XO Teachers

This is a page for questions and ideas about how to work with XOs or sugar emulators in a classroom. The letter at the bottom describes some further questions to answer.

Ideas for teachers

Ideas for classroom materials and support

What kinds of materials would be helpful for you to have in your classroom? Training manuals? Lesson plans? Examples of activities from other OLPC classrooms?

Sample activities/lesson plans

• The ability to change the programming language using Squeak should allow children to learn math and science concepts through play.

Draw

• Use the draw to be able to create and predict the way forces, tension, affect structures.
• The drawing program can be adapted to structural design creating virtual bridges and models that will lead to building models from the simple designs. Virtual play-->hands-on representation. A virtual house could be planned and then a model constructed of sticks, leaves, shells, and other natural materials

Support for Teachers

• Examples of interactive lessons posted on Teacher Tube—videos showing activities—for teachers not used to using technology, they will need to move beyond the Explore process. Internet Access will allow them to view video where language will not be a barrier.
• Extension Activities to use the laptops as springboards for more hands-on learning. Just as students played and programmed the Logo Turtle, the follow-up activities included the students themselves pretending to be the turtle and walking and turning through the commands.

Ideas for information about other pilot programs

What kind of information would you like to have about other pilot programs? Ideas for activities? News and reports? Photos and videos from other classrooms? Ways to ask questions and share advice?

• Profiles. Kids take self-portraits with their XO, and write about their favorite thing about their laptop.
• The XO map. Where are all the other users? Where are the developers?
• A syndicated blog of individual blogs like OLPC Ceibal

Ideas for collaboration between pilot programs

How would you like to be linked to classrooms around the world? Through a map? Through a blog? Through a wiki? Or not at all?

I would like to suggest that XO developers, if any have time and are so inclined, check out the interactive maps used by The Journey North project at www.learner.org/jnorth. This may be a good direction for XO classroom linking. My school district totally blocks all blogs and most wikis. But they do not block the interactive maps, which provide information about the schools that are participating in the Journey North project. My elementary school students get quite excited to see the different locations around the country (and world) that are participating. I suppose people could include e-mail addresses within the info they post about their school's profile. Then at least the teachers, if not the students, could communicate directly (student e-mail is also blocked in my district). If anyone out there reading this wants to communicate with me, I can be reached at home at lowellave@msn.com or at school at muellerdj@butte.k12.mt.us. Debbie Mueller Butte, Montana

Ideas for support

And in terms of support, what kind of resources would you like to see from the OLPC development team? A technical contact? A way to ask for help? Something else?

• Discussion/support forum of some sort -- or syndication of many individual fora (note the different mailing lists)
• OLPC-specific Education networks

Letter to XO Teachers

Hi, my name is Lauren, and I've just joined OLPC for the summer. During the year, I teach at Queens College, part of the City University of New York. But for now, my big project is to work on ways to support you-- the teachers involved in OLPC pilot programs around the world.

I'd like to begin by learning as much as I can about how you use the laptops in your classrooms, and how the project is going so far. What's worked well? What's been difficult? What activities and uses are you particularly proud of? And is there anything that you're excited about for the future? I would love to hear from you!

Best, Lauren

PS: Eventually, I'd like to think about ways to share ideas for activities and lessons, and ways to share advice between teachers and with the OLPC development team. I would also love to hear your thoughts on this. You can email me, or you can add your ideas directly to the OLPCWiki: XO_Teachers#Ideas_for_classroom_materials_and_support

Hi, I am an educator in the us and work with low income children. Are there others out there that see the need to integrate this project domestically. I understand that the poverty I see is dwarfed by that in other areas but I still see the need here. It is very exciting and wonderful to see so many smart and passionate people working on this.

Hi, Lauren: Jane Krauss here, from Eugene, Oregon. I'm excited to participate in a community of practice around teaching with and teaching about the XO. I am an education writer and curriculum and technology coach. I am putting together an XO group in the NING professional network called Classroom 2.0 I hope we can contribute and learn in this wiki space as well. Re: Your P.S. above, I am very interested in sharing ideas with the OLPC dev team. I'd like to email you, can't see your address. jane.krauss@gmail.com

Hi, I am a 6th Grade Math teacher in Trenton, NJ. I have just been offered a donation of 50 XO laptops for my children and I hope to receive them in January. I am very excited about using these computers in class but I am also very nervous. If anyone is currently using these computers and is willing to let me know how its going, please send me an email. Thanks! Dan - mullar89@students.rowan.edu

Hi, I am a parent co-oper teaching in the 4th grade of the Open Classroom (a public charter school in Salt Lake City, see www.ocslc.org) and just did a g1g1 to give my daughter an XO for Christmas, with the idea of getting some hands on experience myself and looking into trying to get a classroom full of XOs for use in the school. But it's not clear to me if it will even be possible to have ongoing availability for use here in the US. bboyes'at'systronix'dot'com