OLPC Greece/Observations and conversations with the teachers and students using the XO-1's

Towards the second half of that academic year we began regularly visiting some of the schools using the XO-1's and have continued to do so in the current academic year as well. From our observations as well as conversations with the various teachers and students using the XO-1's we have so far come across the following patterns of XO use:

In some schools the students have been visiting periodically some sugar activities (ex. games, writer, chat, camera) few hours per week. Schools involved: Vathis, Kerameikos, Pallini, Nea Ionia, Evosmos, Alexandreia, Pyrgos, Ano Kastritsi, Rhodes, Mammari, St Germanos, Ioannina.

Students using systematically with their teachers, and privately (ex. home), most of the sugar activities or focusing on certain platforms that allow them to produce new activities, games and other projects (these platforms are mainly scratch http://scratch.mit.edu/ and turtle http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Activities/Turtle_Art). Schools involved: Acharnes, Kallithea, Munting Nayon, Thessaloniki, Loutro, Florina, Meliti.

Students following part of the school curriculum through the use of specific sugar activities. In the following schools teachers are preparing activities following all or a part of the school curriculum and try to follow them through the use of the XOs. Schools involved: Corfu, Kalyvia, Argos, Voula, Patras, Sminthi.

Various teachers have also explored using the XO’s in environments outside the traditional school setting. Weekly workshops open to all children in community social centres take place in Acharnes ath the Botaniko social centre in Petroupoli. The XOs of Kerameikos are also used for workshops at Migrants Centre in Exarchia. The XOs of Kelli have also served as an educational example in a teachers training initiative. Finally, the NGO Arsis is organising weekly activities for children, unaccompanied foreign minors, that are already live in Arsis shelters.

In a few schools where other teachers have expressed interest in using the XO's, they have been, or will be, shared amongst different classrooms during various days of the week. Schools involved: Vathis, Ioannina.