Getting Started for Impatient People

Getting Started for Really Impatient People

By Christine Murakami

NOTE: The contents of this page are not set in stone, and are subject to change! This page is a draft in active flux ... Please leave suggestions on the talk page.

Get an XO. There are a variety of ways you can accomplish this:

• Buy one on eBay
• Write a brief proposal to allow you to get one for free directly from OLPC: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Contributors_program/Project_proposal_form
• Post your project on the "Donate Your Get One" wiki and hope that someone will support your project: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Donate_Your_Get_One
• Ask around – you might know someone who has one from the original Give One Get One program.
• If you get one XO for yourself first, and find you like it and want to move forward with a deployment of any size, you can continue to collect or purchase XOs as described in the previous bullets, or, OLPC may sell blocks of 100 computers (for approximately $20,000). You may have the ability to raise funds to purchase a whole block.

Learn how to use your XO. The following pages can help you with this:

• http://laptop.org/start/
• http://teach.laptop.org/~holt/laptoporg-refresh/10.2.0/gettingstarted/index.shtml (DRAFT)
• http://openetherpad.org/T7xDlqMHGq (DRAFT)

Look at other people's projects and learn about the myriad ways you can have a successful deployment project:

• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/ClassActs/Resources
• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Projects

Learn how to troubleshoot and maintain the XO. The following pages can help you with this.

• http://support.laptop.org
• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Troubleshooting_Guide
• Live help from volunteers, if you are patient: http://forum.laptop.org/chat
• Or, you can contact the "Support Gang" for help: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Support_Gang
• You can also contact one of the repair centers to get your computer(s) repaired: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Repair_center_locations

Find a community that is interested in receiving the laptop donation. There are as many ways to do this as there are projects. Following are some considerations and ideas to get you started:

• Consider where you know people. There may be a community that is interested in working with you.
• Look at the "Donate Your Get One" wiki and contact some of the project to see if they are interested in working with you.
• Ask around. You might know an immigrant family who can connect you with their homeland.
• If you travel, consider working with people you meet on your travels.

Prepare to work with teachers

• It is critical that you know how to work with teachers, since, in most instances, they will be the ones to carry your community forward with the laptops after you leave. An excellent list of things to consider when working with teachers can be found here: ADD CHRISTOPH'S TEN THINGS FOR WORKING WITH TEACHERS HERE

Prepare lessons/decide what you'll teach

• Sugar is the operating system. It works differently than anything you’ve experienced before, so spend some time learning how to do simple things like quitting a program and how to use the journal. There is a really useful list of “Ten Things you should know about Sugar” that you can find at http://www.olpcnews.com/use_cases/technology/10_things_you_should_know_about_sugar.html This page also includes a link to a list of things to cover if you are teaching Sugar.
• “Activities” is the Sugar word for “applications.” There are dozens if not hundreds of activities available for download. The list keeps growing. Check http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activities for the current options.
• There is an excellent book (in PDF format) that describes what you can do with the XO in a classroom. It is filled with graphics and great ideas for easy ways to incorporate the XO and various activities into learning. The book can be found at http://etoysillinois.org/files/The-XO-Laptop-in-the-Classroom.pdf

Final Advice before you go

• There is an excellent list of practical advice on things to consider before you travel. Not overwhelming at all, it points out things like customs, power, repairs, and other things to “know before you go.” http://web.me.com/seanlaurence/olpc/classact.html

Want more information?

Please check the more complete document describing small deployments that you’ll find at this link:

• http://www.paiwastoon.af/PAIWASTOON-AF-PlugNPray-Guide.odt