User:Mikelee

I manage the OLPC Learning Club which meets monthly in the Washington, D.C. area. Consisting primarily of first-round G1G1 users, the group attracts kids, teens, parents, adult enthusiasts and even seniors. We meet on the third Saturday of every month at the Gallaudet University Student Academic Center or the Arlington Career Center. There are also random meetups, salons and parties.

My day job is at AARP Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where I am one of the directors of the team that operates the public web site AARP.org. Part of my job involves acting as AARP's liaison to the MIT Media Lab where we are a sponsor. That's how I came to know Walter Bender and Nicholas Negroponte and followed their move to OLPC.

I live in Wheaton, Maryland, just north of the D.C. beltway with my wife Amy and daughter Cianna. My wife loves technology too and worked recently as a web director at KaBoom! which builds playgrounds all over the U.S. Cianna (born Nov. 2003), when presented with a lineup of laptops consisting of the Asus Eee PC, Intel Classmate 2 and the OLPC XO-1 said, "I like the green one!"

My OLPC-related Projects

• During the summer of 2013, helped launch the grassroots organization Unleash Kids. Specifically worked with Sparkfun Electronics on making their Protosnap Pro Mini Arduino board compatible with the XO-4 Touch laptop and launched a series of Google Hangouts On Air to celebrate OLPC/olpc volunteers around the world.

• As part of a USAID / World Vision All Children Reading Challenge Grant, traveled to Lusaka, Zambia to train a group of youths at the Ngwerere Lubuto Library on advanced Squeak Etoys authoring techniques. Photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouslee/sets/72157632781888368/

• Co-organized Scratch Day 2010 in Arlington, VA

• Provided consultation to software producers from LEGO Education on implementing a robotics product on the XO laptop.

• Collaborating with Jane Meyers of the Lubuto Library Project on ongoing deployment of XO laptops in the project's physical library buildings in Zambia. This initiative has been funded by the Gates Foundation through eIFL.

• Operated OLPC & Sugar Labs advocacy booth at the TedX MidAtlantic 2009 conference in Baltimore.

• Supported the OLPC Community Book Sprint 2009, Sept 6-11 at Gallaudet University.

• • I made an unsolicited poster for the event. On Flickr: Thumbnail image, Full Resolution.

• Co-founded Sugar Labs DC with Jeff Elkner and Kevin Cole Sugar Labs DC. Sugar Labs DC released a beta of, TimeLapse, its first activity, in January 2010.

• Organized Sugar Labs and OLPC presence at NECC 2009 Open Source Playground and NECC Unplugged

• Co-organized Scratch Day 2009 in Arlington, VA

• Conducted usability evaluation of NASA Etoys in Space Activities

• Helped to develop and deploy inter-generational curriculum for 20 XOs during summer and fall 2008 for Generations, Inc. in Boston, MA.

• Assisted Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategy Labs and board member of the Greater DC Cares foundation, during summer 2008 to deploy 7 XOs at Washington Math Science Technology Public Charter School in DC.

• Running the OLPC Learning Club - DC community information booth at the 31st Takoma Park Folk Festival September 14, 2008

• Testing commercially available power solutions including a variety of power adapters, solar panels and the Freeplay Weza

• LEGO Viewfinder for the XO

• XOView Viewfinder for the XO (in collaboration with Phil Carrizzi)

• Camera Periscope for the XO (in alpha stage)

• OLPC-themed Moo Cards

• OLPC-themed Moo Stickers

• OLPC LC-DC Photo Jam

• OLPC Grassroots Jam NYC

• Have done presentations on the XO at embassies in D.C. and on Capital Hill for Nicholas.

You can email me at

• curiouslee [at] gmail [dot] com

• mikelee [at] laptop [dot] org

• mike [at] dc.sugarlabs [dot] org

• mslee [at] aarp [dot] org

You can find me online at

• Sugar Labs User Page: Mikelee

• Friendfeed

• Flickr

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Tumblr

• LinkedIn

• AARP Profile

• TypePad Blog (dormant)

• Posterous Blog (dormant)