We just went live with the public waveplace site, which among other things has the pilot proposal and a preview movie created by Jan Kinder and Bill Stelzer. I've also put the proposal on this wiki for easy reference....
the why of waveplace Thu, 20-Sep-2007 (teefal)
Somewhere along a distant shore a child walks with eyes that burn. She sees everything, from the mother dog and pup searching through garbage for food, to the tangle of fishing line in the sea grapes. She takes in the details, both beautiful and terrible. She braces through flood of feeling. At home, she cannot speak of it. At school, she fears response. In her heart, there is a passion for the world. Her talent is on the edge of immeasurable. Would that we could say to her, "Be true" ... to tell her this flood might someday sustain her,...
from public to private Fri, 28-Sep-2007 (teefal)
Last Wednesday, our public funding fell through, even though we were given a thumbs up the previous Friday. We ran out time and had to cancel our workshop trip. Just as we were closing everything up with sadness in our hearts, some new possibilities emerged. A man named Ted Coine with experience fundraising in my old home of southwest Florida is very pro-OLPC. He thinks we can raise the money needed for the 8000 laptops by next year, and has offered booth space at two Naples fundraisers in November. Even better, Bill Stelzer has agreed to donate his time...
waveplace blog Tue, 2-Oct-2007 (teefal)
Yesterday I set up a weblog on the Waveplace site, so I can write little dispatches about the research we've done over the summer. http://waveplace.com/ (click "Blog") I'll try to write a little bit every weekday, so check back frequently if you're interested. For those that know what RSS is, you can also subscribe to the feed: http://bigfractaltangle.com/waveplace.rdf As you can see, these posts are from my primary blog, "Big Fractal Tangle". They're the ones tagged "waveplace". http://bigfractaltangle.com Anyway, I won't bother the mailing list with these daily dispatches ... tune in yourself if you're interested. I'll be talking about...
papert's point Tue, 2-Oct-2007 (teefal)
So here I am, with three months of research, and nowhere to use it. Over the summer, I immersed myself in the writings of Seymour Papert and the works of Alan Kay and Mitch Resnick, both of whom drew inspiration from Papert. I've been walking around with a running dialogue in my head, inspired by the same ideas that launched OLPC and countless other efforts. So what's Papert's point? What's the common gist of the half-dozen books he's written, starting with "Mindstorms" in 1980? Okay, I'll give it a shot. Seymour Papert thinks that we're programming our kids in school...
hello, (children of the) world! Wed, 3-Oct-2007 (teefal)
Yesterday we received our very own XO laptop from OLPC to play with. We'd seen one up close at Squeakfest last August, but now we've got time to get to know it and show it off to others. Here Paula's trying Squeak Etoys on it: As you can see next to her 15" MacBook, the XO is made for little hands. I was very pleased with its performance. Fedora & Sugar booted in a minute and Etoys loaded in about ten seconds which is plenty fast enough. Also very impressive was the reflective display. You really can read things in...
go fly a kite Thu, 4-Oct-2007 (teefal)
In the last two days, I've been teaching twenty-year-old Nicole to use Squeak Etoys. She's never done any programming before, nor does she really know why she'd want to be a programmer, which puts her in the majority. I'm teaching her as warm-up for some video tutorials I'm making for the general public, the first of which is rendering right now. Teaching a novice to program is a humbling task, particularly for an expert. I'm mindful of the pacing of my presentation. Too much and eyes glaze over, too little and boredom sets in. Constructionism is a great fit to...
squeaky tales Fri, 5-Oct-2007 (teefal)
I've just posted the first two screencast tutorials on Squeak Etoys. Originally, the plan was for us to be in St John right now, prepping for our three-day Etoys workshop at Caneel Bay. Since the funding didn't materialize, I'm making these short movies instead, hoping they're enough for Bill & Mary to struggle through on their own. The first movie discusses how to install Squeak Etoys and the latest OLPC Etoys image on your computer (particularly if you own a Mac). The next shows Etoys in action for about fifteen minutes. My next screencast will be on Tuesday. Let me...
the saga continues Wed, 10-Oct-2007 (teefal)
Over the long weekend, I got some very positive feedback regarding my Squeaky Tales series. People seemed to like my movies, though my first attempts had some video compression snags which forced me to temporarily abandon Flash video in favor of Quicktime. The downside was that the movies took a long time to start, since they were essentially fully downloading before beginning. Today I worked out the kinks and encoded them back as Flash FLV movies. They should start up more quickly and should also be more compatible with different systems. FLV is the video format used on YouTube. I...
squeaky tales Thu, 11-Oct-2007 (teefal)
I've just posted the first two screencast tutorials on Squeak Etoys. The first movie discusses how to install Squeak Etoys and the latest OLPC Etoys image on your computer (particularly if you own a Mac). The next shows Etoys in action for about fifteen minutes....
