Contributors program/January 22, 2010

[ AGENDA ]

* New projects & libraries -- teaching them Community Outreach:
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Laptop_Lending_Libraries

* Which projects might you enjoy Mentoring below?!
  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects
  http://rt.laptop.org/Search/Results.html?Query=Queue=%27contributors%27

* Fast Review of the 4 latest (greatest!) HW/Project Proposals -- please
  join us advocating for, and/or reviewing shortcomings of these proposals:

  #1 Open Solace - Haiti / New York, Los Angeles
  #2 NACIF OLPC-Lending Library in Gomoa-Dasum District of Ghana - New York
  #3 OLPC Pilot Education Project at Alamparai - India
  #4 Project Success Links: 3 Projects For Change - Los Angeles


<mrenoch|home> is this where the meeting is going to be?
<mrenoch|home> the 2pm meeting
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<CanoeBerry> Hi!
<mrenoch|home> hey - is this where the 2pm olpc meeting is?
<CanoeBerry> Sorry we're runnning a few min later, can you all hangout for 15min please!!!!
<CanoeBerry> About 3 proposals, should be a very quick meeting review then.
<CanoeBerry> EG. the usual routine of who deserves XO Laptops -- hope you can all help as usual:
<CanoeBerry> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Contributors_program/meetings
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<carolruthsilver> Hello.
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<CanoeBerry> Hi all!
<CanoeBerry> Can you all please hold on tight for 10min!
<CanoeBerry> Sorry for the delay.
<carolruthsilver> I will be back in 15, then.
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<CanoeBerry> Sorry we can finally start!
<CanoeBerry> Agenda published to all the mailing lists and web here...
<dogi> hi CanoeBerry
<CanoeBerry> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2010-January/009909.html
<CanoeBerry> dogi: welcome, will we see you tomorrow at Boston or NYC's http://CrisisCamp.org ?
<mrenoch|home> is there an nyc crisis camp tomorrow?
<mrenoch|home> i thought ours was only next weekend?
<mrenoch|home> where is it?
<sandrat> 141 Portland Stret Cambridge MA
<mrenoch|home> no - nyc
<sandrat> that is Boston
<sandrat> sorry
<mrenoch|home> http://www.eventbrite.com/event/543649069
<CanoeBerry> OK
<CanoeBerry> All ready to review Project #1 now, the Haiti proposal?
<CanoeBerry> Do we have the applicant here?
<CanoeBerry> If so, he should introduce his work quickly.
<dogi> http://www.eventbrite.com/event/541831633


[ PROJECT #1 - Open Solace - Haiti / New York, Los Angeles ]

<CanoeBerry> But first let me paste in the (long!) summary I ask you all to reflect on and mentor this ambitious+important work:
<CanoeBerry> Open Solace - Haiti / New York, Los Angeles
<CanoeBerry>    http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=55379
<CanoeBerry>    [SPECIFIC SITE NEEDS TO BE POSTED OFF 
<CanoeBerry> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects ]
<CanoeBerry>    Requests 1,680 (or 25 initially) XOs over undetermined months
<CanoeBerry>    Project Objectives:
<CanoeBerry>    To provide compelling 2 way video communications between Haitians and the
<CanoeBerry>    compassionate communities inside the US and around the world that include
<CanoeBerry>    Haitian communities, church groups, Media organizations
<CanoeBerry>    Our objective is to establish a method for American Haitian 
<CanoeBerry> communities to
<CanoeBerry>    send video messages of love, compassion, and inspiration to their 
<CanoeBerry> relatives,
<CanoeBerry>    friends and citizens of Haiti. We also plan to get video messages out of
<CanoeBerry>    Haiti and deliver them to the American Haitian communities. We will
<CanoeBerry>    encourage anyone to compose video postcards of hope to be sent to 
<CanoeBerry> Haiti, by
<CanoeBerry>    means of new media, News organizations, PR and word of mouth.
<Heyej> hello
<CanoeBerry> Setting up residence in a secured Haitian NGO camp. Recruiting
<CanoeBerry>    *5* bilingual locals instructors then educating those instructors on
<CanoeBerry>    the value of the interviews and their intended use. Then train the 
<CanoeBerry> instructors how to
<CanoeBerry>    use the video recording app and the list of list of interview 
<CanoeBerry> questions then
<CanoeBerry>    role playing those questions. measure, adjust and repeat until we have
<CanoeBerry>    *25* instructors. Once done We will set up our projector in the evening
<CanoeBerry>    and show american messages of inspiration and use that moment to 
<CanoeBerry> announce the Open
<CanoeBerry>    Haiti project. 25 is the appropriate number because we have 25 portable
<CanoeBerry>    solar powers tested and approved by manufacturer on OLPC. And 25 is the
<CanoeBerry>    maximum number that can be managed by a worst case scenario of one 
<CanoeBerry> available
<CanoeBerry>    instructor.
<CanoeBerry>    May cache to a local server and then "broadcast" the data to the public
<CanoeBerry>    server as communications allow.
[...brief network interruption...]
