[OLPC library] About content to be provided with the XOs/OLPC program

[info at olpc-peru.info]

Hello Edward

You say 
"... What content do Peruvians particularly need?..."

And I comment...with the most humble tone and recognizing that MOST of the work is done by volunters or by contracted personal that is doing his/her best in a no so perfect enviroment (timing, political issues, pressure, deployment of XOs and fixing things while you are rediscovering, etc.  I understand all these factors and I don't envy to all the great teams here in Peru, U.S. and other places).

_*Content*_
Once, when I was 14 years old, my school (private,rich) ask volunteers to install pipes in a poor village.  When we arrive there was a group of people helping us and other group asking as: why are you installing pipes? we didn't ask you... what we need is that the water trucks come more frequently, then we can buy water tanks more frecuently.  Now with the pipes we will have to pay for water "basic sevice" every month, are you working for the "city water company" ? we don't want to get a huge bill for water that we don't use... we have seen that in other places... please, go to your home and try to fix your own problems BEFORE you come here to dig, damage your beatifull hands and cry like children... ".

Today, here in Peru, we have a lot mining projects.  The law ask the BEFORE you send just one engineer to study the lands you will request:  permit of the andean community that lives on that area.  Second: a "base line" study.  Third: A "closing" study (what will be done with the leftovers of the minery, what will be done with the buildings, holes, trash areas, and how the panorama will be left  after the mine close its activities in 20 or 30 years).

All that, in analogy, should have been done (or it has been done and it is in the desk of a functionary? nah! that has not happen!)

But 40,000 computers have arrived and it is too late to cry over the spill milk.  We need to put them to work and we need to provide content (some content is better than no content? I am not sure... bad if you do, bad if you don't... catch 22 situation!)

So, let's be brave.. and let's do our best in generating and providing content... or the tools to be generated or provided... (abstract level layer?) 

We need to provide the best content that we can imagine... so the key question is what is the main purpose of the XOs/OLPC program? Teaching programming? Improving health/nutrition? Solve poverty? Give more educational opportunities? Improve the markets so they become "perfect markets" with fair trade? What? We need to categorize and give priorities.

My first guess, in my very personal point of view, is that NOTHING can be done if the kid doenst know how to read.  95% (or 85 or 90% percent of the peruvian children doens't understand what they read... ).  When I realize that I start to think "how I start to read when I was a kind?" my answer: because there was things to read in my home: newspapers, comics, encyclopedias, magazines, cheap novels, great classic novels (from Homero, The Iliad to Conan Doyle's Sherlock... you named.  Home was FULL of reading material because my grandfather provide reading material and my mother learn to enjoy reading... then she provide reading material and I learn to enjoy reading... and it was the same in my whole mother line (the whole mother line is professional, educated, titled, well traveled and more solid economically that the father line... I can visit the houses of all my "father line cousins" and it is EMPTY of books.  Opposite, I can visit all houses of all my cousins that comes from the "mother line" and EVERY HOUSE is full of books, every room has some place for books.  So my answer is that we need to provide reading material.

But.. what reading material? I don't know. I am not sure because I don't know the big goals of the project.  But, in our humble website (www.olpc-peru.info) me and other fellows have start to put some classic books in spanish language (is the only link that works! sorry! too much work here!).  And, I will add another section: Agricultural section (just because my speciality is working in peruvian high lands (with andean communities) and I have collected hundred of eBooks and PDFs in spanish language about the agricultural and farming issues in the high andes...).  It is more than 10 GIGABYTES of information... the one that read all this agricultural information is more capable of surviving from the land.  For sure!.  I hope that this agricultural section can benefit to some kids that can learn and help his fathers in their daily economy.

So good so far... I have put some "classic literature" and some "agricultural" themes will be put "on line" to be read.  Is this what we need to do? Is this "straighforward" solution what needs to be done? Don't we need to think "out of the box" and analyze wich content will be better to provide? in wich way?

... How can we ask that question and make sure we can hear the answer? ...
... We don't hear enough from the target countries about the XO program. ...
... Also, we have no way to contact the schoolchildren to ask them how to improve the XO. ... "

I will comment in other message the other ideas.

Since I am a "newbie" in this list, someone can tell me (in private info at olpc-peru.info) who is in charge (officially) of the development of content in the OLPC Foundation? or how is organized this area? 

Greetings to all (and please forgive me if my thoughts are too provocative).

Javier Rodriguez
Lima, Peru



Edward Cherlin wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 3:57 PM, info at olpc-peru.info <info at olpc-peru.info> wrote:
>   
>> I was worried too... because I love tech stuff... but AT THE SAME TIME I
>>  am interested
>>  in talking (deep interest) in talking about 3rd world children and families.
>>     
>
> Thank you. We don't hear enough from the target countries about the XO
> program. Also, we have no way to contact the schoolchildren to ask
> them how to improve the XO.
>
>   
>>  The reason why we need to discuss the social issues is (well... my
>>  reasons!):
>>  a) I live in Peru, working on computers 25 (or more) years.  I have seen
>>  previous ideas similar to OLPC (named "Huascaran").  They fail in the
>>  long run.
>>     
>
> Yes, I had that experience with the Simputer.
>
>   
>>  b) This XO/OLPC opportunity can be revolutionary IF, and only if, survive.
>>  c) We, the people, can make this survival happens.
>>     
>
> Exactly. What Alan Kay says.
>
> So we need many more people coming into the discussion, perhaps here
> and perhaps on other lists.  Please invite people, and tell them that 
> we gringos on the list don't bite, ^_^ and some of us even know how to
> listen. %-[
>
>   
> This is the library list. What content do Peruvians particularly need?
> How can we ask that question and make sure we can hear the answer?
>
> And the same for any other country represented here.
>
> I was in the Peace Corps in Korea 40 years ago. 1967?? ???????? ??? ??
> ??? ??????. I see a huge interest from Koreans on the Wiki. Is this
> because South Korea is the most wired country on Earth, or is it
> because of the hope of getting XOs into North Korea, now that there
> will be a peace treaty, railroad connections, the NY Philharmonic,
> perhaps Eric Clapton...? ?????????
>   
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