nothing wrong with being wrong Fri, 12-Oct-2007 (teefal)
Towards the end of yesterday's Squeaky Tale, I tried changing the color of something and found (while recording) that I didn't know what I was doing. My first reaction was "Oh geez, I should reshoot that" lest I lose face to the viewing public. Instead, I left my mistake in the video, since it helps demonstrate an important point. Programming is about making mistakes. You try something, see how it goes, try something else, and grin at your flaws. A programmer that thinks he knows everything in advance is a bad programmer. Such an approach might seem alien, since our...
spark jobs and rote jobs Mon, 15-Oct-2007 (teefal)
Just had the Shift Happens video link sent to me. Quite an eye opener, as is the terrific Pay Attention video, which focuses more on teaching. Put simply: within our lifetime, the "rote jobs" will ship overseas. It's clear from the numbers. What's left are "spark jobs" ... high creativity jobs. Our schools aren't teaching spark. They're teaching rote....
two hours of tales Thu, 18-Oct-2007 (teefal)
I've just posted my eighth 15-minute Squeaky Tales tutorial, bringing the collective time to two hours of Etoys fun. My plan is to create four 15-minute movies each week for the next eight weeks for a total of ten hours of video tutorial. What topics will I cover? Well, I'm trying to make the Squeaky Tales series as subject-neutral as possible. My hope is that this approach will allow mentors to adapt the concepts to different ages and subjects more easily. By necessity, there will be rudimentary math concepts like addition and multiplication, but these will be presented as a...
extreme poverty Tue, 30-Oct-2007 (teefal)
In the year 2000, world leaders made eight pretty incredible promises, which are known as the Millennium Development Goals. The first of these goals is to reduce by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $1 USD per day. More than 1.5 billion people qualify, which is roughly 1 out of every 4 people alive. Two-thirds of these people don't have access to clean water, and malnutrition is so bad that six million children die EVERY YEAR before their fifth birthday. That's a holocaust-sized catastrophe...
launches aplenty Thu, 8-Nov-2007 (teefal)
Been a pretty cool week so far. On Monday, Viewpoints Research contracted Immuexa to redesign their Squeakland website. Given that Etoys is the crown jewel in the OLPC lineup, we're pretty excited. We're hoping to launch this winter. On Tuesday, OLPC started mass production of the XO laptops. I've been a fly on the wall listening to their team talk for months. Having been entrenched in development mayhem much of my life, let me simply say it's a big accomplishment. Congrats to all. On Wednesday, we launched the beta of Blazemark 2.0, which is being shown at a fire-fighting convention...
squeaky tales and waveplace vision Tue, 13-Nov-2007 (teefal)
Today I posted my twentieth Etoys tutorial in the Squeaky Tales series, bringing the total to five hours of ten planned. Each fifteen-minute screencast forms the basis for an hour of hands-on instruction with a child, with the mentor first presenting the concepts in their own fashion, then leading the class for the remainder of the time. The videos themselves are aimed at the mentor, not the students, though I suspect older students could watch the videos on their own. Now half done, I've been spending time on techniques to manage complexity. Just like a real software project, the beginning...
the hard combination Tue, 15-Jan-2008 (teefal)
They think they can tame you, name you and frame you Aim you where you don't belong They know where you've been but not where you're going And that is the source of the songs - john gorka...
the OLPC airdrop model Thu, 17-Jan-2008 (teefal)
Yesterday in a talk with OLPC, we were again confronted with their "airdrop model" of laptop distribution (the term is mine). OLPC advocates a "full saturation" approach to giving laptops to schools and countries. When Waveplace then says, "Our plan is to start with a smaller pilot and scale teacher training to assure effectiveness", they counter with their belief that larger numbers have a magic all their own. Their experience is that full saturation is more important than scaled training. Now these are smart guys with a lot of experience at this, so I'm tempted to believe them. I'm also...
Overwhelmed and Honored Sun, 20-Jan-2008 (teefal)
(written by Dionne Wells, GBS principal, from newsletter) First let me begin by thanking Timothy Falconer and the Waveplace Foundation for having this grand vision. It is through their foresight that we are able to say today how successful this pilot program is going at Guy H. Benjamin Elementary School. I am proud to be associated with this endeavor and look forward to watching it grow from school to school and across the entire district. When you walk onto Guy H. Benjamin School, you see fourth graders walking around the campus with green and white laptops in their hands. I...
good press Wed, 23-Jan-2008 (teefal)
Great article about Waveplace in the St John Tradewinds. Talks about our Virgin Islands pilot, which is into its second week. We also launched our new website, which has a terrific new video from our trip to Haiti earlier this month....
