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<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">What
happened to OLPC at Kanda Primary #5 - rewritten 6/16/13</font></p>
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</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">By
George Pope</font></p>
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</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">Both
on line student collaboration and student XO possession are
“fundamental planks” of the program.</font></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">Kanda's
cable server once went missing for a couple of months. Later it was
“found” in a government repair shop. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">The
Kanda OLPC project was recently abandoned and the 7 year old
computers were given to students. Who's paying attention here? </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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.</font></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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%! </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">An
introduction to writing “business plans” would certainly help
them. Why not add Micro Finance borrowing “activities” to Sugar? </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">Please
see John Perkins “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” and
</font><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.johnperkins.org/"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">http://www.johnperkins.org/</font></a></u></span></font></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">I
had heard about Google Apps and decided to check on these. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/resources/index.html"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/education/resources/index.html</font></a></u></span></font></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">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 <u><span style="font-weight:normal">EVERYWHERE</span></u>. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">These
apps may also lack a quality deriving from the focus on early primary
grade puzzles solving. </font>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">Hence
OLPC looks like the better option to me.</font></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">For
the Sugar Vision see</font></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><br>
</p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0in"><font color="#000080"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://flossmanuals.net/sugar/what"><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">http://flossmanuals.net/sugar/what</font></a></u></span></font><font style="font-size:13pt" size="3">
is sugar</font></p>
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</p>
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