Content projects

Projects and proposals    +/-
Content ideas	Content projects
Hardware ideas	Hardware projects
Software ideas	Software projects

This are many open content projects underway, by libraries and groups and individuals, developing and formatting materials that will be available to laptop users.

Proposed projects

The projects below are important projects proposed or started to date. Eventually each of these will be supported by its audience of creators and participants, though some will begin through direct work by OLPC.

Open library exchange

The open library exchange will be

• A site and interface,
• A set of standards, and
• A distribution system

The interface will offer default views of available materials -- one global, with a variation present on every server. There will be an implementation of indexing and searching across participating libraries and repositories. The distribution system will comprise the infrastrucutre of school and regional servers, and a method for updating same, from both directions [from the Web at large and from offline groups with sporadic connectivity].

Wikireader software

Our wikireader will be a wiki that can read the default document format on the laptops, crossmark, and edit or add annotations / discussions about what is being read. It will be one of the default ways to create books or learning materials for friends or students, with emphasis on being lightweight and supporting the creation and synchronization of text with simple layout and embedded images.

It will include

• client software for viewing and editing
• a simple editing interface for children
• ways to annotate and edit; and to see the changes of others
• a server platform and mechanism for synchronizing changes on- and offline.

Synchronization will need to work well in situations where people are offline for long stretches of time.

Layout and publishing

A second publishing tool should be able to pull together images, text, layout templates, sound, and video/animation, to make a simple package with hyperlinks and narrative flow. This might rely on a server running on a school server, but would have a light reader that would run on laptops. TK3, Sophie, and even eToys explore facets of this kind of publishing. This will be another default way to create new materials, with emphasis on supporting styles and color and media, and intuitive free-form ways to manipulate layout.

It will include

• Client software for viewing [v2: and simple editing]
• Storing of a work in reusable sections (layout definition + metadata + wikitext sections + images + media), for other software to use
• Server software supporting editing and collaboration

A global collaboration site

A default space online for laptop users to put materials for public viewing and collaboration. This will be:

• A site for hosting and working on shared materials
• A place to develop community around specific projects

This will also be a place on the web (as opposed to in the pratly-offline library network, or in one's laptop journal shared by a few friends) to put up a quick note or web page that can be shared. This may well be a dedicated section of an existing general hosting site online. For comparison, the library exchange will include an interface to the World Digital Library (curated by libraries around the world), and a site for storing non-collaborative work. cf. UNIWiki.

Classification and review

Review, critique, and classification are all important aspects of learning through collaboration. A classification system will be

• A software framework supporting tagging and revie of materials, by different readers and groups
• A way to search through existing librarie of content, using their native clsasifications and any additions
• A set of standards for metadata supporting such contributions and queries

The design of this project will guide parts of the indexing and interfacing with existing libraries of materials... bearing in mind that almost every publisher and digital collection is now in some ways its own tiny library.

Barnraisings

In each language and region, there is a need for barnraising of materials suited for the laptop medium and audience. A banrraising project will be

• A process for hosting a barnraising
• Contacts with others who have successfully hosted one before, with project ideas to cover specific needs

Initial barnraisings can be carried out through constructionist schools around the world, by young students for their current or previous year's curriculum. cf. low-income private school in Newton.

Language exchange

A framework for identifying language skills, offering to provide language exchange or assistance, learning new languages, and sharing experiences and ideas with others across language barriers. This will include

• A site, supporting user accounts that keep track of language skills for users, and project definitions that keep track of language needs.
• A tool for matching up needs for language exchange, interpretation, localization, and translation.
• A mechanism for mediated discussion -- the ability to call in a third-party to help mediate or interpret a discussion; with the option of automated real-time translation to help.

Other optional ways to improve this system would include building in ways to practice language on your own... but why do that when you can practice with another person?

Specific collaborations

A children's encyclopedia

A global children's encyclopedia, on the model of Wikipedia, with materials suited for primary school students. This will be

• A site and design for younger audiences
• A community of participants
• A client interface for younger authors
• A set of authoring standards

This will hopefully build on the efforts of wikikids.nl and similar efforts in other languages.

A children's picturebook

Pictures of things of interest to younger children, or galleries of images taken by them.

documentaries and video

• Three clips from Jason Scott's text/bbs documentary: 1 2, 3
• more from PBK's video archives (cf. intelligent television)

External sites

Authoring

• Wikibooks

Learning

• Wikiversity

Reference

• Wikipedia
• Wiktionary
• Dicologos

Geography and the world

• Openstreetmaps
• Wikitravel
• WikiAtlas

Audio

• Librivox

Media

• Sound: Freesound, CCMixter, Wikicommons
• Images: Flickr (filtered into CC-BY)
• Video: Wikicommons