IN 1 HR: OLPC/Sugar Contributors Program Mtg (#olpc-meeting, 2PM Boston Time, Friday)

[Holt]

Please all join us right now reviewing the latest OLPC/Sugar community 
projects over IRC Live Chat:
http://forum.laptop.org/chat

Then type at bottom:
/join #olpc-meeting


AGENDA:

* XO-1.5 early production machines now available & shipping:
  
http://blog.laptop.org/2010/02/25/xo-1-5-early-production-laptops-free-to-contributors-worldwide/

* Fast Review of the 2 latest (greatest!) HW/Project Proposals -- please
  join us advocating for, and/or reviewing shortcomings of these proposals:

 1. Competitive Learning within a Mesh Network - Munich, Germany
 2. Big Sky Science Partnership for Montana Indian Reservation Schools - 
Bozeman, Montana

* Which projects might you enjoy Mentoring below?!
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects
  http://rt.laptop.org/Search/Results.html?Query=Queue=%27contributors%27

* New projects & libraries -- teaching them Community Outreach:
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Laptop_Lending_Libraries


1. Competitive Learning within a Mesh Network - Munich, Germany
   http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Competitive_Learning
   http://dev.laptop.org/git
   http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=58992
   [SPECIFIC SITE NEEDS TO BE POSTED OFF 
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects ]

   Requests 2 XO-1.5's and 2 XO-1's over undetermined months

   Project Objectives:
   The project's aim is to develop an activity framework for competitive
   learning/training activities over the mesh network.

   Two or more teams within a learning environment compete against each 
other.
   They can see the learning/training effort of their own and of the other
   teams, compare their own achievements, gain awards for achieving teacher
   defined learning/training goals. They see in real time which team 
members of
   their own or other teams are actively learning at the moment and which
   challenges their team and the other teams are actually facing.

   By getting immediate feedback over the learning/training effort - as well
   over their own, as over their team's and as over the effort of the 
competing
   team(s), pupils can be motivated to learn in a special way.

   Into the activity framework for competitive learning/training a model
   learning/training activity will be integrated. This highly customizable
   question/answer activity can be used to train foreign or first language
   vocabulary, maths, or any other knowledge that can be training in a
   sophisticated question/answer style.

   The learning/training activity uses experience from learning research to
   gain a maximum of learning effect within the given time dedicated to
   learning by the pupils. As well as the pupils, the teacher(s) can see the
   training achievements of the class and can retrieve detailed reports 
about
   the successes and the learning gaps of the class - via the mesh network
   he/she can even see from home in the evening which lessons are 
understood by
   the pupils and which have to be deepened the next day.
   Plan of Action

   1. Basic development of activity framework for competive
      learning/training over a mesh network.
   2. Internal tests and development within the team.
   3. Integration of a simple model activity into the framework.
   4. Beta release to the public and pledge for public testing/bug reports.
   5. Development and integration of a demo interface design attractive to
      the first target group.
   6. Intensive testing within a class of 15 pupils.
   7. Integration of a sophisticated model training/learning activity.
   8. RC and Pledge for public suggestions for additional interface designs.
   9. Further development


2. Big Sky Science Partnership for Montana Indian Reservation Schools - 
Bozeman, Montana
   http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=59123
   http://www.smrc.montana.edu (coming soon?)
   [SPECIFIC SITE NEEDS TO BE POSTED OFF 
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects ]

   Requests 10 XO's over undetermined months

   Project Objectives:
   Ten XO laptops will be used in a pilot project in the classrooms of
   elementary teachers on and near the Crow and Northern Cheyenne
   Reservations in Montana. The Big Sky Science Partnership (BSSP) is a
   National Science Foundation funded project, which has allowed us to
   work with teachers on these two reservations since 2006.

   Through our current funding BSSP is able to provide each teacher with
   a Mac Book. This allows the teachers to share web-based resources
   (simulations, videos, interactive media) with students. However,
   students do not have hands-on access to computers and do not have the
   freedom to browse and independently develop their understanding of
   science. All BSSP teachers have less than 20 students per classroom;
   therefore, 10 computers would allow students to work in pairs on
   projects. Placing the XO laptops in the hands of students would
   directly address three specific goals outlined in our BSSP project
   description.

   1) improve the delivery of science instruction,
   2) improve the understanding of science content and pedagogy, and
   3) generate school based K-8 learning communities.

   BSSP faculty and administrative staff will attend a workshop to learn
   XO Laptop operation system and Sugar software. In turn, they will
   provide training for the teacher leaders, and work closely with the
   teachers particularly during inquiry-based science lessons to bring
   real-world data sets, models and simulations of science processes
   directly into the classroom. With the variety of learning styles
   that have been observed in these classrooms, the STEM (Science
   Technology Engineering Math) lessons will be much more engaging for
   the students with access to the XO laptops and Sugar software.
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