CHILD OLPC Foundation Philippines

CHILD (Children's Help in Information and Learning & Development) OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) Foundation Philippines (COFP) formerly the Philippine Collaborators for OLPC (PCOLPC)

Mabuhay! This is the webpage for the CHILD OLPC Foundation Philippine (COFP) which is a non-profit foundation registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission. The foundation takes over from the efforts of the group formerly known as the Philippine Collaborators for OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) or (PCOLPC).

COFP will continue with the group efforts to support an OLPC deployment in the Philippines and in other member countries in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations). These countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Foundation is headed by Charles Chen and Willie Pertubal but is supported by many other people and institutions with the similar interest in supporting the efforts of the foundation. Charles Chen heads Stimulus Capital Ideas, a cross border investment group specialising on Australian investments to the Philippines.

THE OLPC MISSION STATEMENT

To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.

WHY WE CHOOSE TO USE THE XO LAPTOP

A small machine with a big mission. The XO is a potent learning tool designed and built especially for children in developing countries, living in some of the most remote environments. It’s about the size of a small textbook. It has built-in wireless and a unique screen that is readable under direct sunlight for children who go to school outdoors. It’s extremely durable, brilliantly functional, energy-efficient, and fun.

OUR FIRST OWN OLPC PILOT

Before organising PCOLPC, one of its leaders had assisted Meg Simpson with a project for former National Computer Center (NCC) general manager and current Lubang, Mindoro Mayor Juan Sanchez to establish the first school deployment in the country. The project was in partnership with Meg and her other former NCC officemates, Mitch Seaton of OLPC Friends Australia and the Education Kindling group.

This year we will be starting with our own OLPC school project in the Philippines. The project in partnership with a local community club is designed to augment the basic education of children in the elementary level, using computer as a tool to enhance their learning skills, both inside and outside the classroom. The target beneficiaries of the program are the public school pupils either in grade two or three, and the out of school youth, ages 9-14 years old, who are underprivileged or the marginalized members of our society. Initially, the areas identified for the pilot testing of the project are Antipolo and the selected towns in the province of Rizal.

In this regard, the training program will entail the use of OLPC in the selected areas. This program is a partnership between the Kiwanis Club and the selected public school or barangay, wherein the former will provide the volunteer trainers and computers while the latter will provide the venue for the training program. A pre-qualification process will be observed to all nominee participants, both in public schools or out of school youth category, and only students who can read the alphabets well in English, will be qualified for the program. In addition, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the school principals or barangay officials, and the club will be necessary to formalize the arrangement upon the start of the training program.

The concept of the project is a hands–on training of children with zero knowledge in computer.

In short, it is a beginner training which will last for 3-4 months or even less, on 2-3 hour course once a week. The participant will undergo four levels of education or training, namely level 1)- familiarization stage, 2)- proper use of computer, 3)- hands on teaching process, and 4) – advance education to include mathematics exercise, drawing and browsing information research. The key result area will be at the end of the program, participants will be able to write, read, understand, compute and create art work on their own, as an expression of self-empowerment. In addition, children will be able to share and collaborate with each other as a learning on the program.

PROJECT RATIONALE:

The rapid advancement in the field of electronics and telecommunication technology has dramatically affected the lives of so many people, not only in our country today, but also the lives of other people throughout the world. Nowadays, the presence of computer internet, broadband and its online system, Wifi mobile cellular phone, DVD and cable TV ,CCTV camera, to name a few, has changed our lifestyle, to include our children’s values and priorities, as well. As a consequence, one important development that we can easily notice is the “real time” news reporting on radio and television, which makes the print media a little bit late in terms of public service. Another remarkable changes, is our way of searching information, which are now readily available in the internet, either in the computer or cellular phone Seemingly, this development makes our public library and its huge collection of books at little obsolete or if not, impractical. In this respect, one cannot close his eyes on the need and use of computer and other gadgets to empower him and stay competitive, in ones daily struggle for survival in life.

Nevertheless, the prohibitive cost of computer, particularly to the marginalized sector of our society is the biggest hindrance to our youth education, specifically the under privileged one. Hence, there is a need to assist them by supplementing or augmenting their basic skills through the use of laptop computer, designed for the children of third world countries like the Philippines. One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a project of Nicolas Negroponte based on Boston, USA seems to be the answer to this need. It is handy, durable and with simple operating system which is easily understood by children.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

1. The project aims to provide basic computer literacy education to the under privileged pupils of selected public schools and out of school youth in the barangay of the city of Antipolo, and other towns of Rizal, to augment their basic knowledge in the primary education particularly in reading, writing, drawing, mathematics and information research

2. The project aims to prepare children so they can define their own future consistent to our global mission which is dedicated to change one child, one community at a time.

HOW TO APPLY

Do you want to support the OLPC program in the Philippines or in another ASEAN member country? Email to Charles Chen and Willie Pertubal on wilfredo_pertubal@yahoo.com the following information below to get started. Please state in the subject title of the email "OLPC PH APPLICATION"

For a deployment proposal, please provide the following information:

• The name of the proposed school and its location;
• How big is the school in terms of number of students per grade or year level;
• Is it a primary or high school;
• Does the school have any available PCs for teaching purposes;
• Does the school have someone who has technical skills in using a PC.