<Heyej>  thats us
<CanoeBerry_> Heyej: Can you introduce your work, as we all read above?
<mrenoch|home> this is the write up http://wiki.crisiscommons.org/wiki/The_Open_Solace_Haiti_Project
<Heyej> I give the floor to mr enoch
<mrenoch|home> we are trying to establish flows of information into, out of, and w/in haiti
<mrenoch|home> from haitians to haitians, initially
<CanoeBerry_> Plz also introduce yourselves briefly if possible.
<mrenoch|home> really what this isa bout is creating an ad-hoc, peer to peer, sneakernet
<CanoeBerry_> We'd love to find you OLPC/Sugar mentors in the group here if poss, building bridges.
<mrenoch|home> and the specifi first app we want to run 
across this network
<mrenoch|home> is video postcards
<Heyej> My name is Eric Johnson. I am a communication specialist heading to haiti
<Heyej> I will be on the ground in haiti for as long as conditions allow 6 months plus
<mrenoch|home> my name is Jonah bossewitch. I am an educational technologist and free software dev at colubmia u
<mrenoch|home> http://alchemicalmusings.org/about
<mrenoch|home> i am also working on a phd in communications at the school of journalism
<Heyej> Appears I will be working willTim Falconer in his efforts there
<mrenoch|home> i have been following olpc closely since its beginnings
<CanoeBerry_> Highly impressive & wonderfully ambitious.  Can lay out some of the risks & how you're mitigating?
<cjb> mrenoch|home: Heyej: any particular relevance to the XO, or would any laptop with webcam suffice?
<mrenoch|home> well, first of all, i want to stress that we are working closely with the local communiuty of haitians in nyc
<CanoeBerry_> And possibly the direct Diaspora groups in the US you might be working with?
<mrenoch|home> we are responding to their direct requests and needs
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<CanoeBerry_> atphalix: welcome
<mrenoch|home> yes, for starters, the parish in flatbush brooklyn
<atphalix> thanks
<CanoeBerry_> atphalix: please help us review Project #1 here:
<CanoeBerry_> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2010-January/009909.html
<mrenoch|home> a member of our collective is working with a bishop and a city councilperson
<mrenoch|home> risks? well, the project has multiple goals
<Heyej> risk of theft is high. To counter we are setting up camp in military secured areas in association with yele.org
<CanoeBerry_> mrenoch: what is your background in open source, to help answer cjb's question perhaps?
<sandrat> Let's not just focus on the crisis in Haiti but long term.  There is too much help in Haiti right now. Every drink of water counts for the Haitian people. I like the ideas of setting up communication betw. communities, but it doesn't take such a big project to start right away.  Is there a site that could even supply the power for that many XOs.  This should be a low overhead project until there is some infrastructure for human survival at least i
<mrenoch|home> i cut my teeth on free software in plone
<mrenoch|home> i still love python, but we are a heterogenous sho
<mrenoch|home> p
<mrenoch|home> and have lots of experience with cms systems, social networking, and mvc frameworks
<bemasc> Are you familiar with video tech?
<CanoeBerry_> sandrat: your comment/question was cut off.
<mrenoch|home> yup. we do a ton of multimedia work at work
<mrenoch|home> lots of stuff around annotations
<sandrat> what is already in place down there.  Ushahidi is an example of low overhead assistance
<atphalix> there is also technical problems with the video on the xo 1.5
<Heyej> Power yes
<cjb> atphalix: the 1.5 isn't in production yet; that many of them don't exist :)
<sandrat> can you propose a way to minimize your impact on the resources, and maximize the impact connecting families in US and there
<CanoeBerry_> atphalix: can you provide us an update on the xo-1.5 video codec/challenges in brief, not to divert the discussion?
<bemasc> CanoeBerry_: This is going to be XO-1, right?
<bemasc> So surely it's irrelevant.
<CanoeBerry_> bemasc: XO-1 initially, for sure.
<Heyej> We have 25 portable solar panels. a larger solar panel and 1500 watt ups
<bemasc> Heyej: How will this be transported to Haiti?
<CanoeBerry_> General FYI: XO-1.5's should be available in/around March to all applicants here.
<bemasc> You're talking about a lot of gear.
<Heyej> On a private jet
<mrenoch|home> well, one potential big win in terms of the mesh is the ability to share data across multiple machines in near proximity, with content from a single thumbnail drive
<Heyej> Taking much more gear than listed
<cjb> Heyej: just out of curiosity, do you have plans for if you don't get landing permission?
<sandrat> are you bringing your own food, water, living supplies?
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<Heyej> We have priority
<CanoeBerry_> jzGreen: welcome
<CanoeBerry_> sofloxo: welcome
<cjb> Heyej: when's the flight?
<CanoeBerry_> PLz help us finalize review of the ambitious Haiti project "Open Solace" here:
<CanoeBerry_> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/2010-January/009909.html
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<CanoeBerry_> culseg: welcome!
