[Olpc-uk] [Fwd: Caught in a Ponzi scheme]

[Martin Dengler]

Sorry for another mail (and hope Caryl and Sameer don't mind), but
this is great stuff for our pilot planning / proposal...

Martin

> > On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 7:45 AM, Caryl Bigenho<cbigenho at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > Wow!  Just read the rant.  I have to admit this is sort of what I had in
> > > mind when I encouraged Yama to get a pilot school started in Bolivia, in an
> > > area not in but near La Paz, where teachers could come to see the XOs in
> > > action.
> > > But, I would want lots of training and evaluation to happen with teachers,
> > > students, parents, and community members involved.  That is how a grassroots
> > > movement could get started.  Sounds like that isn't going to happen with
> > > OLPC Corps.  Too bad.
> > > Caryl
> > >
> > 
> > Hi Support-Gang,
> > 
> > Lots of planning and training isn't really necessary. After all, we
> > are talking about "setting small fires that will set the forest
> > ablaze". If you take a look at how FOSS works, it isn't lots of
> > planning and training. Its rapid prototypes with minor course
> > corrections as often as possible. Instead of grand plans, we have
> > "something that works" and then we fix it every couple of days. We
> > could apply some such thing to these projects. In fact, it has been my
> > experience that lots of planning doesn't work in many such service
> > learning projects.
> > 
> > I would highly recommend "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" to really
> > understand how this works. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596001087/
> > 
> > Now, as for the rant mentioned above, I've thought about it as well.
> > One really cannot implement and train much in a short period.
> > Sustainability of 100 XOs in the hands of a remote school + NGO really
> > depends on the school and the NGO and not so much on the interns. So,
> > in the few weeks they have, these teams will have to excite the
> > schools and NGOs about the value proposition that comes with the XO.
> > Ruggedness, screen readability, etc. on the hardware side, Sugar bits
> > on the software side, and offline connectivity on the network side
> > (for schools that don't have Internet backhaul). The rest is up to the
> > recipients. I'm not sure how many of these XOs will get shelved in
> > store rooms. That happens all the time. However, even if a few of
> > these cases make it through, they will be good enough to set the
> > forest ablaze.
> > 
> > What's happening in Ethiopia (a recent OLPCNews article) isn't that
> > troublesome, really. In fact, its somewhat expected. We know that
> > teachers will resist. We know that these devices are disruptive. Its
> > like what happened when we got Wi-Fi back in 2001 in our classrooms.
> > Professors wanted radio jammers in classrooms! Such losers :-) Make
> > your classes interesting enough, and students won't get distracted by
> > ebay auctions. Use a lot of web references, and the network becomes a
> > support mechanism and not a disruption. I like the fact that these
> > teams will also be deploying school servers. That way, content gets
> > delivered via the XO, network, schoolserver, etc. and will hopefully
> > make the system integral and not extracurricular. That's probably the
> > problem in Ethiopia. The XO isn't curricular.
> > 
> > Anyway, now that rubber has hit the road, let's provide as much
> > support and help as we can to these teams. Be sure to leave
> > encouraging comments on their blogs. Many of them are away from home
> > and doing this for the first time. They need to know that they have a
> > solid team standing behind them.
> > 
> > cheers,
> > Sameer

> Hi,
> I disagree with Sameer's position on the importance of planning and teacher training.  I spent many years working in educational technology staff development with teachers in LAUSD.  You must, I can't emphasize the must enough, get solid support for teachers for any innovation in education.  They must see it as something they can easily do, something that will help them be better teachers (but not make more work for them or take over their jobs), something that will enrich their student's educational experience, something that will improve their students achievement levels (testing and evaluation come in here), and above all, fun for both them and their students. Remember, learning should be fun and teachers are "Master Learners."
> To do this, there must be excellent planning.  This seems to have been done in Peru where the teacher training resources online (finally) are excellent.  One really great plan that can be localized does fit all.

> There is a great old saying that was one of my mantras as a teacher: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

> Sorry for the rant, but I obviously feel very strongly about this.

> Caryl

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