To get a project implemented will require the following resources:

• A local group in the school to train and support for using the XO laptops (these laptops are designed to run on open source software)
• A core group of teachers in the school to learn and use the laptops with the students
• A learning plan on how the XO laptop will be used as a course supplement (the learning should support the current curriculum followed by the school as approved by the Department of Education)
• A sponsor who can cover the cost of the project (each XO laptop costs over US$200)

Let the Education Project Begin!

THE IDEA OF OLPC

While thinking on what to do next, be inspired by watching the following video made by Amazon on the mission of OLPC based on the ideals of its founder, Nicholas Negroponte.

http://www.youtube.com/v/c-M77C2ejTw&hl=en_US&fs=1

http://www.youtube.com/v/qMeX2D4AOjM&hl=en_US&fs=1

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

The following information have been provided by OLPC Asia.

Why does a child need laptop computers?

Children in underprivileged areas need education to give them the means to change their future. OLPC is not a laptop project but an education project, the XO is both a window and a tool - a window to connect to the world and a tool for learning to learn and teaching themselves through independent interaction and exploration.

While desktops are cheaper, mobility is an important aspect in our education program. We want the children to take the XO home so that they can use it whenever and wherever they want. The XO has the rugged hardware for transportation and the innovative software that will keep children engaged.

Why is it important for each child to have a computer? What's wrong with community access computer centers?

One does not think of community pencils--kids have their own. They are tools to think with, sufficiently inexpensive to be used for work and play, drawing, writing, and mathematics. The XO is the same, but far more powerful. We want each child to have his/her own computer so that they can stay connected to the world and, even more importantly, to each other all the time. Only when each child in the community has an XO can we truly achieve the benefits of shared learning and collaborative creation.

How is it possible to get the cost of the laptop so low?

The first-generation XO dramatically lowered its cost with a novel, dual-mode display that represents improvements to the LCD displays commonly found in inexpensive DVD players. Second, we have also worked to get the fat out of our software systems. In other words, our laptop computers operate more efficiently. The XO's operating system is based on the free and open-source Linux. Third, One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization that is not obligated to any investors. Finally, OLPC uses large-scale orders to minimize marketing and distribution costs and to bulk order components to drive prices down.

What can a regular laptop computer do that the XO laptop cannot?

The XO laptop is a computer built for learning and designed specifically with children in remote locations in mind. Because of this, the features deemed most valuable for its purposes are as good (and in many cases, better) than comparable features on a commercially available laptop. Specifically, the XO's screen can be viewed as clearly as a newspaper in broad daylight; the wireless range of the XO is several times longer than your average laptop and it's also more rugged, resilient and power efficient than most other laptops on the market. It is water, dust and shock proof to survive the harshest of environments. While other features, such as memory space and speed, cannot compare to a regular laptop computer, these are not priorities deemed necessary for learning.

What kinds of power sources can I use with the XO laptop?

In addition to plugging the laptop into an electrical outlet (110-240 volts AC), the XO laptop can be powered by solar energy and human energy with pull cords and hand cranks. The XO laptop can take a DC input ranging from 11 volts to 40 volts, a range that's far more flexible than most portable devices. The XO laptop is remarkably energy efficient, using only 5-10 percent of the average wattage of a standard laptop. For formal specifications, please visit http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Hardware_specification#Specifications.

Please note that G1G1 laptops* are not bundled with any alternative energy sources (crank, solar panel etc.) besides the included AC adapter.

Who is the manufacturer of the XO laptop computer?

Quanta Computer Inc. of Taiwan is the original design manufacturer (ODM) of the XO laptop. Quanta Computer Inc. is the world's largest laptop manufacturer. They make laptops for Apple, HP and Dell among many others.

Who is behind these XO laptop computer?

The XO laptop computer is developed by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a non-profit organization founded by MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte and a team of educators, developers and technologists dedicated to educating children in developing countries with the goal of eradicating poverty. OLPC is founded based on principles expressed by MIT Media Lab Professor Seymour Papert in the 1960s, and later elaborated upon by Alan Kay, and complemented by the principles articulated by Nicholas Negroponte in his book, Being Digital. Partner corporations including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel, Brightstar, eBay, Google, Marvell, News Corporation, Nortel, Quanta, Chi Mei Group, Red Hat, and SES Astra are involved in this initiative.

FEATURED COFP PARTNER

The following is article from UTS (University of Technology Sydney) on the CEO of OLPC Australia. OLPC Australia is a key partner of Stimulus Capital Ideas in supporting COFP in its activities in the Philippines. Their support made possible for the recent purchase of 5 XO laptops for our first pilot deployment in Antipolo, Rizal.