<mrenoch|home> a brisk trade in thumbnail drives of video, reminiscient of mixtape sharing of hiphop in teh 70s is certainly w/in reach
<Heyej> yes. Am bring 15 desalinators and 800lbs of food. we will be almost completely self sufficient
<mrenoch|home> fyi - the low end of this project isn't all that ambitions
<mrenoch|home> it scales up and down
<mrenoch|home> on teh low end, we're talking a flip cam and a handheld projector
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: you talked about out-of-country communication.  Do you have downlink?
<mrenoch|home> we can pass memory cards with people heading down there
<Heyej> flight pending many things.
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: if you have a flip cam and a handheld projector, why do you want an XO?
<mrenoch|home> i also want to point out, that this campign is also intended to excit peoles imagination
<CanoeBerry_> Heyej: sorry Tim Falconer (waveplace.com) isn't able to share his endorsement directly here in person, but FYI all it occured this morning during our call.
<mrenoch|home> people other than hatians can and should create video postcards of support
<mrenoch|home> versatility.
<mrenoch|home> we are still experimenting with protocols and equipment
<CanoeBerry_> Video Postcards are how I want to spend my day tomorrow at http://crisiscamp.org in Boston
<mrenoch|home> different endpoints might have different requirements and dynamics
<CanoeBerry_> Let's drive this to a concluion.
<sandrat> your overhead cannot be non-existent.  The human overhead is the big one. How many people
<mrenoch|home> impossible to count at this point
<cjb> (there's a pretty remarkable difference between highly-compressed 640x480 and the resolution from a good flip cam)
<sandrat> How about scaling down the numbers
<CanoeBerry_> What overriding concerns do we all have about approving 25 XO's, as I'm tempted to approve.
<mrenoch|home> yes. this first circuit is the proof of concept
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: At this point, I see no way for you to use XOs.
<mrenoch|home> i am not wedded to xos
<mafe> any project worth trying for Haiti right now must be a go....
<Heyej> cant scale down as flights arent gauranteed to allow scale up shipments. 25 is very scaled down already
<sandrat> where are they going to be deployed?  how many people working with them, any doctors and medicine accompanying this group
<mrenoch|home> this is olpc's chance to convince us that olpc is a good fit for our project
<cjb> bemasc: (why's that?)
<CanoeBerry_> sandrat: did you read the proposal?
<mrenoch|home> i have concerns w/ codecs, and video playback, and flash support, and lack of vga port to connect a projector
<bemasc> cjb: can't encode in real time, and there are much easier 
ways to decode.
<Heyej> Cant gaurantee where they will be deployed except at refugee camps. The ground situation changes every day with security concerns
<mrenoch|home> on the other hand, its an amazing peice of hardware
<mrenoch|home> with some very unique characteristics
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: It's an amazing piece of hardware, but not for the purposes you've mentioned so far.
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: Maybe I need to read your full proposal.
<cjb> mrenoch|home: you should also be aware that your solar panels might not work with the XO.
<mrenoch|home> well, eric is planning on doing lots of things, including open solace
<sandrat> ok I see the 25 instructors
<mrenoch|home> he is working with tim
<CanoeBerry_> Solar has undergone preliminary testing -- Ian Daniher is helping with their proposed http://solio.com solution.
<Heyej> solar panels tested with OLPC ny manufacturer specific for this trip/endeavor
<sandrat> Is the local NGO on board and hosting the team?
<cjb> that's cool
<sandrat> solar panels a must
<CanoeBerry_> sandrat: yes
<sandrat> ok
<sandrat> sounds like it is in place
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<Heyej> can always use more
<Heyej> funding grows every day
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<CanoeBerry_> My preliminary sentiment: video has challenges for sure (even with XO-1.5 hardware out the gate around March) but I'm leaning towards helping this stronly researched project, even if the video apps become audio interviews instead, etc.
<bemasc> Video is not impossible on an XO.
<mrenoch|home> playback is possible.
<bemasc> Realtime encoding is possible, and I would be happy to help.
<mrenoch|home> with good portable speakers, its a tv and a radio
<bemasc> 320x240x15fps is doable if highly tuned
<mrenoch|home> provided there is good content
<mrenoch|home> now, we are actually filming video postcards in brooklyn this week
<cjb> bemasc: it's so much smaller than a flipcam, though
<bemasc> playback, maybe 640x480x15fps
<sandrat> Crisis commons collaboration is good asset to this project +1
<mrenoch|home>  good content  will be sitting around waiting to get down there.
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: how will it get there?
<mrenoch|home> eric, initially.
<mrenoch|home> though, there are some decent connections down there.
<sandrat> audio is a good way to go... lighter
<mrenoch|home> have you seen this story? http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2010/01/19/
segments/148460
<Heyej> i am a communication specialist with resources on the ground- it will get there one way or another
<culseg> if Waveplace is aboard this project, I am in favor of a pilot within a wider effort if other resources and people line up
<mrenoch|home> there is a film school down there getting videos up to vimeo
<Heyej> great. Thank you
<mrenoch|home> these messages mean teh world to these communities
<mrenoch|home> imagine one haitian getting a postcard through to brooklyn
<mrenoch|home> i didnt mention that they have a room at the y where they will watch tehm communily
<CanoeBerry_> Let's draw this to conclusion please.
