[OLPC-SF] What happened to OLPC at Kanda Primary #5

[George Pope]

What happened to OLPC at Kanda Primary #5 - rewritten 6/16/13


 By George Pope


 The 40 computer OLPC program at Kanda Primary No 5 was activated about
2007 or 8. The Kanda School Cluster has 1100 students. Children took turns
taking there computers to the back of the class to the cables hook up for
collaborative learning - problem solving projects. Thus during the week
each student could have been on line with his or her peers for only a
fraction of the time. This was contrary to the prescribed OLPC teaching set
up. XOs are supposed to be linked wirelessly during the school week both on
campus and in small neighborhood local area networks.


 Both on line student collaboration and student XO possession are
“fundamental planks” of the program.


 Kanda's cable server once went missing for a couple of months. Later it
was “found” in a government repair shop.


 The Kanda OLPC project was recently abandoned and the 7 year old computers
were given to students. Who's paying attention here?


 A Ghanaian business friend advises that meetings with parents stressing
the importance of the program plus signed computer loan agreements could
solve a possible problem of loosing computers.


 What is the current job market for students leaving senior secondary
school? Actually as I understand it they are still “laborers!” and may face
jobs under Cidis 100 or US $50/month. But graduates from senior secondary
have demonstrated accomplishment. And a lot of laborers having the right
aptitudes and can for example learn to become equipment operators and make
more money.


 Ghana citizens, parents and students themselves (poverty again, 40% of
Kanda students shift for themselves) all sacrifice so that on completion of
senior secondary school and they will hopefully continue their studies in
either technical school or university. However very many can't go on in
school because of money. Tenacious senior secondary students ought to enter
the work force at higher levels of expectations on the part of employers.
Certainly Government wants these men and women to help strengthen Ghana's
economy as do friends of the country.


 What does Ghana Government want computers to do for secondary school
students? Learning to Solve problems must be a high priority. But Senior
Secondary school leavers landing a job must be able to quickly pick up and
use work place tools. I think that it is time for Sugar to add a few
”applications” to Sugar's problem solving “activities.” Students leaving
high school need to be able to use word processors, write job applications,
and be introduced to business accounting.


 According to John Perkins unregulated the Micro Finance Industry is rife
with excessive interest charges. On his blog, which I couldn't find today,
he notes that annual interest rates of up to 25% as viable. When a borrower
has to take out additional loans just to make payments on a prior loan
DISASTER FOLLOWS. Scores of Indian farmers have committed suicide because
of the inability to pay money that they owe due to interest rates of of
50%, and much higher even above 100%!


 Both the farmer (often a women here in Ghana) cultivating a half acre of
tomatoes who wants to hire a tractor to plow more land (than she could
cultivate with hand tools) and add another half acre or so to her farm and
the girl who wants to obtain a loan in order to open a dress making shop,
each must know how to ensure that loan terms on the document they sign are
viable for them.


 An introduction to writing “business plans” would certainly help them. Why
not add Micro Finance borrowing “activities” to Sugar?


 Please see John Perkins “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” and *
http://www.johnperkins.org/*


 I had heard about Google Apps and decided to check on these.


 *http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/resources/index.html*


 The Google Apps that are currently active are oriented toward business and
university training. There is a mention of one high school group. These
appear to follow fruitful patterns of on line collaborative learning and
problem solving. Should we be teaching Google Apps in Ghana senior
secondary schools? Hopefully in the future we will. But today Google
Education looks expensive and is dependent on FAST INTERNET *EVERYWHERE*.


 These apps may also lack a quality deriving from the focus on early
primary grade puzzles solving.


 Hence OLPC looks like the better option to me.


 For the Sugar Vision see


 *http://flossmanuals.net/sugar/what* is sugar
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