OLPCorps Carnegie Mellon/Teachers' College/Williams College Kenya

Letter of Support Media:olpc_kenya.doc

Team Members

Technical Lead: Nick Doiron, Carnegie Mellon University

Pedagogical Lead: Ariella Goodman, Teachers' College, Columbia University

Logistical Lead: Claire Hsu, Williams College

OLPCorps Proposal

Problem Definition

Computer education remains absent from the educational experience of the children of Magongo, Kenya. All of the grades in the three public primary schools in the area (Bomu, Mwijabu and Kwahola) have no computer education. There is only one Internet café in the area, but there are too few computers for the amount of children interested in taking computer education classes.

Breadth and Scope of the Problem

The problem seems to be pervasive among the three public schools in the area. Although families generally do see the benefits in computer education for children, they cannot afford the costs of training at the local Internet café. The local community does realize that computer education can in fact transform the educational experience of young students. Therefore, this program will focus on primary school children, which is the group on which computer science education is bound to have the most decisive impact.

Gravity of the Problem

Children in primary schools are not only receiving poor quality education, they are also not learning basic critical thinking skills, structures of knowledge, and are constantly seeing no purpose in a system of certified education that can ensure no job security.

Program Goals

This program seeks to foster the learning skills that can be developed through computer education (but that can be applied to all academic and non-academic disciplines) by opening a computer classroom in the Mombasa Olympic Youth Organization’s (MOYO) community center, which is located just a few steps from Bomu Primary School. Bomu is the largest of them, with a student population of over two thousand and less than thirty teachers who must teach with less than 4 students per textbook. With few resources to achieve the national standards for education, children in Magongo need desperate assistance to learn the material to pass their courses. We shall use OLPC's XO laptops to supplement the knowledge attained by students in the classroom so that they may be prepared to take the Kenyan Primary School Exams.

Duration of the Program

Our goal is to sustain this program throughout the expected 5-year lifespan of the laptops. As laptops break down, they will be stored and used for replacement parts on the other laptops.

Breadth and Scope of the Program

Location: The project will take place at the Mombasa Olympic Youth Organization’s community center, which already has electricity and Internet access.Bokey Glad's House Frequency: Four times a week. A member of the Mombasa Olympic Youth Organization shall receive training to conduct four classes a week, with each class instructing 20-25 students. Number of Students: Between 80 and 100 will enroll in the program each session. This is an arbitrary number, since once the program grows in popularity more children will enroll. But for the first few months of the program, it is a fair educated guess. We expect each session to last approximately one semester, with a new set of students being instructed during the 1st semester, the 2nd semester, and the summer vacation.

Program Outputs

Targeted skills

This program will seek to make the children who enroll in the program:

• Learn basic computer skills;
• Supplement their classroom learning so they will be prepared to excel on the Kenya Primary School Exams.
• See the value of learning through an immediately gratifying learning environment, in which they will be able both to play and acquire new knowledge and skills;
• Feel accompanied by their tutors, and feel comfortable to learn in a hostility-free and very friendly environment.

Project Management:

Participating Organizations: Education Without Boundaries (EWB) [1], MOYO, OLPC and the Bomu Primary School. OLPC will provide the XO laptops and school server. EWB will provide supplementary funds and project management. Fredrick Achola, the director of MOYO, will provide on the ground support by providing the space for the program, overseeing instructors, and assessing program effectiveness. MOYO shall also hire instructors who shall undergo training in computers.

Type of Program

The program combines a training component (the computer education workshops per se) and a creative application component.

Training Component: The instructor shall conduct four workshops once a week for two hours each session. The teacher will provide computer science education for three age groups (grades 1-3, 4-6, and 7-8). The training component shall last for the first 1.5 months, with students learning typing skills, Internet usage, and blogging.

Creative Application Component: For the remaining 2 months, students shall apply these skills into creating a blog that shall be shared with sister primary schools in the United States. Students will be able to blog about topics of interest (school, family, health, sports). The sister school program shall be arranged through EWB. Students wil form pen pal relationships and perhaps video chat with the center's existing computer. The hope is that this communication will initiate cross-cultural learning.

Ancillary

Project Ideas

Writing Independently and Collaboratively

Writing independently helps students develop confidence in their language skills. Students will be encouraged to write to present their ideas and tell about their experiences and dreams for the future. Students would also collaborate on reports for valuable teamwork skills.

PenPals

Connections have been made with appropriate schools in the United States. Students at these schools would be paired with a Kenyan student of the same age. The computers at the internet cafe may be used for a video chat between pen pals.

Interviews

The XO Laptop's Record application allows students to apply typing, writing, and blogging skills with to become student journalists. Students would conduct interviews and report their findings in their blogs.

Mapping

A "community map" can be made with collaborative use of the Paint application to make map sections. Students can then create text placemarks and embed photos onto the map canvas. The goal is not to make an "accurate" map, but a fun and creative project to share their community with the outside world. The Google Maps API (JavaScript) with custom tiles is suitable for this application.

Technical Details

• We will look into HTTP caching and other techniques to save bandwidth
• Our technical lead has an XO laptop, has experience programming it, and can program and test before deployment
• Any custom web applications will be hosted on Google AppEngine
  • Free hosting of 500MB and around 5 million pageviews a month (well over our needs)
  • Willing to share apps with other OLPCorps teams
• XO-sized video player and search with YouTube API - example