<CanoeBerry_> Votes and/or concerns from all please?
<mrenoch|home> i guarantee you that w.in an hour all of their relatives will know their story.
<cjb> CanoeBerry_: 25, with a further application for more later?
<CanoeBerry_> That's my vote.
<Caryl> I would like to see a smaller number to start to make sure it will work as they envision... maybe 5
<bemasc> Both recording and displaying video can be done far better on other hardware.
<Heyej> yes
<cjb> CanoeBerry_: well, the concern is that the XO really isn't very suited for any of these things, because of the poor video performance
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<culseg> me too +25 at any time needed
<CanoeBerry_> storytelling is the goal, more than video-for-the-sake-of-video
<CanoeBerry_> as i understand it.
<cjb> >    Project Objectives:
<cjb> >   To provide compelling 2 way video communications
* ndoiron  Quit ("CGI:IRC")
<Caryl> people will be going down more than once.  Let's start small and see how it works.
<Heyej> best tool readily available and will flow directly into schools when situation stabilizes
<Caryl> If it doesn't work he could pass the machines on to Raphael
<CanoeBerry_> Heyej: final thoughts on how you will maneuver around video roadblocks if you face them?
<cjb> Heyej: yeah.  I think you might end up using flip cams or something to make the vids
<mrenoch|home> deftly
<cjb> and XOs simply for low-res playback or transport/upload
<mrenoch|home> we will improvise
<Heyej> compelling is content not color saturation screen size etc..
<bemasc> I think it's critical that the tech side get fully prototyped in the US in contact with us.
<sandrat> story telling is great w/ just audio!
<bemasc> Making this stuff work is not easy.
<mrenoch|home> sandrat: apparently, you don't believe in teh magical power of the moving image
<CanoeBerry_> i personally would agree, with still photos producing fantastic storytelling alongside even 1min audio clips.
<cjb> mrenoch|home: Heyej: will either of you be coming to Boston before the trip?
<sandrat> I'm from a family of movie and theater people .. yes I love video
<mrenoch|home> no way. we are talking about outpourings of support, prayer, consolation.
<Heyej> no
<bemasc> For example, you mentioned the mesh.  The mesh stuff is far from stable/simple/predictable.
<Heyej> mesh not requirement
<Caryl> I could see 5 machines to start. More if it doesn't. If it doesn't... transfer them to Raphael's project
<mrenoch|home> seen this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97M-6Z7OTVU
<Heyej> caryl how would you get more there after 5?
<sandrat> I love the npr storycorp spots.  Very powerful the human voice
<mrenoch|home> just waiting to be played down there. on whatever screen we can fit it on
<CanoeBerry_> Heyej: we are (largely) a tech support team, but might not be able to help you from Haiti -- can you make a commitment to work with us once or twice per week when youo get completely stuck if you cellphone/network work?
<bemasc> So, I'm not particularly voting, because this isn't a Contributors Program project.
<Heyej> yes.
<Heyej> as conditions allow- ad hoc schedule
<mrenoch|home> on a handheld camer, on a handheld projector, on a large projector, and possibly on an olpc scren
<mrenoch|home> but, not if the codecs are a mismatch
<bemasc> OLPC has explicitly allotted XOs for (non-educational) charity projects in Haiti.
<cjb> mrenoch|home: installing mplayer should solve most codec playback problems
<CanoeBerry_> bemasc: let's non get into educational purity arguments if possible.
<Caryl> Heyej apply through the contributors program, get donated machines, buy them on ebay
<Heyej> tim falconers focus is education
<sandrat> cool.   just want o make sure that respect for the fragile balance of life in Haiti is there
<bemasc> mrenoch|home: If you have the camera and the projector, you don't need the XO.  That's my point.
<Heyej> wrong bsma
* carolruthsilver  Quit ("CGI:IRC (EOF)")
<Caryl> true
<CanoeBerry_> My view anyway: Nothing could be more educational
 than a distributed such storytelling network as Tim Falconer & Heyej are trying to build here together.
<mrenoch|home> yup. i have my doubts about the role of the olpc in the open solace project as its is described. you tell us if you can see a way to use this here.
<bemasc> The Contributors Program never accepts projects of the form "we are going to do something cool with an XO".
<Heyej> one camera is one image 25 cameras are 25 images
<mrenoch|home> but, i will say there will be many educational oppurtunites.
<bemasc> CanoeBerry_: I'm attempting to say the reverse.  OLPC has explicitly said "no education required" here, which is fine.
<mrenoch|home> each child has a family (well,  most do) and it is easy to imagine olpc after hours
<cjb> mrenoch|home: oh, you'd be interested in leaving the laptops with kids?
<cjb> I didn't pick up on that
<mrenoch|home> medical, desalination, agricultural, etc content could amke alot os sens there
<CanoeBerry_> Certainly it's fantastic we have so much passiong here.  But we also need to wrap up now.
<mrenoch|home> we are interseted in stimulating a sustainable economy
<CanoeBerry_> 3 more projects need quick review!
