OLPCorps MIT Loaner Library: Difference between revisions

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Welcome! This page is dedicated to the new XO Loaner Library which was just established at MIT. This library has been established primarily for the use of OLPCorps teams in the greater Boston area, so that they can have access to the XOs prior to deployment. Each team will receive 100 of these laptops from OLPC as part of the OLPCorps grant, but those 100 will be shipped directly to the deployment site. The goal of this library is to allow teams access to the laptops so members can start to learn how to use them and be better prepared to educate others on their use. Sound interesting? Ready to borrow one? Here's how:
===1. Project Title & Shipment Detail===
:'''Name of Project:''' [http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPCorps_MIT_Loaner_Library 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)


=Who's Eligible?=
===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.


For the time being, laptop loans will be limited to 2 laptops per team/group and will only be handed out to approved OLPCorps teams. However! If you are not an OLPCorps team but are working on a different project with the XO in the Boston area and would be interested in borrowing a laptop, you should let us know you are interested and we will see if we have an extra laptop you can use. Of course, teams going to Africa will be given preference.
===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.


=Rental Period=
===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.


Loans will be for 2 weeks to start. After 2 weeks, if no one is in need your laptops and you wish to keep them, your rental may be renewed for another 2 weeks.
===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 [[Emulating_the_XO|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.


Since we ourselves hope to be traveling to Africa as a OPLCorps team, there are currently no plans to administer the loans over the summer. So all laptops will need to be returned by the end of May. The library may or may not reopen in September, we'll let you know as we get closer to that date.
===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 [[Groups|XO Lending Libraries]] or [[Projects|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.


=Obtaining Laptops=
===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.


So, if you are interested in renting a laptop, here's what you have to do:
===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)
* Email ''xoloans'' at ''mit.edu'' with:
::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.
** Your name
:'''Specify how you prefer to communicate your ongoing progress and obstacles!
** Your team/organization
::Communicating with our OLPC mentor/contact via email and/or in person would be the most preferable method of communication.
** Number of laptops requested
::''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.''
** Reason for rental
** Contact information (email and contact number(s))
** Preferred date and time of pickup
* You will receive a response indicating if you've been approved and where/when you will be able to pick up your laptop. The library will be physically located at MIT, so expect pickup/dropoff to be near MIT in Cambridge.
* When you arrive to pickup your laptops, you will be asked to sign for them, indicating that you take responsibility for the laptops and agree to return the laptops by the specified time.

=Returns=

You will be expected to return your laptop by the date specified to MIT. We can meet at Kendall square and you can sign that you have returned the laptop.

Comments or suggestions? Email us at ''xoloans'' at ''mit.edu''
<!-- our Application can be found [[Media:MIT_XO_Loaner_Library_Application_Web.pdf|Here]]! -->
[[Category:XO_Lending_Libraries]]

Latest revision as of 14:50, 4 April 2009

Welcome! This page is dedicated to the new XO Loaner Library which was just established at MIT. This library has been established primarily for the use of OLPCorps teams in the greater Boston area, so that they can have access to the XOs prior to deployment. Each team will receive 100 of these laptops from OLPC as part of the OLPCorps grant, but those 100 will be shipped directly to the deployment site. The goal of this library is to allow teams access to the laptops so members can start to learn how to use them and be better prepared to educate others on their use. Sound interesting? Ready to borrow one? Here's how:

Who's Eligible?

For the time being, laptop loans will be limited to 2 laptops per team/group and will only be handed out to approved OLPCorps teams. However! If you are not an OLPCorps team but are working on a different project with the XO in the Boston area and would be interested in borrowing a laptop, you should let us know you are interested and we will see if we have an extra laptop you can use. Of course, teams going to Africa will be given preference.

Rental Period

Loans will be for 2 weeks to start. After 2 weeks, if no one is in need your laptops and you wish to keep them, your rental may be renewed for another 2 weeks.

Since we ourselves hope to be traveling to Africa as a OPLCorps team, there are currently no plans to administer the loans over the summer. So all laptops will need to be returned by the end of May. The library may or may not reopen in September, we'll let you know as we get closer to that date.

Obtaining Laptops

So, if you are interested in renting a laptop, here's what you have to do:

  • Email xoloans at mit.edu with:
    • Your name
    • Your team/organization
    • Number of laptops requested
    • Reason for rental
    • Contact information (email and contact number(s))
    • Preferred date and time of pickup
  • You will receive a response indicating if you've been approved and where/when you will be able to pick up your laptop. The library will be physically located at MIT, so expect pickup/dropoff to be near MIT in Cambridge.
  • When you arrive to pickup your laptops, you will be asked to sign for them, indicating that you take responsibility for the laptops and agree to return the laptops by the specified time.

Returns

You will be expected to return your laptop by the date specified to MIT. We can meet at Kendall square and you can sign that you have returned the laptop.

Comments or suggestions? Email us at xoloans at mit.edu

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