OLPCorps UIUC SaoTome

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Who what when where

Project summary

Students from the University of Illinois propose to implement the OLPC project Summer 2009 on the island country of São Tomé e Príncipe. The team is currently envisioned to have four computer-savvy undergraduate students who have participated in service learning activities in the United States; some have international experience as well.

In addition to the internship team, University of Illinois staff will provide logistical support during their stay on the island as part of a larger scholarship of engagement project (see http://saotomeproject.wordpress.com for further details on the University projects occurring in collaboration with the São Toméan community). Further, several University students, as part of a service learning course project, will work with the Teachers College in São Tomé to set up a computer lab for the college and to help integrate technology, including XO laptops, and informatics into the curriculum (see http://courseweb.lis.uiuc.edu/~mwolske/lis451/).

Team members

Team members are undergraduate students at the University of Illinois who are minoring in informatics, a discipline devoted to applied computer science and the effect of information technology on people. These students also have a strong interest in helping African communities by helping build computing infrastructure and training people to effectively use computers as tools of empowerment.

• Project lead Corey Jackson, International Studies major, Informatics minor, BS 2010

Corey has worked in youth recreational programs for the Chicago Park District. At Illinois, he has served as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and Volunteer Illini Projects, the University's community service organization. He manages databases and writes computer applications for the University's Office of Minority Student Affars. He has spent time in China and France and speaks French.

• Infrastructure lead Michael Stein, Urban Planning major, Informatics minor, BS 2010

Michael will use his experience, owning and working in a computer repair shop in suburban Chicago, to help set up and manage the server, repair existing computer labs on the island, and train teachers and children on XO laptop use. He will also use his photography skills to integrate geotagged photos that can be integrated into a digital map for an Illinois-led community mapping project on the island. Michael is section leader of the drum line in the Illinois marching band.

• Education lead Jennifer Regan, Political Science major, Informatics minor, BS 2010

Jennifer has been a 4-H staff member in Illinois for five years, where she taught science-related activities and was a counselor for girls ages 8-11. She has studied the African diaspora and has taken African history courses as college electives. She has also volunteered for her church's AfriShare program, coordinating donations to their sister parish in Uganda. She has had some exposure to Portuguese.

• Technical lead Chika Umeadi, Political Science major, Informatics minor, BS 2010

Chika works for Aministrative Information Technology Services, the university's administrative computer services support organization, as a technology consultant. He was born in Nigeria and speaks French. <<Waiting to hear from Chika for more

Dates

June 8 - August 7, 2009

Where

This project will take place on the Luso-African island of São Tomé, the larger of the two islands that comprise Africa's smallest country, São Tomé e Príncipe. It is located in the Atlanic about 200 miles northeast of Gabon. About 140,000 people live on the 386 square mile island, and the official language is Portuguese. The project will involve the distribution of XO laptops to urban and rural locations throughout São Tomé, in each of its six counties.

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Partner organizations

• StepUp NGO based in São Tomé e Príncipe devoted to the principles of self-help development.

• Illinois Informatics Institute Academic unit at Illinois that offers the minor in informatics, which all team members are pursuing along with their majors.

• Graduate School of Library and Information Science Academic unit at Illinois that participates in community informatics programs in São Tomé. Their staff will provide support for this project.

• University of Illinois Student team members are undergraduates at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Letters of support

• Letter of support from StepUp

• Who else? Judy wrote one on behalf of I3 for John

750 Word Proposal

How will we work with children?

The local participants of the project will be girls ages 9-12 years. The distribution of the laptops will be blended among urban and rural populations. University student team members will collaborate in part with the University’s youth community informatics project in the United States (see http://yci.illinois.edu for project examples and potential curriculum), a project that seeks to actively engage youth in their communities to take on the issues that affect them the most. As such, training will focus both on essential computer literacy skills as well as experiential learning as citizen scientists/journalists. As citizen scientists, girls will further develop critical inquiry skills and learn scientific research tools and methods, including geographic information systems, through engaged exploration to help bring about positive change in their community. Further, some São Toméan girls will be given the opportunity to work with University researchers as collaborators to study and help their community meet community goals as action researchers. As journalists they will be taught essential interview and storytelling skills using projects that encourage them to interview their elders, create written and multimedia oral histories, and tell about the rich history and present situations of their country, communities and members.

The children are in school until mid-July. School is held in the morning. The first month of implementation will take place in the afternoons. Once school has been dismissed for the year (mid-July) the training will be offered in the morning as well. How will you make contact with children who don't attend school? Will contact/interest change when schools lets out?

Who is our local partner?

Our local partner in São Tomé will be the NGO StepUp (http://www.stepup.st/). This NGO works with grassroots organizations to develop and facilitate projects aimed at community development. The organization has a history of project implementation and has full support from the national government. The director of StepUp is the former Peace Corps director in Sao Tome and has lived there for over ten years.

How will this impact 6-12 year old children?

São Tomé, like the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, has few resources to devote to technology or computer literacy. These laptops will enhance their education and provide new avenues for learning. This will be particularly evident in the rural (plantation) areas where the quality of educational is significantly less than the urban centers. As in the São Tomé cultural lexicon, “everyone is my cousin,” these laptops will be shared with other children. In São Tomé 48% of the population is under the age of 14. Many young girls in São Tomé do not advance beyond primary school because of responsibilities in the home. Since the targeted group is part of StepUp’s educational program the laptop computers will encourage parents to allow their daughters to advance in school. [WHY? is there some history of local support for StepUp that is more important than the daughters staying home? How will this training change the fact that they are needed at home?]

How will we provide financial support after we leave?

StepUp and the University of Illinois will provide future support of the project. StepUp will monitor the usage and provide additional training. They will continue to provide financial support for the educational advancement of this group of girls. The University of Illinois sends teams annually to São Tomé. The students and faculty participate in service learning projects based on technology and informatics. OLPC will be incorporated into future projects with university students providing maintenance support and teaching these girls additional applications of technology that can be used as tools to improve their lives. The intent is to follow these girls through young adulthood and build on their knowledge base and how the laptops are incorporated into their lives.

Communication

The primary language of São Tomé is Portuguese with French spoken by many of the citizens. Team members will take a two-week intensive primer of Portuguese. Some University staff who will be in São Tomé working on other projects during this time have been there before and and some have proficiency in Portuguese. Staff at StepUp who will be participating in the project speak English well and will be traveling as part of the team.