<mrenoch|home> around video projection, and recording and sending video messags
<Caryl> future use needs planning.  They could all end up in closets
<Heyej> laptops to kids will be determined by tim f eventually
<CanoeBerry_> While I would vote yes to 25, I ask everyone else to vote their conscience.
<sandrat> bring common remedies, aspirin, ibuprofin, pepto bismal, anti-diahreha
<Heyej> plan to
<Caryl> 5
<mrenoch|home> they seem to be having some trouble distributing supplies w/out a robust communications network
<Heyej> am bringing my own personal surgeon (brother)
<Caryl> that is +1 to 5 and see how it goes
<sandrat> glad to hear about that surgeon,  needed
<sandrat> +1
<cjb> Heyej: cool, good luck :)
<sofloxo> +1
<Heyej> thx
<CanoeBerry_> Final objections?
<CanoeBerry_> Calling once..
<culseg> I already voted +1 based on reasoning that a WP associated project is a supportable idea
<CanoeBerry_> Calling twice..
<CanoeBerry_> Calling thrice..
<Caryl> how many?
<CanoeBerry_> APPROVED: for a number I will negotiate with parties involed.
<cjb> CanoeBerry_: a number 1-25?
<Heyej> Thanks all
<CanoeBerry_> I'd prefer a higher number closer to 25, but we will talk offline to finalize.
<sandrat> consider how many people might be available to train, as people are needed for 
survival stuff
<cjb> ok.  I don't think more than 25 would be a good idea.
<CanoeBerry_> Agreed!
<Caryl> thats why we should ask him to start small
<Caryl> get the kinks out
<Caryl> make sure it is going to work
<CanoeBerry_> Plz all add your support to this critical venture here, comments privately here:
<CanoeBerry_> http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=55379
<cjb> Caryl: well, it's tough; there might not be transport for more for a long time, etc.  the marginal cost of 10 vs. 25 probably isn't very high.
<CanoeBerry_> Or publicly here:
<Heyej> caryl transportation is not easy
<Caryl> this problem isn't going to go away fast
<mrenoch|home> it will be quite difficult to get more down there, no?
<CanoeBerry_> http://wiki.crisiscommons.org/wiki/The_Open_Solace_Haiti_Project
<Caryl> he is going again soon
<Caryl> what if they don't wrk?
<Heyej> who is going again soon
<Caryl> where will the go
<CanoeBerry_> mrenoch: correct.. one reason I'm willing to work with a slightly higher number.
<bemasc> I'll run some realtime encoding experiments tonight with the latest fast encoders.
<CanoeBerry_> But we must move onto Project #2 now.
<Heyej> how much room will i be allowed
<CanoeBerry_> bemasc: thanks.
<Caryl> can we get a comittment to giving them to another project that is working?
<Heyej> I am long term there space is not easy
<CanoeBerry_> Heyej: how much room -- what are you asking?
<Heyej> please read the prosal and feel free to contact me anytime. Thx again
<mrenoch|home> last thought - one aspect of this campaign involves capturing peoples imagination
<Heyej> I am taking at least500 cubic feet 800lbs
<Heyej> initially
<mrenoch|home> establishing a proof of concept that people can get behind
<CanoeBerry_> Heyej: reminder XO's are 4.5 pounds are do not need oodles of packaging, they are tough and can essentially be thrown in any box usually.
* mafe  Quit ("Leaving.")
<sandrat> keep us updated.  don't video the corpses, enough of that already
<Heyej> thx. much more food clothes water camping gear
<CanoeBerry_> Unless you're driving off road in an open truck -- protect your XO's in this case.
<CanoeBerry_> With at least 1inch of padding if your bouncing off rocks.
<mrenoch|home> ok - well thanks for everyone's time.
<cjb> thanks, good luck
<Heyej> thx again. checking out
<CanoeBerry_> Most welcome. Onto Project #2 now please!


[ PROJECT #2 - NACIF OLPC-Lending Library in Gomoa-Dasum District of Ghana - New York ]

<CanoeBerry_> Please all helpw review/mentor/critique this Ghana proposal:
<CanoeBerry_> NACIF OLPC-Lending Library in Gomoa-Dasum District of Ghana - New York
<CanoeBerry_>    http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=55294
<CanoeBerry_>    [SPECIFIC SITE NEEDS TO BE POSTED OFF 
<CanoeBerry_> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects ]
<CanoeBerry_>    Requests 4 XOs over 3 months
<CanoeBerry_>    Project Objectives:
<CanoeBerry_>    Objectives Our goal is to build a number of "paperless" libraries in
<CanoeBerry_>    which OLPCs replace paper books. NACIF is a charitable organization
<CanoeBerry_>    dedicated to helping young girls obtain a great education and, 
<CanoeBerry_> towards this
<CanoeBerry_>    goal, is building or equipping a number of libraries in remote 
<CanoeBerry_> villages in
<CanoeBerry_>    Ghana. The cost of supplying books to these libraries is however 
<CanoeBerry_> prohibitive
<CanoeBerry_>    and NACIF has decided it can provide serve more girls by using 
<CanoeBerry_> e-books. The
<CanoeBerry_>    OLPC is the perfect medium for such a project in the areas in which NACIF
<CanoeBerry_>    works. Most importantly, we want to encourage girls to create and share
<CanoeBerry_>    content about their community, something they cannot easily do with 
<CanoeBerry_> books.
