OLPCities
The project "OLPCities" is open source and modular. Anybody can create a free available "house" having an address (it's really a webpage that can be at any web server, not the same of the "OLPCity" having this "home") and somebody can create an "OLPCity" and include the "houses" they like. If the "house" was created in english, you can make a french version, by example, for your french "OLPCité". A "house" contains an activity; can be a game (educational or not), can be an article about some subject etc. etc. Like we have a prototype running NOW you will understand better our idea soon. Wait a little, read a little more...
The project target is the creation of an interface having the style of the GameBoy from Nintendo (using orthogonal 3D like "Zelda", "Mario Bros." etc.) where the kid's avatar (there are some, to choose one) will "walk" in "streets" of the OLPCity , founding many "activities".
If you know:
- 1 - a little of programming;
- 2 - a little of design;
- 3 - a little of some interesting subject
or if you can create a group having these skills, you can create a "home" or a complete "OLPCity".
It's possible to go from an OLPCity to other OLPCity using a "Portal". You can do this in the prototype available NOW.
The system has "auto-save". If a kid set off his laptop when he is at the address X of the city, when he comes back, he will be at this address X.
The project is in alpha phase and we have now only a brazilian (language = portuguese) version having more or less 10 activities implemented in the areas of: Social Studies, History, English vocabulary etc. We hope that YOU can help us (better to say "to help the kids of poor countries") creating "houses" or complete "OLPCities". If you doesn't have a webserver to publish it you can send it to us and we will publish it for you. We hope that the "OLPC project" will have available a web server for the OLPCities...
The project uses JavaScript (tested at the OLPC simulator) and is customized for the OLPC laptop, but can be accessed by any kid having a PC and an internet conection.
A "home" can be also created using Squeak and its plugin (I repeat: a "house" is only a webpage).
We will put here, at this Wiki, some lessons about how to use specific JavaScript libraries that support the project. And details about the architecture of the application.
A "home" can be integrated with a database at a remote server and we can, by example, capture the opinions of the kids about some questions and publish the results in realtime. This 2nd tier can be created using ASP .NET or Java Servlets or PHP etc. It's available now, at our alpha version, an research of opinions about the next brasilian presidential election. You can vote, if you like :-)
"ALPHACity Brasil" is the name of our alpha prototype and it's NOW on line. It was tested using the simulator of Fedora+Sugar+web browser (last image available) for Windows and for the Internet Explorer, but we believe that it can be accessed by any browser.
At the figure we see (at the OLPC simulator) an activity of History, where tha avatar needs to "talk" to some characters. The "date" is the year 3000 A.C !
There are now, at the prototype, some Squeak on line exercices that only can be accessed by the Internet Explorer and if there are installed the Squeak plugin. You can download this plugin going to the Squeakland site. We hope to have soon a new "image" Fedora+Sugar+web browser having this plugin available, for real tests.
We are publishing (AVAILABLE NOW!) a daily newspaper, the "JORNAL DE ALPHACity" (at the figure), created for kids between 8 to 18 years, having explanations of some subjects for their better understandment of the context of the notices.
The address to go to ALPHACity is http://www.dmu.com/olpc You can go there NOW! I know that it's not easy to understand portuguese, but you can take a general look.
To "walk" use the arrow keys. If the avatar goes near an icon that is an OLPC laptop, occurs a link to a "normal" web page - that can be the "JORNAL DE ALPHACity" or another thing. At this web page there are another icon to be clicked, to return to the orthogonal 3D environment.
At the second "house" of the prototype there are a game and an explanation about a "brazilian religion" whoose name is "Candomblé". You need to go inside the house and talk to the "mae de santo". When you go out, begins a game. Only after to gain the game - the avatar needs to make contact with all the static balls and avoid the contact with the "black ball" - the avatar can go to the next "house".
At the 3th. "house" there are a game about english -portuguese vocabulary. You need to click the correct pairs to go ahead.
At the 4th "house" you can vote for brazilian president. You can see the actual results. There are, at this "house", a "Time-Space Portal" that will transport you to the year 3000 A.C. After "to talk" with all the characters, the "Time-Space Portal" will open again and you can return to the present.
And etc. etc.
Comentaries and ideas? You can use this Wiki (discussion).
And now, let´s go to the tutorials about how you (knowing programing) can create YOUR OLPCity. The first lesson is at: