OLPCorps School of the Art Institute of Chicago Kenya
the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
Contents
Team Member
Namkyu Ryoo has a small background in electrical engineering and now he is studying at the Designed Objects department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), to investigate more possibilities of design as global impacts. He had been in Kazakhstan as an Information Technology Volunteer leader, which was sponsored by the Korean Government. This volunteer program was about teaching computer skills to people who didn’t know what a computer was. Heeyoung Choe has a strong experience in biology degree and education degree in Bachelor level. Now she is studying in Interior Architecture and Designed Objects department at SAIC, to combine all of those past and current academic experiences by using ‘Design Thinking’ methodology.
Our mission
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project is all about nurturing our children through media technology. To achieve this visionary goal, we are highly responsible for taking care of 100 XO laptops in Kenya and also focusing on ‘Finding Self Potentiality to Make Cultural Momentum’ using educational platform of OLPC. Our strong responsibility will deliver OLPC’s vision toward children in Kenya, Africa.
Community Context
The Primary School at Kamwaura is located in Subukia and Molo District in the Rift Valley province of Kenya, which is 26 km from Nakuru Town along Nakuru—Njoro—Molo Road.Kamwaura community has a population of 15,000. Most children do not know what a computer is. The nearest educational center is located on 25 km away. Few children are allowed to use computers after secondary school education. Recently, government deployed electric infrastructure in the rural area of Kamwaura. They have an access to power for future developmental project. But it is still not at a reliable level.
Local Partner
Our local partner is the Primary School at Kamwaura under the Great Commission Trust Academy (GCT). It is a non-profit organization registered in Kenya and the United Kingdom to take care of the rural area in Kenya. They have three main issues, which are ‘Health,’ ‘Education’ and ‘Disaster relief.’ GCT Academy has currently 113 students, who are between 5 and 12 years old. Children in rural areas have a tendency to start education later because of economic pressure at the household level and don’t have an opportunity of education.
CONTACT
Mr. Simon Mburu Ngana
Managing Trustee: Education
Great Commission Trust, Kenya
Email: leombae@yahoo.com
Operation Plan
We categorized this project with three sections that are ‘Deployment’, ‘Adaptation’ and ‘Maintenance.’ They have a regular semester from May to July (first to sixth weeks) and summer vacation on August (seventh to ninth weeks). We already got permission from the school for gathering all children in August during summer school.
In the deployment step, the GCT organization confirmed their commitment to provide transportation support at the Nairobi International Airport. They also have enough space and a safe storage for 100 XO laptops. In first week, we are going to set up a school server and classroom settings for children.In the middle of the first week, we will make an introductory XO class for teachers and parents with a graphic manual and a poster about XO laptops.
In the adaptation step, from the second week to the sixth week, we will support the regular class of the school and make introductory class of XO laptop for children. Subsequently we will try to introduce new examples using XO laptops with cooperation of GCT’s teachers. We are dividing students into five groups with twenty students in each. From the seventh to the eighth week, we are making activities with the XO laptops based on our focus ‘Finding Self-Potentiality to Make Cultural Momentum’ and a request from the GCT organization.
In the maintenance step, the ninth weeks, we should inform teachers or a manager of basic maintenance of the XO laptops. Finally, we will make a graphic manual of activities for teachers.
Sustainable Partnership
We have planning to establish a student group at SAIC for sustaining partnership between SAIC and the GCT organization after we are back to school. This means even though we are leaving after finishing the OLPC deployment project, we are planning to make a continuous partnership by providing educational content (especially related to design and art) and by encouraging designers, artists or art teachers into volunteership into this organization.
Financial Plan
Social Impacts
1.Knowing potentiality with education
2.Inspiring children’s motivation for being educated
3.Understanding what communication is(not as technical term but as cultural term)
4.Learning how to make cooperative Community
5.Continuous relationship between GCT and SAIC
Photo Image
Great Commission Academy
Great Commission Academy at kamwaura
class room 1
class room 2
