[OLPC_Boston] Boston deployments update 3/13/2009

[Mel Chua]

Here's the first of what will hopefully be many weekly update 
newsletters on local deployments (right now "local deployments" == CFS, 
so I'll use the terms interchangeably). It is missing one big section - 
feedback/thoughts/updates from CFS teachers and students (the actual 
deployment) themselves.

An editable version (please edit/add your own news/correct me!) is at 
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Cambridge_Friends_School/Meetings/2009-03-14 - 
email me if you're new to the wiki and I'd be glad to get you started.

Please copy messages about deployment work to this list so others can 
get a sense of what's happening - also note that informing volunteers 
isn't the same thing as an open call for participation. I know my work 
would benefit from learning more about what's going on with other teams 
- we're all working towards the same thing together here, so let's keep 
each other in the loop.

I'd love to hear feedback on whether this is useful and what could be 
done to make it more so (if usefulness is nonzero).

--Mel

Contents

     * 1 Highlights
           o 1.1 What happened this week
           o 1.2 What's happening next week
           o 1.3 Upcoming dates
     * 2 Support teams status
           o 2.1 XS
           o 2.2 Curriculum
           o 2.3 Repairs
           o 2.4 Development
     * 3 Questions for the loop team
     * 4 Help needed

[edit] Highlights
[edit] What happened this week

Please add any notes you have about the CFS pilot from this week here, 
including relevant links when possible.

     * Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - the Olin repair center received fresh 
parts stock to prepare for (among other things) the possibility of a 
first wave of CFS repair requests.
     * Friday, March 13, 2009 - Colin ran the first Gurufest at Olin 
College with Mel as the guest; a productive work sprint session ensued 
(largely non-CFS-specific work, with the exception of testing and 
configuration on the XS that will be deployed at CFS).

[edit] What's happening next week

Monday, March 16, 2009 - Katelyn, MacKenzie, Mel, and Jeff will be at 
CFS reflashing the XOs with the final build and Activities the students 
will be using when they first receive their laptops on Wednesday. We may 
not be able to utilize more volunteers for this setup (after a point, it 
becomes less efficient to have more people), but will edit this page if 
that situation changes.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - DEPLOYMENT DAY! No further details other 
than "Kids get their XOs on this date," but that's something we need to 
find out... see #Questions.
[edit] Upcoming dates

Friday, March 27, 2009 - Elsa is coordinating an "intro to sugar-core 
hacking" session for people who want to get a development environment 
set up and get their feet wet in sugar-core development by fixing a bug. 
Basic python programming knowledge necessary, some pre-session homework. 
More details coming, help welcomed, especially from experienced Sugar 
developers. (Mchua is guessing this will be held on Olin's campus in 
Needham MA.)
[edit] Support teams status

If you're part of a group doing CFS-deployment-relevant activities, 
please create a section and post what you're up to!
[edit] XS

     * CFS's server is ready to deploy - the XS team just needs a date 
to come and do it. See #Questions.
     * Ejabberd (which, among other things, lets non-XO laptops running 
Sugar collaborate with XOs on Activities) is working thanks to the 
efforts of Xy and Yifan, but has not yet been tested to our satisfaction.
     * Moodle (a course materials management system) is working thanks 
to the efforts of Xy and Yifan, and has been thoroughly tested by Jeff 
and Monje.

[edit] Curriculum

     * Sandra and her team are ready to go, but needs a first visit date 
and teacher contact information; see #Questions.

[edit] Repairs

     * Xy and his team have just received fresh parts stock and are 
ready to handle any type of XO repair that might come up.
     * We need to figure out how broken laptops will be delivered to 
Olin for repair and then back to CFS.
     * Xy and Jeff would like to train interested CFS middle school 
students on how to update software and repair their own laptops so that 
CFS has its own first line of defense against broken XOs.

[edit] Development

     * Members of the Development support team have had several rounds 
of experience designing, developing, and deploying custom-made 
Activities, and are ready to take requests.

[edit] Questions for the loop team

Add questions that you have about the deployment here!

     * What's happening on deployment day?
           o Have the teachers agreed with - and helped to design - the 
"kids get laptops" event?
           o Have the parents been informed?
           o How will the students be told about the laptops and the 
responsibilities they will have by being part of this deployment?
           o Are volunteers welcome to come observe and/or help out? 
This is the moment we've been waiting and working towards, too!
     * What are good dates/times for the XS team to come set up the 
server at CFS?
     * What are good dates/times for the XS team to come and work with 
teachers on how they can use the server (if they choose to)?
     * When is a good weekly day/time (or days/times) that the 
Curriculum team can come to serve as in-classroom technology specialists?
     * What are the deployment's upcoming needs (particularly during 
next week when you'll be away)?

[edit] Help needed

Posts things you need help with - make sure to leave your contact info. 
To take a task, email olpc_boston at lists.laptop.org with which thing 
you're interested in helping out with.

     * XS team needs networking details about the current CFS setup - 
what kind of system is the XS going to be placed behind? Need someone 
networking-savvy to meet with the CFS IT person and ask questions on our 
behalf. Contact Xy.
     * Development team's sugar-core development sprint project needs 
experienced sugar-core hackers to (asynchronously, remotely) identify 
good easy first tickets for newbies before the 27th, and to be on IRC or 
at the event during the sprint time. See #Upcoming dates, contact Elsa.