2012 is highlighted in Fundación Zamora Terán’s brief institutional history as one of the years when they posed major challenges, but at the same time, when it opened a way to define and develop work in the years ahead.
Read about it here: (non-flash version)
Flash version:
http://issuu.com/marianaludmilacortes/docs/memoria_2012_fzt
OLPC South Africa Foundation organized a comprehensive three day OLPC workshop conducted by OLPCAÂ representatives from its office in Kigali on December 10 to 14, 2012.
The main objective of this workshop was to provide a comprehensive introduction to OLPC. The workshop also explained the tremendous milestones achieved to date in providing educational opportunities to children in developing world.
This workshop introduced the XO, its preloaded content and the Sugar learning platform to people from organizations who will be involved in preparation and implementation of large teacher trainings and deployments in South Africa.
The workshop also examined what has been learned in Rwanda during the past four years. The OLPC team from Rwanda shared its experiences, achievements, challenges and perspectives moving forward in its ongoing effort to integrate OLPC technology into the Rwandan education system.
OLPC South Africa Foundation invited some of its friends, associates and colleagues who will be instrumental in furthering the OLPC cause in South Africa. Invitees included individuals from the National Education Department and other thought leaders from various organizations. Approximately 25 to 30 individuals attended the workshop.
Workshop Overview
The first day of the workshop provided a general introduction to OLPC’s background, its mission, and learning philosophy. The team presented OLPC achievements to date. OLPC representatives shared an overview of different OLPC projects worldwide. The OLPC team also discussed the Rwandan experience and the lessons learned over the past four years of the project in Rwanda. The team shared galleries of children’s work from various schools in Rwanda. OLPC representatives examined the impact on learning, classroom dynamics, changes in school attendance, and the overall changes brought by XO into the families and communities in Rwanda. This busy day ended with all attendees exploring preloaded content on XO. Attendees were able to experience the uniqueness of the Sugar learning platform, which allows learners to create, share and collaborate with their peers.
On the second day, the workshop introduced the Sugar learning environment to the representatives of different organizations in attendance. It is anticipated that these organizations will be involved in preparation and implementation of next year’s large teacher trainings and deployments. Participants executed different lesson plans integrating curriculum topics. During this process, participants became familiar with the Sugar user interface and the Write, Record, Scratch, Etoys, Social Calc and Portfolio activities.
OLPC representatives shared different approaches used in Rwanda to support schools on the learning side of the project. For example, the OLPC team in Rwanda has organized XO users clubs, after school and holiday camps, and XO weekly challenges. The team has also worked with teachers to develop lesson plans that integrate use of the XO laptop. The second day concluded with an overview of what is suggested by the OLPC deployment guide and how the project has been implemented in Rwanda.
The third and last day of the workshop was focused on the technical aspects of the XO laptops. Participants were introduced to the XO’s hardware and software, the school servers and troubleshooting tips. The attendees also assembled and dissembled laptops from Kliptown project.
OLPC representatives concluded the workshop with additional support to the OLPC project in Kliptown. The team worked with the Kliptown youth program volunteers and Members of Pendula ICT (a technical support company) to ensure all laptops were in good conditions for use by the Kliptown afterschool program. The OLPC foundation in South Africa is committed to providing South African children with OLPC technology. Many of the lessons learned in Rwanda will be valuable as the South Africa project begins to take shape.
One More Year in our mission to provide a learning device to every child in the world.
We celebrate our 30th Anniversary of dedication to Technology and Education in Third World Countries.
Here a 2012 review and our best wishes.
http://issuu.com/marianaludmilacortes/docs/xmas_card_olpc_2012
The Step by Step Project, developed by both the Las Golodrian Foundation and the
Marina Orth Foundation, has had a truly positive impact in various communities, especially the “Comuna Ocho†in Medellin. The Comuna Ocho is one of the most difficult areas of the city, where violence and the infamous “invisible frontiers†have caused many hardships on the community; nevertheless this has not been an obstacle in our mission to continue educating the 650 boys, girls and adolescents who have the opportunity to interact with the technological advantages of this program. It has been extremely gratifying to witness the development and positive impact the kids have had in interacting with others using the internet. They have had the opportunity to learn from various sites and programs, such as Wikipedia, Scratch, Tux Pain, Memorize, Tux Math, Gcompris, Falabracman, among other, all thanks to our classroom projects and their teachers.
