OLPC Oceania/Deployment
Contents
Deployment guide
WORK IN PROGRESS
This is a guide to the implementation of the initial 8-country trials. The various strategies described here will be padded out as we gain experience.
Preparation
Host projects
In these initial trials we are
Political approval
- SPC gets initial approval
- Brief Ministry and Minister on arrival, involve key divisions, get their support
- Brief provincial/district education departments and get participation
- Brief Ministry of Information/Communications and telecoms authorities
- National steering group or task force with subcommittees (TOR)
Shipping
Local support
- local project officers, Policy Dept, Curriculum, Teacher Training, School Inspectors, provincial and district education officers
- local NGOs, academic institutions, champions
- logistical support ensured. Find out what resources the Ministry has available – I.e. Can they provide domestic transport and miscellaneous costs (this should be encouraged).
- Help Ministry officials to plan for official hand-over at school, with media etc.
Computers
- Updating
- Entering names and colours
Power
- Pin type and alignment
- Village power availability
- Plan for charging capability
Connectivity
- Options
- AP
- School server
Handouts
- Introduction to OLPC (4-page handout for teachers and others) Have one for each teacher plus 10 extra copies.
- Other useful information: The OLPC Nepal report is useful to add weight to the promises of educational impacts made for the laptops. Bnd a few “presentation packs” with the basic information and a copy of this and an other useful reference papers.
- Training pack
- Parents agreement (one copy per child)
- Students record (one per child)
- Teachers Training Certificate (one per teacher)
Plan how to get copies of the last three on site, once they are signed (bring a scanner to site).
Deployment
- Contact with school. Warn them well in advance.
- Consider dates, and the school's likely commitments (exams, holidays, etc)
- Get names and numbers. This is often inaccurate.
- Arrange deployment logistics with local officers.
- Plan for minimum 5 days on site
- Checklist
- Video an digital cameras
- Power/charging solution (I.e. Powerboards, adapters, extension cables)
- Inverter with 12V car power plug (to charge up facilitator's laptops etc)
- Scanner and printer (with software installed on facilitator's laptops etc)
- Multimedia projector is useful – good for community awareness
- Mobile phone SIM card that works in local networks, if coverage available
- Torch
- Personal items (you might need to bring food, mosquito net, food and basics in some locations)
Schedule at School
- Welcome, introductions
- Initial meeting with school teachers, principal and school board.
- This meeting can be split into a short introductory meeting and later more detailed session.
- Introduce the project, using the “presentation” agenda and include showing of short videos
- Discuss schedule and find out what timetable and commitment the school has to keep to. Agree the training schedule timetable for the rest of the week.
- Feedback
- Teacher training
- Session 1 – Basics
- Session 2 – Activities and sharing
- Session 3 – Discussion/workshop: Principles, Classroom usage and Evaluation
- Feedback
- Student training
- Basics
- Activities and sharing
- Community Awareness
- Parents meeting
- Hand over
- Suggested deployment timetable / schedule
