OLPCorps MIT Loaner Library

1. Project Title & Shipment Detail

Name of Project: OLPCorps Boston Area XO Loaner Library

Shipping Address You've Verified:

included in submitted proposal

Number of Laptops (or other hardware) You Request to Borrow: 15-20

Loan Length—How Many Months: 2 (Now through May)

2. Team Participants (In list form)

Name(s) & Contact Info: (include email addresses & phone numbers)

Included in emailed submission

Employer and/or School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Past Experience/Qualifications: None, that's the point of establishing the library! I have had experience with linux and developing for an open source mmorpg, but in general the users of the library will be looking to familiarize themselves with the laptops and are not expected to have had much experience.

3. Objectives (Bulleted list)

Project Objectives:

This loaner library will be established as a short term solution to the need of local university OLPCorps teams to have access to XO's so they can familiarize themselves with the physical hardware as well as the software prior to deployment of 100 laptops. Since teams would otherwise not receive laptops before arriving for training in Kigali, Rwanda, they would lack basic familiarity with the laptops. By providing each team with 3-4 laptops, we hope to enable the teams to gain invaluable experience with the laptops which will help speed up the process of deployment once they arrive in Africa and give them more time to focus on training the students and teachers, rather than each other.

4. Plan of Action (One or more paragraphs)

Plan and Procedure for Achieving the Stated Objectives:

Laptops will be kept in a secure location and local teams will be notified of their availability. Interested teams would be asked to sign a rental form, saying they agree to return the laptop by May 31st, and to specify how many laptops they desire (an appropriate limit of 2 or 3 would be set for each team) before the laptops would be distributed. Preference would be given to teams accepted for the OLPCorps grants, but if non-corps university teams showed interest, their requests would also be considered. Again, this is only meant to be a short term program. If it is successful and there is interest in its continuation, it could be made into a more permanent program.

5. Needs (A few sentences)

Why is this project needed?

OLPCorps teams will not have access to XO laptops prior to arriving in Africa. It would be of great benefit to the teams to familiarize themselves with the basics of the XO's prior to arriving in Africa. This way, they could spend their time in Africa on the more demanding project of installing and configuring a server and also teaching/educating the children rather than themselves. See Objectives.

Locally?

There are many potential OLPCorps teams in the Boston area, none of which would otherwise have access to an XO.

In the greater OLPC/Sugar community?

Aside from potentially gaining feedback prior to deployments in Africa, there are no other needs for this group from the greater community. By allowing OLPCorps teams access to laptops prior to training in Kigali, Rwanda, we would ensure that the focus of the questions asked is on the more pertinent information, like “how do I set up a server” rather than “how do I open this?”

Outside the community?

Again, would directly benefit the Africans receiving the laptops since they would have more face time with the students.

Why can't this project be done in emulation using non-XO machines?

Emulation can never reproduce the familiarity with the unique keyboard setup as well as the general layout of the laptop. Plus, by having the physical laptop teams could how to reflash and setup the laptops, something they couldn't do in an emulator. Also, handing out a rental laptop is much easier and relevant to these teams than setting up an emulator. Teams will be dealing with the real laptop in Africa, and will have no need for emulators otherwise.

Why are you requesting the number of machines you are asking for?

To my knowledge, there are 4 teams applying for the OLPCorps Africa Movement grants, not including Harvard, which could use these laptops. Then I understand there to be 4 or 5 teams at Harvard alone, which could also potentially have a need for laptops (I know there is a similar library already established at Harvard, but I also understand it is mostly tapped out already). If we distributed 2 or 3 per team, we'd need up to 20 laptops. While it would make the most sense for the library to consist of laptops identical to the ones which will be deployed to Africa, any laptop with similar hardware (rebuilt/salvaged XO's included) would be fine.

6. Sharing Deliverables (A few sentences)

How will you convey tentative ideas & results back to the OLPC/Sugar community, prior to completion?

As part of writing our proposal for the OLPCorps grant, we have come into contact with several OLPC members which I would update with the status of the loans. We plan on holding weekly meetings of the area teams up until we leave for Africa, so we can collaborate and help each other along. These meetings could additionally serve as training periods for XO use, and we could possibly work with OLPC community members during them.

How will the final fruits of your labor be distributed to children or community members worldwide?

Again, because the program will give teams earlier access to laptops, it will allow them to be better prepared when they arrive in Africa and ultimately result in the children receiving the laptops sooner than if the teams had not had prior access to the laptops.

Will your work have any possible application or use outside our community?

The laptops the children receive from the deployment will benefit them forever. Plus, the use of laptops provide exposure to team members who otherwise might not work with the laptops.

Have you investigated working with nearby XO Lending Libraries or Project Groups?

I am aware that there is a lending library maintained at Harvard, but apparently all the laptops in that collection are already all out on loan to various other programs. What laptops remain are not nearly enough to get even one laptop to all of the teams in the area.

7. Quality/Mentoring (Can be a bulleted list)

Would your Project benefit from Support, Documentation and/or Testing people?

Support people could be helpful, especially at the meetings of local area teams, where presumably there will be questions on XO use and maintenance.

Teachers' input into Usability?

Since we are not developing, usability is not a concern.

How will you promote your work?

I have already contacted local area teams, and I am planning on organizing meetings anyways, so it would just be a matter of announcing it at a meeting. Finding other teams would just be a matter of continued networking with contacts.

Can we help you with an experienced mentor from the OLPC/Sugar community?

An experienced mentor from the OLPC community who has general knowledge of the XO pertinent to its use and deployment would be most beneficial to the users of this library.

8. Timeline (Show start to finish)

Please include a Proposed timeline for your Project life-cycle: (this can be in the form of Month 1, Month 2, etc rather than specific dates)

Since this proposal is only for the establishment of a loan library for two months, I propose to have all laptops distributed to local teams by the middle of April and returned by the end of May.

Specify how you prefer to communicate your ongoing progress and obstacles!

Communicating with our OLPC mentor/contact via email and/or in person would be the most preferable method of communication.

I agree to pass on the laptop(s) to a local OLPC group or other interested contributors in case I do not have need for the laptop(s) anymore or in case my project progress stalls.