The students arrive everyday full of energy, anxious to share with their teachers and
classmates the new games, techniques, and solutions they have discovered using
their computers. The joy of learning transcends the classroom; even their parents
have expressed their happiness in seeing their young ones use these programs. It has
encouraged them to enroll in the different workshops offered by the Foundation so that they too can benefit from learning to use these computers, thus the learning experience can now continue at home.
The most adventurous, creative, and resourceful students have not only gained the
personal satisfaction of their teachers’ recognition, they have consolidated a monitor group in the Step by Step project, a status which places them in a privileged position inside the learning community. It enables them to assist their teachers, work with the younger students and help repair certain computer problems. They also have the opportunity to attend specific workshops such as robotics, English lessons, informatics, and repair and maintenance of both conventional and XO computers: they are our biggest helpers inside the project as well as a source of inspiration to the younger ones.
Our students generally range in age from 5-13, a range which by no means has been
an obstacle to the younger generations’ hunger for learning. These small technological geniuses have benefited from the new learning techniques offered by these computers.
They regard these computers as their most prized possession; for they know it represents the opportunity to pursue their education using more advanced methods. They take very good care of their equipment, carefully storing them inside their own bags, cleaning them on a regular basis, and even imprinting their own personality and individuality on it. The whole process has been a reflection on the values that we try to implement on the community (solidarity, respect, responsibility, compromise, tolerance, team work…) and is the result of a day to day interaction with them, not only inside the classroom but also during their breaks and walks home. Up to date, NOT A SINGLE COMPUTER HAS BEEN UNACOUNTED FOR, this shows how well the community has responded to our informational campaigns where we have outlined the importance of social and educational changes.
From the Office of the President of the Philippines
A laptop for every pupil of Occidental Mindoro is now a looming possibility. Thanks to the mayor who dared to dream and the governor who is turning that dream into bigger reality.
Mayor Juan Sanchez of Lubang, Occidental Mindoro is a hands-on town executive who sees to it that the elementary school children in his municipality are equipped with the latest technology to improve learning. Thus, the “One Laptop Per Child†(OLPC) project was born to benefit Grade IV pupils of Lubang Central School and Maligaya Elementary School in 2010- becoming the first OLPC adoption in Southeast Asia.
Now on its second year, Lubang’s OLPC project has provided 210 XO laptops units – 100 from National Computer Center Community Outreach and another 110 XO laptops from Sanchez’ friends who chose to remain anonymous. These were distributed to another generation of grade IV pupils in the same pilot schools. Last year’s recipients are now computer-savvy.
The XO is extremely durable, functional, energy-efficient and fun.
Sanchez observes – which the teachers confirm – “the use of the XO laptop has given the pupils not just computer-literacy but better appreciation for education.†They learn, share, create and collaborate. The XO laptop is designed for the use of children ages 6 to 12-covering the years of elementary school.
Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC said: “We need a broader collaboration to reach our school children through the social investment of individuals and business communities. We see this as a key step in what could eventually lead to an information communication technology (ICT)-enabled education for the youth of Occidental Mindoro.â€
The XO has been designed to provide the most engaging wireless network available. The laptops are connected to each other, even when they are off. If one laptop is connected to the Internet, the others can follow to the web.
Children can share information on the web (if provided with internet access), gather by videoconference, make music together, edit texts, read e-books, take photos, make videos and produce projects using Sugar software.
Encouraged by the many benefits of OLPC, Occidental Mindoro Governor Josephine Y. Ramirez –Sato has decided to expand the project to include the provision of XO laptops for Grade IV pupils in the remaining ten municipalities of the province.
In this link you can download an e-book written by Professor Valente’s group at UNICAMP about the usage of the XO in one school.
The book registers the research done by his group with 520 XO’s donated by OLPC in 2009/10, around a participatory methodology to deploy laptops at schools.
The book is in portuguese only.
This book chronicles some search results “ XO in school and beyond: a proposal for semiochemical participatory technology, education and society“developed in EMEF Fr Emilio Miotti, Campinas (SP), between 2009 and 2012.Considering that digital technology has transformed the way we interact, communicate and live in contemporary society, the school as an institution and social organization, can not remain oblivious to these changes. In this space, building knowledge and skills sets technology serves as a catalyst for change. The book summarizes the studies and proposed solutions to problems raised by members of the school community – teachers, administrators, students, parents and researchers – from the use of a participatory methodology based guided the deployment of laptops through educational settings where technological resources are used in a significant way to school and bringing benefits to society.
Via: Juliano Bittencourt