<CanoeBerry_>    The content will include creating diaries, news articles, and 
<CanoeBerry_> photo-albums.
<CanoeBerry_>    Thus, the OLPC provides these girls with the "active" educational 
<CanoeBerry_> experience
<CanoeBerry_>    as opposed to the passive education they will gain through reading paper
<CanoeBerry_>    books.
[...brief network interruption...]
<CanoeBerry_> Is the applicant here?
<CanoeBerry_> If anybody can introduce this project?
<CanoeBerry_> If not, let's evaluate ourselves.
<cjb> the criticism is that there doesn't seem to be any 
contribution to global OLPC; it's just a small deployment
<CanoeBerry_> cjb: which project are you talking about?
<cjb> NACIF
<CanoeBerry_> K
<bemasc> cjb: CP has been doing "lending libraries" for a long time.
<cjb> nod
<bemasc> As the marginal value of XO-1s to OLPC has declined, the threshold of returned value to OLPC has fallen proportionally
<sandrat> I love this Ghana project - library - with competition between candidates for the library
<cjb> ok.  well, four laptops isn't very much.  It's hard to come up with any measurable goals or success for this project, but maybe that's not necessary.
<CanoeBerry_> My Apology-- the above Project Objective was revised.
<Caryl> Gotta finish packing. I vote +1 for #2 but for more than 3 mos, +1 for 10 to #3, and +1 to 15 for #4 (he has jumped through all our hoops!)
<sandrat> Showing the laptops to a lot of libraries creates broader visibility than just a simple XO library
<CanoeBerry_> Please review the new one pasted in below here now....
<CanoeBerry_> NACIF’s work is based on the age-old philosophy, “Educate a girl to educate
<CanoeBerry_> a nation.” To this end, it tries to be an educational resource for female
<CanoeBerry_> students and drop-outs in Ghana.
<CanoeBerry_> The original goal of this particular project was to provide female school
<CanoeBerry_> dropouts with books that will enable them to further their education and
<CanoeBerry_> make a living. However, the cost of shipping books for the project proved to
<CanoeBerry_> be prohibitively expensive. NACIF believes e-books and e-learning websites
<CanoeBerry_> are a cost-effective solution to the problem. In addition, NACIF realizes
<CanoeBerry_> that these girls need computer skills to be competitive in today’s
<CanoeBerry_> employment market.
<CanoeBerry_> NACIF’s plan is to have a computer resource person work with interested
<CanoeBerry_> school dropouts to define projects for which they can borrow an OLPC. The
<CanoeBerry_> girls will be able to research their project using resources such as
<CanoeBerry_> Wikipedia, OER and MIT OCW. They will also be encouraged to document their
<CanoeBerry_> project to a Wiki, thereby making it possible for future participants in the
<CanoeBerry_> program to benefit from a knowledge base. Although, it is hoped that the
<CanoeBerry_> girls will benefit from the joy of having access to the world’s knowledge
<CanoeBerry_> through the OLPC, a major metric of success will be the extent to which they
<CanoeBerry_> can use this device to acquire employable skills.
<sandrat> the competition should attract a lot of interest.. it's a good plan
<sandrat> and the girl focus is !!!!
<bemasc> "The plan is to *purchase
<bemasc> *about 50 OLPCs to be deployed in selected remote libraries and schools in
<bemasc> Ghana."
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: thanks and have a great flight to Truly Latin America wherever you're going tonight!
<cjb> bemasc: is that pre- or post-revision?
<sandrat> request is for 4 XOs over 3 months
<bemasc> oh, maybe pre
<cjb> 4 XOs sounds fine
<bemasc> maybe they dropped that
<cjb> we probably shouldn't spend too much on it, since there are larger applications 
waiting
<CanoeBerry_> Conclusions/comments?
<cjb> *too much time
<CanoeBerry_> Do I hear some consensus in favor?
<sandrat> It's a very well put together plan.  Leader has good background
<sandrat> +1
<cjb> +1
<sofloxo> +1
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<CanoeBerry_> +1 and let's try to gets these folks at Columbia Univ in NYC (just like the last proposal) to meet each other!
<CanoeBerry_> APPROVED.


[ PROJECT #3 - OLPC Pilot Education Project at Alamparai - India ]

<CanoeBerry_> Project #3 -- please all help mentor/critique:
<CanoeBerry_> LPC Pilot Education Project at Alamparai - India
<CanoeBerry_>    http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=55284
<CanoeBerry_>    [SPECIFIC SITE NEEDS TO BE POSTED OFF 
<CanoeBerry_> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects ]
<CanoeBerry_>    Requests 35 XOs over 12 months
<CanoeBerry_>    Project Objectives:
<CanoeBerry_>    Introducing the OLPC as a pilot project for 30 to 35 children at the
<CanoeBerry_>    Panchayat Union Alamparai Middle School with intention to expand to
<CanoeBerry_>    surrounding schools, organizations, and experts to adapt this XO
<CanoeBerry_>    technology for the successful achievement of the Educational goals.
