half a million XO Laptops are in the hands of kids worldwide today, in South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. These kids are not only changing their own lives, but are also changemakers in their villages, cities and countries. The laptops they receive contain software and content not only to learn academic subjects, but also empowering them to understand the world around them (learning online and off) materially engaging their families, environment and beyond.

  • Do you believe in a worldwide “Science Fair” of organic learning?
  • Do you know a teacher you can work with to create exceptional software?
  • Can you find exceptionally creative persons in your area?

Anyone can contribute: would you mentor a small group of tinkerers, or might you alone write a 21st century textbook to be put on all our laptops?  Simply demonstrate your project furthers innovative education in poor countries, architecting something new — we will then provide the hardware you need to lead the way.

  • Create software, hardware, guides, graphics, testing or support.
  • Advance the state-of-the-art in learning Activities around the environment, languages, health, science, math or humanities.
  • Seed a Community Repair Center or Local Laptop Library inspiring others to contribute.
  • Are you shovel-ready?

You will be hard-pressed to find a more deeply committed community, passionate to work with you shaping and delivering Quality Work you define. No matter how small or large. We strongly urge you to read our FAQ and apply today if you too can join us, facilitating a worldwide ecosystem of cutting-edge projects around XO Laptops, the Sugar learning environment, community leadership, and beyond.

Children the world over will thank you for engaging your curiosity, exploring their true needs, and actively sharing the fruits of your labor!

Change the World program wraps up

We have been running a Change the World [CTW] program since November, which (along with the Give Many program which preceded it) allowed groups that wanted 100 or more XOs to get them at close to their raw production & shipping cost.

This was a nice way to engage potential G1G1 supporters and others who were interested in supporting an entire school or educational work done by local charities.  It has had only limited popularity, however, and minimal overlap with our goal of getting countries and districts to embrace olpc for their children at scale.  As part of refocusing on our mission this year we are wrapping up CTW.

This is a program we would love to support if we had time to do everything — it has produced some lovely stories, and on rare occasions starts a process that leads to larger, lasting commitments.  In time we may make a similar program available again, and welcome feedback here from those who have taken part, or considered taking part, over the past year.

If you are waiting to finalize details on a Change the World request, including longer-term fundraising plans, please do so this week (emailing us; those who have written in already should have received similar updates by email).  The page describing the program will stay up for a short while longer, and all current CtW conversations and transactions will be completed, even after the program has ended.

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Happiness is a warm bundle

Activity and collection designers have gotten a lot of attention in recent days.  Some of the heated discussions at FUDCon targeted the rpm v. xo debate — concluding among other things that content bundles and installation for non-technical users are regularly neglected by packaging systems (as root access is required for a lot of package work).

Numerous related projects were mentioned [CPAN, Ruby Gems, autopkg, Firefox extensions], and Michael Stone and C. Scott Ananian both got their licks in.  At the same time, a recent discussion about “making activity designers happy” brought up other ways to simplify making and publishing activity bundles.

What are your own bundle stories?  Have you plumbed the depths of Activities/All and come up wanting?  Does the Software Updater do it for you?

Peru-tube

C. Scott Ananian just posted a bunch of videos from Peru’s MiniEd on his exciting, sporadic blog.

My favorite is the Children’s Song (ogg), which sings about the joy of learning with an XO. The first Peru program (ogg) contains the song subtitled in English, which some of you may enjoy more:

Check out the original post for more videolarity.  Further updates in English and Spanish are coming later in the week — the Peruvian and Uruguayan blogospheres have been hopping recently.