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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=PT-BR link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Hello,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This is quite an interesting point. I write from Brazil, and I am also working on my dissertation, not exactly about OLPC but about how the use of ICT on education contributes for the change for new paradigms on education, the barriers for effective and scale innovation ( which relates to change on evaluation). Understanding that OLPCs mission is aligned with the change on education, I decided to write to share my point of view:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>- I see your question as a major global issue at the moment. We all want a better school, a student centered classroom, learning by doing, project based learning, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, skills… but it so difficult change, and even more difficult to sustain and to scale the change, especially in locations were educators have limited education to teach. So, how technology can help us here? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The problem is that we ( adults in charge of , or researching education at this moment) don´t know how to measure or to identify in a systemic way the success on the new education that we want, at least not with the resources available for education systems nowadays. There is research about it, but we are all babies on this process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>For instance, take collaboration as a desired skill and an evidence of success on the new education paradigm, how do we evaluate collaboration? The educational systems are not ready for that. That’s why we are stuck on cases reported as anecdotes, because there is no school system valuing “success on the development of collaboration” on a systemic way (exception for some researches going on). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> An interesting research that can help us understand how challenging is this, and how this issue is part of a greater challenge, is the work from Yochai Benkler from Harvard, on his recent book <i>The Penguin and The Leviathan - How cooperation triumphs over self-interest</i> - he states that most human beans are naturally good cooperators, but our <i>reward and punishment systems</i> (including evaluation on education) don´t match with the development of cooperation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>So far, cases of success are object of research, to evaluate them on a systemic way we still have many steps to go: first, the educational system must be willing to recognize and value the new achievements or evidences of child development ( or skills development), second, this educational system must develop a way to value the new achievements, and this is not going to happen through ordinary tests. In my point of view this will happen through a system that keeps versions of kids products and tracks kids actions. It is through the evaluation of kids progress through what they produce and how they interact with peers and teachers, that the technology will help us to evaluate, in a systemic way, the new evidences of success on the new education that we are all looking for.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Marta<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>De:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> olpc-open-bounces@lists.laptop.org [mailto:olpc-open-bounces@lists.laptop.org] <b>Em nome </b></span><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>de </span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Brian D. Moss<br><b>Enviada em:</b> quarta-feira, 25 de janeiro de 2012 00:07<br><b>Para:</b> olpc-open@lists.laptop.org<br><b>Assunto:</b> Re: [Olpc-open] Defining success<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>I would like to echo Farhan's request for information on how OLPC defines success (aside from anecdotal stories). I'm currently writing my master's thesis on the OLPC program and why -- despite the most honorable of intentions -- it has largely failed to live up to the hype.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Brian D. Moss, MLS<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Center for Global and International Studies<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>University of Kansas<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#234786'><a href="mailto:bdmoss@ku.edu" target="_blank"><span style='color:#234786'>bdmoss@ku.edu</span></a></span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #1010FF 1.5pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 4.0pt;margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:3.75pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div><div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> "Ahmed, Farhan" <farhan.ahmed@chicagobooth.edu><br><b>To:</b> "olpc-open@lists.laptop.org" <olpc-open@lists.laptop.org> <br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, January 22, 2012 2:15 PM<br><b>Subject:</b> [Olpc-open] Defining success</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div id=yiv1384671277><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Hello,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>First of all, let me say that I love OLPC's mission of providing access to education for millions of underprivileged children across the globe. By empowering them to think critically and rationally, I believe it will usher an era of unprecedented progress for the participating regions.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>That being said, I wanted some thoughts on how OLPC defines and measures its impact. While I've watched videos of teachers and students expressing how the laptops have changes their lives, these stories are anecdotal at best. Is there a methodology through which OLPC tracks the concrete educational development a child goes through after he or she gets access to a laptop? It seems that tracking a child's progress over the years will allow OLPC to make substantial scientific claims about its impact. I haven't found any such data on the website. I do understand the limited effectiveness of quantifying "educational development", but I'm sure there's a well-researched methodology widely used.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Furthermore, with regard to the Sugar interface, is it enabled to collect metrics on usage patterns (anonymized, of course)? Information on how often certain activities are enabled and used, the times of day a laptop sees most usage, the average data usage (mesh or the internet) and other such metrics would allow more targeted development and prioritization. Once again, I could not find any such data on the website.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>My motivation here is to understand how OLPC prioritizes it work and backs its claims on the impact. I am doing this as part of a research project I have undertaken at my university (The University of Chicago Booth School of Business). I'd be happy to answer any questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Thank you,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Farhan<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span class=yiv1384671277apple-style-span><span style='font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Garamond","serif";color:#1F497D'>--</span></span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Garamond","serif";color:#1F497D'>Farhan Ahmed</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span class=yiv1384671277apple-style-span><span style='font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Garamond","serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="mailto:farhan.ahmed@chicagobooth.edu" target="_blank">farhan.ahmed@chicagobooth.edu</a></span></span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white'><span style='color:black'><br>_______________________________________________<br>Olpc-open mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Olpc-open@lists.laptop.org">Olpc-open@lists.laptop.org</a><br><a href="http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open" target="_blank">http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open</a><br><br><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></body></html>