Accessing opportunity By Izanda Ford Created 2 Mar 2012 - 10:31am 02 Mar 2012

In summary:

One Laptop Per Child is a social enterprise changing Australia’s educational landscape with specially designed laptops for children in remote communities Company CEO Rangan Srikhanta gave up a role at Deloitte to pursue his not-for-profit dream Srikhanta's former lecturer Laurel Evelyn Dyson nominated him for the Elizabeth Hastings Memorial Award for Community Service Rangan Srikhanta is the Chief Executive Officer of One Laptop Per Child [1](OLPC) Australia. The not-for-profit social enterprise is aiming to change our nation’s educational landscape by distributing specially designed laptops to children in remote communities. Senior Lecturer Laurel Evelyn Dyson recently received a UTS Learning and Teaching Award for her work in the School of Software. She taught Rangan and nominated him for his Elizabeth Hastings Memorial Award for Community Service and more recently, last year’s UTS Alumni Community Award.

Rangan Srikhanta I knew I wanted to have a big impact on the world, but I didn’t know what the ‘unique something’ I could do was. After graduating in 2007 with a double degree in business and computing, I took a graduate analyst role at Deloitte. I used to want to be a top-ranking CEO of a major corporation. However, as I visualised myself in that position, potentially earning millions of dollars, I questioned whether it would really lead me to happiness. That’s always been the kind of filter I apply.

[2]Rangan Srikhanta and Laurel Evelyn Dyson, photo by Joanne Saad

Education is part of the solution to most of the world’s problems. From poverty, to peace, to issues around health, education has a major part in solving all these problems. The best place to start is where you have the most fertile ground, and that’s in the minds of children who are still developing their world views. Then you get to a very interesting conundrum – if world education is your mandate, how do you achieve it in the 21st century?

Technology has a very pervasive nature. It allows you to get out to as many people as possible, and that’s how OLPC was born. We needed a device that could be used in any condition and could be fixed by a child. The whole premise of OLPC is that a child with an innate curiosity could be the catalyst for their own continued learning. We just need to give them an environment that’s conducive to that. That’s what the OLPC XO laptop is: self-empowered learning.

Australia is a country full of opportunities. This really resonates with me and my world view. My family and I fled Sri Lanka because of war in 1984 when I was two months old. It seems that what separates opportunity is circumstance, and in some ways, unfortunately, a postcode. The funny thing is, here in Australia our Indigenous people are marginalised, and that’s like a silent war. The war is more about access to opportunity and that’s what we’re trying to equalise.

Equality is about redefining the paradigm of how education is delivered. We’ve created an online network connecting teachers to other teachers across borders – something no one has been able to achieve. A small social enterprise like ours with only six employees can be a lot more nimble compared to massive organisations that operate in silos and aren’t able to cut across state boundaries and jurisdictions.

I’ve got to the point now where I think social enterprise is my thing in life. In the future there shouldn’t be the need for charities; it should be business as usual for corporations to be providing public goods in partnership with government. That’s where I think it should head, but there’s a lot of work that needs to happen before that.

Laurel Evelyn Dyson I can’t remember all the students I’ve taught, but Rangan just stood out. At the time he was studying, he was also getting the OLPC program established in Australia. He’s always been someone who really thinks about others and wants to use his knowledge of IT and business to make a difference, rather than just thinking about making pots of money.

I hope I’ve had some kind of influence on the direction Rangan’s taken. I was teaching a final-year ethics subject which got IT students to think about what their responsibilities as IT professionals would be and how technology impacted on their clients and people in society. The students had to go beyond the classroom and talk to people who were using IT for the betterment of humanity. That’s how I found out about Rangan’s aim for OLPC. He said the subject gave him a framework to start thinking more clearly about what he was trying to do, which I thought was really nice.

I’ve always had an interest in the ‘digital divide’. One of my colleagues, Professor Toni Robertson, had the idea that we should open up IT as a field of study for Indigenous Australians via a policy and an active program. I think we only had one Indigenous student in IT – the one Indigenous student studying at UTS at the time. Most universities didn’t even have one! Now I’m the IT liaison with Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning and provide support to six students enrolled in the IT Indigenous Participation Program.

My commitment to this area began when the reconciliation movement started in the late 1990s. At that point I joined the Eastern Suburbs Organisation for a Reconciled Australia. There are lots of things wrong with society, but that issue meant the most to me. I can’t really live in this country without doing something to improve the lives of Aboriginal Australians; we’ve taken their land and we’re now enjoying its fruits.

I think there’s a lack of Indigenous role models in the IT industry. They tend to look at all the wonderful role models in law, education and business and follow those paths. We’ve been able to slowly make some achievements; we’ve had five graduates and we’ll have another this year. It sounds very small but that’s better than any other university in Australia as far as we’re aware.

Education seems to be a good way of improving Indigenous people’s lifestyle, income and health outcomes. I’m really passionate about doing my part to help. I do some work in a Cape York community and kids at the school have got the gorgeous little XO laptops, so I’ve seen it on the ground. Rangan’s doing such a good job and he’s only 27 – he doesn’t need my lectures anymore.