[OLPC-Oceania] Activities for unique Oceania XO's

Fri Mar 11 19:51:43 EST 2011

Hi Tabitha,

Thanks for the information - I am researching and at the moment am trying to
discover trends which say something about the way different musical
traditions reflect changing influences in their environment. My research
stems from the ecological and geological resources and inspiration for
music, and how as music systems gain access to resources, and influences
which are from beyond the local environment this effects the products of
music, and the performance culture.

After looking at some examples of a music from a part of the Solomon Islands
which is in many ways exemplary of the natural phenomena and environment in
which it is housed, I became aware that as some influences from the rest of
the world start to make their way into this setting the way music is
expressed is changed and as the material culture changes so does the
acoustic environment.

I am interested in how  people without access to 'OLPC' or community radio
are looking for ways to create learning networks. In places where there are
community radio networks I am interested in how being able to communicate
local things is empowering, which would have previously been discussed
without these commitments of external origin.

I am also interested in the OLPC actions in various places partly because of
the ability for OLPC computers to be coupled with community radio set ups,
and for this marriage to enable the creation of locally orientated content,
and media.

To answer your questions - no I am not an educator, nor a python programmer,
I am not particularly interested in any one OLPC deployment (although I am
currently working on a 'Solomon Islands' focussed research project), and no
I don't have other languages which I could translate sugar activities into.

OLPC has captured my imagination several fronts however, it might be that
having a background in studying the music of the world has given me an
experience of the natural affinity which exists between people, where music
can presuppose political and cultural differences - computers and virtual
environments can aim to do the same thing but neither is neutral.

I think it was in the 1970's when NASA sent the Voyager space probe with a
disc sealed on the outside of the rocket, on the disc contained music and
pictures from all over the world, one of the recordings was Panpipes from
Malaita (which is close to my research interest). To give any intelligent
life who might find this a chance of deciphering it they attached to the
record's case a set of what they thought were universal diagrams detailing
how to use the record without assuming any prior knowledge of what a record
was or what a record player was. That is quite ambitious, but is seriously
relevant and on a par with OLPC because in some respects OLPC is the message
that came back. That is about how out of the blue I think OLPC is in some of
these places, and a part of the scope of interpretations of how OLPC needs
to reflect on its learning pedagogy.

I look at OLPC as though its a little bit like a message from space it is
inspiring and challenging at the same time, and because some universals,
such as on screen aids, are assumed in the design.

The possibilities that can unfold from here, and from my background I am
interested especially in those relating to the music side of things and the
support the music can lend to the computers and the computers can lend to
the music, are exciting potentially for this mix to bring people together in
new ways, to cross borders and reinvent conventional ideas of how we
communicate.

Sean

On 12 March 2011 00:20, Tabitha Roder <tabitha at tabitha.net.nz> wrote:

> Hi Sean
>
> A glimpse of what you are looking for may be found on the olpc wiki. Start
> here - http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Oceania - and then check out the
> pages for each country.
> There has been some action on wiki educator too but the links are not
> obvious so here are some to get you started - http://wikieducator.org/OLPC_Oceania
> <http://wikieducator.org/OLPC_Oceania%20>
> http://wikieducator.org/Category:OLPC_Tuvalu
> <http://wikieducator.org/Category:OLPC_Tuvalu%20>
>
> http://wikieducator.org/OLPC_Oceania/Training/Lesson_Plans/Introducing_the_XO
>
> What is your background Sean? Are you an educator that could help with
> curriculum integration? Are you a python programmer that could adapt
> activities for Oceania deployments? Are you a researcher that would like to
> study a deployment? Can you speak any other languages and are you able to
> translate Sugar and its activities? Knowing more about you helps us know how
> to answer your questions, guide you to useful resources, and get you started
> if you are interested in becoming a volunteer.
>
> So you know who I am - I am in New Zealand and am an eLearning specialist
> in tertiary. I have consulted for a Moodle partner since 2003 (I think) so
> can help with Moodle on the olpc School Server. I have been testing Sugar
> activities since mid 2008 and put a lot of energy into encouraging a testing
> community to grow in New Zealand (we now have olpc volunteers meeting in
> Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch). I have volunteered at the Samoan
> deployments, installing servers with my partner and helping the teachers and
> students learn how to use the XOs in the classroom. I think my main
> contribution to olpc is that I am a vocal advocate, presenting on olpc at
> conferences and getting the XOs in front of people at every opportunity.
> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/User:Tabitha
>
> Kind regards
> Tabitha Roder
> eLearning specialist and olpc volunteer
> Cell +64 21 482229
> tabitha at tabitha.net.nz
> http://tabitharoder.wordpress.com/
> Winner: NZ Open Source Contributor Award 2010
>
>
>
>
> On 4 March 2011 08:43, Sean Linton <sean at lpnz.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Ian,
>>
>> Thanks for getting in touch, yes I appreciate the scale of the operation
>> in this part of the world. Do you think you could tell me briefly about the
>> ways projects you have been involved with adapt the OLPC to their culture?
>>
>> Sean
>>
>>
>> On 3 March 2011 15:30, Ian Thomson <ithomson.nz at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Sean,
>>>
>>> Sorry for not responding earlier, but the reality of OLPC Oceania is that
>>> we are struggling just to get programs up and running with limited
>>> resources.
>>>
>>> We do appreciate your input and agree in principle,  but we just don't
>>> have the people to put into such activities. The Drumbeats activity is
>>> great. What we need is a Pacific equivalent of a volunteer like Buffy.(or
>>> better still, a hundred Buffy's)
>>>
>>> Many of the projects we have started do in their own way, adapt the OLPC
>>> to their culture, while also adopting a large chunk of the embedded western
>>> culture.
>>>
>>> Please keep up the input and if you can encourage volunteers to get
>>> engaged.
>>>
>>> Ian
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 3 March 2011 09:56, Sean Linton <sean at lpnz.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Perhaps I am wrong to assume the statement of monoculture in the email
>>>> below, when in many cases the opposite may be the reality, maybe it is not
>>>> monoculture but disconnection that is the real danger?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 3 February 2011 22:26, Sean Linton <sean at lpnz.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi again:
>>>>>
>>>>> One of the things I would like to know is that even at the current
>>>>> level of deployment the OLPC project doesn't get attacked for eroding the
>>>>> indigenous cultures of places when with some careful planning and insight it
>>>>> could contribute to the opposite. The sort of thing I am thinking about is
>>>>> for example where you have the TamTam activities, which have a pretty good
>>>>> representation of instruments from around the world built in to the activity
>>>>> already, but at this stage are not tailored to different regional
>>>>> environments. I am thinking about the difference in using that program for a
>>>>> child whose local music culture is represented by the program, and a child
>>>>> whose musical instruments are not included in that program.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have to say at one level the activity is useful for either child -
>>>>> the first can see that his or her culture is part of this world wide project
>>>>> and that is really neat, and the second child is at least given the
>>>>> opportunity to see what other instruments from around the world are like. So
>>>>> either way it is an education for who ever is using it, but with out that
>>>>> renewal of the traditional instruments and the unique backgrounds (culture)
>>>>> being brought into the light of this empowering technology I feel there is a
>>>>> danger that the result is a monoculture. To counter this one other thing
>>>>> that I can see being accomplished with the OLPC project is the ability to
>>>>> create audio content, and distribute it locally. In this situation although
>>>>> we don't have 'place specific instruments' loaded as a part of the music
>>>>> iconography of the OLPC, we at least have the ability to couple with
>>>>> community radio, or other audio frameworks to promote locally generated
>>>>> content.
>>>>>
>>>>> One thing I have heard is that OLPC, in a way, creates this situation
>>>>> of the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Maybe you have heard this too? I think
>>>>> as long as a focus of the project is making a contribution to building
>>>>> communities through learning and networking the technology itself is less
>>>>> like a piece of the pie and more like mixing dish.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> It would be great to see the Canadian 'drumbeats<http://www.olpccanada.com/content.php?id=12>'
>>>>> activity ported to all the places where the computers are, and that all of
>>>>> those places could create their own version of that interface, drawing on
>>>>> indigenous knowledge and experience of sound. However if for example
>>>>> 'drumbeats' is what makes OLPC in Canada unique, and that unique identity is
>>>>> being expressed through this activity then it makes less sense to try and do
>>>>> it in other places because that would be back to creating a sameness which
>>>>> is contrary to the aim of renewal of indigenous music, which is possible. My
>>>>> feeling is that the identity created by 'drumbeats' is in the content and
>>>>> not in the fact that it is unique to Canadian machines, and for that reason
>>>>> think it would be great to see some more discussion on how to better equip
>>>>> this technology to provide insights into more specific / less generic
>>>>> backgrounds.
>>>>>
>>>>> It would be good to establish some more contacts who are on the same
>>>>> page with this, I have also heard similar thoughts expressed by someone in
>>>>> Nepal.
>>>>>
>>>>> all the best,
>>>>>
>>>>> Sean
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> OLPC-Oceania mailing list
>>>> OLPC-Oceania at lists.laptop.org
>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-oceania
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Ian Thomson
>>> At SPC in New Caledonia
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> OLPC-Oceania at lists.laptop.org
>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-oceania
>>
>>
>
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