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Overview

SPC and OLPC in PNG are partnering in a testing and pilot phase with various actors ranging from government to the faith-based education system working on several projects. Following recent announcements from the government embracing OLPC, OLPC is looking to convene a Partners Group Roundtable seminar in Port Moresby in late January 2009.

Key links

Trials in PNG

Deployments in PNG, facilited by SPC, commenced in June 2008 at the following sites:

Gaire, Central Province
Dreikikir, East Sepik Province

Two classes of one grade (Grade 3) plus teachers received the laptops and some training in June 2008. In November we finally got back to the schools to make immediate plans to complete the rest of the grades and teachers, and conduct more training. This was also an opportunity to get some good feedback on how the children and teachers were progressing, notwithstanding the need for more training. A report will be posted here in early Dec.

Click any picture to enlarge:

Location of PNG
Location of Gaire
Location of Drekikir

These schools are planned but no progress yet as of Nov 2008:

Buka, Bougainville Province
St Peters, a large primary school in Port Moresby

PNG Sustainable Development will self fund a programme of up to 11 schools, including Kisap (Western Highlands), schools in North Fly (Western Province) and Telefomin district north of the OK Tedi mining area. They are putting PGK 1m (USD 350,000) of community development funds held in trust into the project, which will start in early 2009.

Early indications and feedback

Click here for feedback from Gaire and Dreikikir, November 2008

Contacts

Dr Joseph Pagelio, Secretary, Department of Education, PO Box 446, Waigani NCD Phone: 301 3447 Fax: 323 1031
Brian Gaius Monie, Senior Policy Development Officer, Dept of Education (email: brian_monie AT educationpng.gov.pg or bgm0077 AT gmail.com)
David Leeming, OLPC Coordinator, Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Ian Thomson, RICS and OLPC Project Manager, Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Michael Hutak, Director, OLPC Oceania, +61 412 001 052

Content and Localisation

Localization projects have been opened on the OLPC Pootle server for Tok Pisin language (PNG Pidgin)

Wikipedia Tok Pisin link

News

PNG adopts One Laptop Per Child initiative (Nov 2008)

One laptop per child concept accepted by PNG

The Prime Minister of Papua Niugini has accepted the One Laptop per Child project for the children of his children. This was announced on Radio Pacific News on Tuesday morning and according to his statement, the OLPC project will be rolled out over several years at a cost of several million dollars. He also noted that Niue is already taking part in the OLPC (one laptop per child) project for all 500 of their school children.

Youtube Video

Youtube of Dreikikir deployment

Gaire

Gaire is located about 45 minutes drive from Port Moresby. It is the site of a rural community VSAT access point, set up under the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)'s Pacific Rural Internet Connectivity System (Pacific RICS) project. Gaire Primary School is located at 9.6698S, 147.4086E (WGS84), sea level.

June 13th 2008: 53 laptops distributed to both streams of the Grade 3 saturated (Grade 3 is the first grade in the PNG primary education system).

None of the children have any experience of computers before. Of the teachers, only the Principal and one or two others are computer literate.

See latest photos!

Dreikikir

Dreikikir Admin Primary School is located in East Sepik Province, near Wewak. This school is participating in the EU-funded Improvement of Rural Primary Education Facilities (IRPEF) project, based in Madang. The IRPEF is collaborating with the Department of Education and OLPC Oceania to implement the trial.

Dreikikir is located at 3.57516S, 142.76946E at altitude 380m.

Report for the Dreikikir trial deployment

This trial was started between 16th - 20th June 2008.

View the report by clicking here

Web resources for Dreikikir

Official website of the Ambunti-Dreikikir Electorate, Hon. Tony Aimo MP: [1]

Some pictures of the Drekikir region can be seen here: [2]

Other Resources for Dreikikir

Download Dreikikir data Spreadsheet of teachers and students names and positions with serial numbers of laptops. (ods format for Open Office)

Two videos were made of the deployment (300MB each). Contact Ian or David.

Useful links for PNG

Wikipedia Papua New Guinea link

Photo Gallery

Click any picture to enlarge:

Latest

These pictures taken in November 2008

Gaire: Training students and teachers for a demonstration at Parliament
Gaire: Training students and teachers for a demonstration at Parliament
Don Bosco Technology Institute (DBTI): David awarding training certificates to DBTI staff
SPC's David Leeming training DBTI staff
DBTI: trained staff with certificates
Yenkena Primary school (North Fly) teachers and students first look at the XO. Remote area in Western Province
Rain forest around remote Yenkena school extends for 100s of km in all directions
Kisap School, Banz, W. Highlands: PNGSDP Director Lawrence Stephens with teachers
Kisap School, Banz, W. Highlands
Dreikikir: students with examples of materials they have printed from XO photos
Dreikikir: Graduation photos taken on the XOs and printed
Local language PDF readers produced by primary school teachers and published for the XO by the SIL people
More locally produced content

Initial deployment June 2008

Gaire: Each child receives an XO
Gaire: Opening the laptops
Discovery.....(Gaire)
Gaire: Within the first hour, there is much activity...
Gaire: Memorise activity
Gaire: Teachers training
Teachers of Gaire Primary School
Dreikikir Admin Primary School
Two Guardians of Dreikikir Admin Primary School
Dreikikir: Two girls absorbed by the XO
Dreikikir: Training in groups outside
Dreikikir: Boys using Paint, Speak and Record during training
Dreikikir: Training in the classroom
Dreikikir: Teacher Training
Dreikikir: Teacher Training
Dreikikir: Minister arriving for the official launching
Dreikikir: Education Minister and MP for Ambunti-Dreikikir, Hon. Tony Aimo arriving for the official launching
Dreikikir: Brian Gaius Monie, Senior Policy Development Officer, Dept of Education speaking at the hand-over ceremony
Dreikikir: Joseph Ouyoumb, Provincial Education Advisor, East Sepik
Dreikikir: Chris Sangisi, Standard Officer, Dreikikir District
Dreikikir: People from the Dreikikir community at the hand-over ceremony
Dreikikir: Handing over laptops to Grade 3 students
Dreikikir: Handing over laptops to Grade 3 students
Dreikikir: Got laptops!
Dreikikir: Dancing at the official opening
Dreikikir: Dancing at the hand over ceremony
Dreikikir: Puppet dancing show at the hand over ceremony
Dreikikir: Welcome to the hand over ceremony