OLPC United States
United States
| Country Information | |
| ISO Country Code | US |
| Wikipedia Article | Wikipedia Link |
| Government Support | Low and OLPC Priority |
| Deployment | Wide adoption (over 5000 machines) |
| Languages | |
| Keyboard Layout | US Layout |
| Written | English (en) |
| Spoken | English (en) |
| Secondary Written | None |
| Secondary Spoken | None |
The United States (U.S.) presents a special case to OLPC deployments.
- Most software is initially localized to the United States and so requires no additional localization.
- Most laptops deployed in the United States are from the 2007 and 2008 Give One, Get One programs and not from school or government programs.
- The U.S. spends significantly more than many countries on education and has been a lower priority for deployment.
- Each of the fifty United States, plus associated territories, has great discretion on which tools it uses for education.
News and Rumors
- 9 Jan 2008 The OLPC announced the foundation of a group, OLPC America, to bring XO laptops to American students. Details are unavailable until a launch later in 2008.
- 28 April 2007 United States entered the list of 'green' countries, according to an article of the unofficial OLPC News. Also mentioned in by Walter Bender in an email post.
3. OLPC added a new country this week: the USA. This move will engage a wider developer community, impacting and improving software and content. Please note that such a move into schools and learning in the USA is not necessarily a commercial machine.
Deployments and Trials
A prerequisite for wider deployment in the States is better compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Give One, Get One (G1G1)
The 2007 Give One, Get One Program allowed people in the United States and some other areas to purchase laptops from the OLPC Foundation at cost in return for donating a laptop for a deployment to be named later. About 80,000 units were purchased in the United States with a matching number earmarked for future deployments outside the country (cite?). Logistics marred the program's success causing delayed deliveries and far more support calls than anticipated.
Government and Official Groups
- OLPC America will be the official organization within the OLPC Foundation providing support to U.S. deployments.
- The OLPC Foundation is located in the United States.
States and Territories
US Virgin Islands - Waveplace
- Note the the Virgin Islands is a United States 'territory' not a state. This leads it to have an alternate ISO country code, VI
- April 2008 - Waveplace completed a 10 week Virgin Islands (US) pilot with the Guy Benjamin school's 4th grade class. (Movies include scenes from pilot, student presentations)
Alabama
- November 2007 - Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford announced plans to purchase 15,000 XO laptops for Birmingham schools. The district has about 28,000 students. See OLPC Birmingham
- April 2008 - The Birmingham Board of Education and Birmingham City Council approved a pilot of 1,000 units. This is expected to include the 762 Glen Iris Elementary School students. Pictures of the council meeting can found from this article. The city has agreed to purchase 15,000 XO laptops for $300,000 USD. It is unclear what happens to these laptops if the pilot fails, and there is some pressure for the city to hold a competitive bid.
- Birmingham also hosts an active user's group and a repair center.
California
- July 6, 2007 rumor that assemblyman Ira Ruskin has a bill to fund a pilot project to encourage use of Free Textbooks in CA junior colleges.
Georgia
- Some rumors that Georgia had a program requiring some sort of laptop, followed by several students denying such.
Maine
- Said to have program requiring conventional notebooks in schools.
- Said to have a program using Apple iBooks.
Massachussetts
- Mitt Romney, then Massachusetts governor, proposed giving every middle and high-school student an XO in 2003. The proposal did not pass the legislature.
User groups and Unoffical Groups
- There are many, many regional groups. See Regional_community_groups#USA or the OLPCNews forum to find a local one.
- There are various unaffiliated groups promoting OLPC in the United States. Waveplace is one that is actually running pilot projects. One is Earth_Treasury, which is at an earlier stage.