<CanoeBerry_>    Assessment of the initial success of the project will then inform the
<CanoeBerry_>    rate of progress on expanding OLPC to the wider community.
<CanoeBerry_>    Fully equipping school teachers by rendering appropriate training in the
<CanoeBerry_>    use of the new technology for instructing their students.
<CanoeBerry_>    Improving the standard of Education with the aegis of new intervention
<CanoeBerry_>    and pave the way for attaining the self goals of each and every children
<CanoeBerry_>    targeted under this project.
<CanoeBerry_>    Creating conducive environment with the help of the XO technology to
<CanoeBerry_>    elicit the children?s interest in learning the Science and English
<CanoeBerry_>    subject.
<CanoeBerry_>    Initiating the knowledge revolution among the children and the youth in
<CanoeBerry_>    the community.
[...brief network interruption...]
<bemasc> It's a pilot.
<CanoeBerry_> I agree w/ SVerma who writes "It *could* be a CP
<CanoeBerry_> proposal if they do translation into Tamil, but even then it does not
<CanoeBerry_> warrant 35 XOs.
<CanoeBerry_> "
<bemasc> "a pilot project for 30 to 35 children at the Panchayat Union Alamparai Middle School with intention to expand to surrounding schools
<bemasc> "
<CanoeBerry_> Any takers to mentor them towards a real Contribution to OLPC/Sugardom?
<CanoeBerry_> Otherwise I vote -1
<sandrat> which project are u asking about CB
<bemasc> Send them to the sales department, if you have one.
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<CanoeBerry_> We don't sell 35 laptops -- 100 laptops remains the minimum for sales FYI.
<CanoeBerry_> sandrat: we are reviewing the India project:
<CanoeBerry_> http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=55284
<CanoeBerry_> Votes please?
<CanoeBerry_> I vote for a mentor to bring this project into our community process.
<CanoeBerry_> Until then: -1
<CanoeBerry_> Let's conclude.
<atphalix> we should just tell them that we don't do pilot and they need to contribute something
<cjb> yeah, note that Sameer is -1
<CanoeBerry_> Final objections?
<atphalix> -1
<CanoeBerry_> Calling once..
<CanoeBerry_> Calling twice..
<cjb> -1
<CanoeBerry_> Calling thrice..
<CanoeBerry_> CONCLUSION: ON HOLD. Awaits proper mentoring.
<sandrat> looks good.


[ PROJECT #4 - Project Success Links: 3 Projects For Change - Los Angeles ]

<CanoeBerry_> Final project of the day -- please all help me
ntor/critique Project #4 here now:
<sandrat> ok
<CanoeBerry_> 4. Project Success Links: 3 Projects For Change - Los Angeles area, 
<CanoeBerry_> California
<CanoeBerry_>    http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=54975
<CanoeBerry_>    http://cocosouthla.org
<CanoeBerry_>    [SPECIFIC SITE NEEDS TO BE POSTED OFF 
<CanoeBerry_> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects ]
<CanoeBerry_>    Requests 15 XOs over undetermined months
<CanoeBerry_>    Project Objectives:
<CanoeBerry_>    Our project objective is to inspire and educate elementary school 
<CanoeBerry_> children
<CanoeBerry_>    to take an active role in their community by utilize technology tools 
<CanoeBerry_> for 3
<CanoeBerry_>    Projects for Change.
<CanoeBerry_>    This project-oriented program will also act as a professional development
<CanoeBerry_>    program, which can help kids identify personal skills and develop career
<CanoeBerry_>    interests. The success of these projects will introduce different 
<CanoeBerry_> positive
<CanoeBerry_>    activities that can be emulated by other children.
<cjb> wow, this one goes back a long way
<CanoeBerry_> Noting the applicant is a star partipant in "Caryl's" Los Angeles - area OLPC/Sugar community, but yes..
<cjb> so they got 2 XOs back in June?
<CanoeBerry_> I need to comentor given Caryl
<CanoeBerry_> 's out of town for a month.
<CanoeBerry_> cjb: yes
<sandrat> Use of XOs is more general however than specific to the career enhancement goals.  Benefit that this guy will do a ton of publicity if his website lives up to its image
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<bemasc> So... what's the project?
<CanoeBerry_> mafe: can you share your opinion of this (2nd of the day!) LA storytelling framework?
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<atphalix> it is not clear
<sandrat> It's really an education project, building confidence in kids who need to build skills and success. There are mentors built-in
<CanoeBerry_> They have a school lines up.
<CanoeBerry_> *lined up
<mafe> sorry guys...hopping in and out...what project are we in now?
<cjb> is the proposer here?
<sandrat> I think the project would work. But should define it more around the assets of XO, which is individual skill and confidence building, and learning how to do make such neat things as little cars that run around
<Caryl> I'm back for a minute
<CanoeBerry_> This project (#4) should support the Haiti effort (#1) given its several common goals giving kids 21st century media voice etc.
<Caryl> are we talking sbout Brians project (s)?
<CanoeBerry_> yes
<bemasc> I can't find the actual proposal.
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: can you explain your own summary of this project's design/direction?
<mafe> is this the last project
<atphalix> mafae: prject 4#
<Caryl> We had it last week and approved it contingent on him web-publishing his stuff which he did
<cjb> http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=54975#txn-752662
<CanoeBerry_> Applicant (somewhat intentionally) suffers from visioneer's disease -- not being an engineer, he (and his team) are more coaches leading the way.
<cjb> that's the proposal, I think
<bemasc> then it doesn't really need to go through the meeting again
<Caryl> he will be doing 3 projects with elementary school stucents in Pasadena Unified
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: why 15?
<Caryl> one is water relatedd
<Caryl>  5 for each one of 3 different projects
<Caryl> one is literacy/reading related
<CanoeBerry_> What's your personal involvement in all 3?
<CanoeBerry_> Will you help 1 or 2 or 3, either by phone or in person?
<mafe> can this people work with some other NGO's they know ...off and pto and state for financing
<Caryl> I have met with birian and talked with him
<Caryl> at his place of business
<CanoeBerry_> mafe: confused by your suggestion-- can you explain?
<mafe> i mean this seems to be a similar Gerald ardito's deployment
<Caryl> mafe...  other NGOs?  Brian is in the entertainment industry
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: I support Brian, but is breaking up 15 into 3 batchs of 5 in keeping with our "chile ownership" mandate and similar?  Avoiding computer lab boutiques etc?
<Caryl> If this flies, we may be able to get a lot of interest in that area
<mafe> then the more he can work on proposal
<sandrat> he'll need some XO savy advice .. but you are it right Caryl
<Caryl> the students will be doing "field work" in their projects
<culseg> Cary's backing, plus her recycling skills,  shows me this 3 part project has good prospects
<mafe> start with a 100
<cjb> mafe: ?
<mafe> they seems to have a good network there
<Caryl> I wish!
<mafe> a 100 xo...
<sandrat> +1 for the 15
<CanoeBerry_> +1 for 15
<Caryl> but that isn't realistic. too many other worthy projects want XOs
<Caryl> +1 for 15
<bemasc> Seems to be a pretty good proposal for a public school field-trip-type trial
<CanoeBerry_> +1 for stronger mentoring (broken record, but i mean it, and need to partake w/ others!)
<bemasc> Not sure why they need all 15 now
<bemasc> or why 3 sequential 3-month projects with 5 laptops each require 15 in total
<Caryl> he is ready to go
<mafe> +1 with Bemasc
<Caryl> spring semester starts in Feb
<sandrat> sounds like a manageble number to me
<cjb> bemasc: heh, good point
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: can you "testify" than all 15 will be go into use this winter?!
<CanoeBerry_> *that all 15
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<CanoeBerry_> bz_g: bonjour, we're finishing up right now.
<Caryl> If I have to visit them once a week, they wil!
<CanoeBerry_> Don't kill yourself spreading yourself too thin.
<sandrat> great committment caryl!
<sandrat> thanks
<CanoeBerry_> +1
<CanoeBerry_> Final objections?
<sandrat> +1
<culseg> +1 for 15
<mafe> a regular visit works...
<cjb> CanoeBerry_: just the sequential thing
<cjb> if it's true that there are separate projects using 5 laptops sequentially, there is no justification for 15
<cjb> trying to find the proposal again to find out :)
<mafe> cjb: i still can't find the whole proposal
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: can you clarify for cjb & all of us?
<mafe> any wiki link
<cjb> mafe: http://rt.laptop.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=54975#txn-752662
<mafe> how about the wiki.laptop.go/project
<Caryl> I think he plans to run them all at once and more than one set of students go through each
<cjb> CanoeBerry_: the proposal seems pretty clear.  there are three "projects for change", and they take three months each, so the whole thing takes nine months.
<mafe> as we always recommend
<cjb> I wish the proposal were clearer.  :/
<CanoeBerry_> Caryl: I will clarify with Brian / Applicant.
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<cjb> (or that the proposer was here)
<cjb> anyway, +1 on the proposal, number still needs to be finalized
<CanoeBerry_> He needs to wikipost and then I'm happy to ship 15 if forward-planning is clear+r
eal.
<Caryl> Great I've got to throw my meds in a suitcase and head for the airport
<CanoeBerry_> APPROVED.
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<bz_g`> Hi all
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<crs> Adam, I presume you have adjourned?
<CanoeBerry_> crs: we just did, yeah!
<CanoeBerry_> Haiti, Ghana, Los Angeles approved.  India proposal needs more work.
* atphalix  Quit
<crs> Again, sorry.  BUT:  exciting times in Afghanistan for OLPC! Will share shortly, probably I will go to Af within 30 days.
<crs> BYE