[Olpc-uk] My feedback on the proposal

[Daniel Drake]

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_UK/Pilots/London2009/Proposal

The "Project presentation" link really doesn't provide much
information. Perhaps it could be replaced to a link to a new wiki page
describing the group, the aims, and the progress.

I don't see any consideration given to how this project will help OLPC
(as in the worldwide organisation). Sure, it will generate publicity
and the possibility of a strong UK presence in future, but the
contributors program is really more about sharing resources and
developments with the community. Some ideas of mine:
 - The project is going to involve some kind of generation of
educational content, right? This can then be shared with the whole
OLPC community under creative commons licenses. Even better, can we
find someone to translate the outcomes into Spanish? I choose Spanish
because there are hundreds of thousands of XOs in use in
Spanish-speaking countries, although targetting another specific
deployment would be good too.
 - Someone could be given the responsibility of a detailed blog/diary
about each step of the project, which would be useful to other
deployments starting up in other parts of the world. (challenges,
solutions, etc)
 - Offer to link up with other contributors program projects (find
these first, and suggest them in the proposal). For example some
people receive 1 laptop to develop a particular bit of software - find
one that looks good and discuss the idea of using a UK pilot as a
pilot deployment for that particular project. Or, look for something
outside of the contributors program, such a s an up-and-coming
activity, and offer to "pilot" it. Typing Turtle springs to mind.

There's a lot of crucial stuff that is in the "TBD" category.

"Teachers support" - 15 laptops may be asking for too much. Worth
asking Adam about.

Details of the 3 planned assessments are missing - should be in the
plan of action.

I think you should discuss the pilot school in the proposal. It was
great to hear about this at the meeting, its very international
profile, Stephen's prior achievements in his career, etc. This would
be a strength to the proposal. It should also be stated that he's
signed for the acceptance of this project (there was a letter or
something, right?). Also, some mention of the class teacher would be
good too. Have we met him/her?

Nice to see some formation of lesson plans. We're going to need a lot,
and while it's important to have some solid material made at the
proposal stages, we need not make a whole year's worth of content in
advance - but what would be good to see is a plan for ongoing
production of this (who would be expected to do it, and when). This is
one thing that I forgot to ask about at the meeting - how well is the
group equipped to produce a lot of content?

You really should work closely with the class teacher on the
content/curriculum side of things -- try and get her to talk about
what she sees as the challenges and areas for improvements in the
classroom, in general (without considering the solutions, and outside
of the context of bringing XOs in). Then see how those can be attacked
with our project.

Also, talk about the idea of linking up with a classroom in another
country's deployment. Even if the details aren't solid, go through the
idea or at least link to a wiki page that is a brain-dump of the ideas
so far.

Be sure to mention the possibility of Racepoint's support, and also be
sure to illustrate that this is a *real* possibility (i.e. they have
attended meetings - I guess the plural will be true by the time the
proposal is ready). Seeing them listed as a potential resource is a
strength to the proposal, as they are an organisation close to the
corporate HQ. They kind of down-played their achievements at the
meeting, but they are really the people behind some great OLPC press
coverage e.g. articles in The Guardian, coverage on the BBC website
and other mediums, etc.

I added myself to the members listing as an advisor - hope that's OK!

Daniel