Sdenka Salas - The XO Laptop in the Classroom

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FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION

The lesson ideas in this book show many ways the XO and Sugar interface can be put to work in classrooms. While it is a leap forward fraught with difficulties, it is crucial that we embrace the use of technology where it will make our lives better, where it will make our thinking clearer, and where it will make our understanding deeper. Applying these lessons will insure that your students fully participate in a rapidly evolving world of technology.

Kathleen Harness (www.EtoysIllinois.org)

PREFACE

The OLPC Project - “One Laptop per Child” began in 2005. It is directed by Nicholas Negroponte, and originated at MIT laboratories. This organization has the purpose of putting in children’s hands that machine - the computer - designed in its beginnings to be used only by engineers. This organization was inspired by the ideas of the great visionary Seymour Papert, who developed the LOGO language in 1967, to put children in contact with the programming of computers.

Later, we find other researchers and scientists, among them Alan Kay who developed SQUEAK for him the computer become an idea generator for children.

In 2007, the XO laptop arrived at Peru and was a pilot research at the elementary school Santiago Apostle of Arahuay in the mountain region of Lima province. In 2008, 40,000 XO laptops were distributed among approximately 500 rural elementary schools in Peru. With this project, the Peruvian Ministry of Education made a jump to modernize the education, including the poorest communities, which is a worthy fact, because few countries in Latin America have had this initiative.

In 2008, approximately 3000 elementary school teachers were trained in the basic use and the maintenance of the XO laptop. Now, the challenge is including it in daily pedagogical activities and integrating this new technology in the rural school classroom.

In that sense, I would like to support the teacher’s work by offering several ways to use XO laptop activities when working with our students. These activities are adapted to our educational reality and our location in the world.

Sdenka Z. SALAS-PILCO (Puno - PERU April 2009)

Dear colleague:

These proposed activities don’t belong to a specific grade. You are free to add, modify or adapt them in accordance with the school and community context. Enrich these activities with your ideas and make them meaningful for your small students according to their interests and daily experiences.

Children should have a notebook named the FIELD NOTEBOOK, where they will write down all the advances, discoveries, and achievements they got using their XO laptops. In that way, they are encouraged to keep organised notes of their experiences thus initiating them into the work of scientific thinking.

I wish to receive your opinions and suggestions about this work, because I recognize that teacher practice is invaluable.

Write to: http://olpcpuno.blogspot.com or send an email to: olpcpuno@gmail.com

© THE XO LAPTOP IN THE CLASSROOM

Sdenka Zobeida Salas Pilco
Puno - Peru
E-mail: olpcpuno@gmail.com

Copyright ©
Legal deposit. at the National Library of Peru BNP: 2009-04249

First Edition
April, 2009, Puno - PERU