News from the St John Pilot Fri, 25-Jan-2008 (bill)
(from newsletter) Thursday January 10th was a historic day for the Caribbean. After months of behind the scenes work by Waveplace foundation, we finally handed out the OLPC laptops (among the first off the manufacturing line!) to the fourth graders at Guy Benjamin. As I rolled video, Principal Dionne Wells spoke to the kids while LaReesa Williams began passing out the XO laptops. Needless to say everyone was pretty psyched. Before you knew it everyone was plugged in, charging and setting up their XO's with their own names and custom colors. Next I took the kids on a tour of...
Hope For Fancy Mon, 28-Jan-2008 (mscotti)
(from newsletter) The villages above the dry river on the north windward side of St. Vincent are distinct from the rest of the island. Populated by the indigenous Carib peoples, they have been largely cut off from the rest of the island ethnically, socially and environmentally. Change is in the air as a new bridge spans the river and a new road is under construction to link these rural enclaves to the rest of the island. Still the children here are sorely lacking resources that many of their Vincy peers take for granted. The children of Fancy village, the northern-most...
St John Day 4 Tue, 29-Jan-2008 (bill)
Came to class with three more reflashed XO's, hopefully would clear up some of problems. Brought too Squeak Installer and eToys image on my USB drive. Also before class I spent a lot of time trying to think how to motivate the kids, to get them looking forward, as we had been pretty much stuck on lesson two for the past few classes and I wanted them to get an idea that there was more to etoys than just having the objects interact on their own. Thought it might be a good idea to at least introduce them to the...
Waveplace in Haiti Thu, 31-Jan-2008 (teefal)
(written by Susie Scott Krabacher, president of M&S, from newsletter) On our January trip to Haiti we had a special treat to show the kids at our Mercy House Orphanage, the new XO laptop designed especially for children by the geniuses at One Laptop Per Child. OLPC had just announced the country recipients of the donated laptops from their Give One Get One program and, praise be, Haiti made the list. (Although as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere it's hard to imagine how it couldn't!) After setting everything up with Tim Falconer, president of Waveplace Foundation, our Mercy...
St John Day 5 Thu, 31-Jan-2008 (bill)
Prepared for class by getting last two XOs reflashed with the latest system build. (Tuesday Elvis wouldn't give up his computer, willing to deal with occasional cursor madness, so he could bring it home with him) Spent the drive out to Coral Bay thinking about class, most especially how to get the kids motivated to learn this stuff. Today is the fifth class and there are still kids who don't have lesson one down. As usual, had kids run around to burn off excess energy. Easy to forget that some of these kids have started as early at 6:30 am,...
St John Day 6 Thu, 7-Feb-2008 (bill)
Been having the sense that I am on the razor's edge of loosing the kids' excitement in eToys, so decide that we need to have our paint the fence day (i.e. The Karate Kid) sooner rather than later, as in today. When I get to class I tell the kids that we will be making a game today, using everything we've learned so far. They are kinda excited, kinda incredulous. Do a bit of review on the paper compasses, for the kids who missed class on Tuesday. Then we move on to X Y coordinates. We basically turn the playground...
give two, keep none Fri, 8-Feb-2008 (teefal)
Just sent out a plea to forums and bloggers I know. David Weinberger not only posted it, but he's sending us his XO! Here's the plea: Waveplace is a non-profit starting an XO pilot in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, in ten days. OLPC was going to be giving us laptops, but it fell through, which is why I'm trying to get twenty XOs from elsewhere. Your laptop may end up in the hands of one of the most needy children in the Western Hemisphere. The school where the laptop will be sent is run by Susie Scott Krabacher, who has been the...
Waveplace Brings Spark to Caribbean Children Sun, 10-Feb-2008 (teefal)
(written for OLPC News) We're told the first twenty laptops off the OLPC production line went to our 4th graders in the US Virgin Islands. These lucky kids are taking part in a ten week pilot program conducted by Waveplace Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to bringing digital media skills to Caribbean children. One month into our first pilot, we're starting another pilot in Haiti next week, and we need your help. Waveplace is all about mentoring. While OLPC's notion of "pick up and learn" has appeal, we find that mentors make all the difference. You wouldn't expect a child to...
St John Day 8 Tue, 12-Feb-2008 (bill)
Decide that more difficult concepts in eToys would be more understandable if we took a step back and gave the kids more of a foundation in the fundamentals. Out on the playground I divided the kids into groups of three (or at least try to divide them up) First kid was responsible for going forward and the second other for turning. The third kid meanwhile is calling out the commands. The catch is that he/she had to guide his/her team to a destination on the playground only he/she knows. Idea is that the third kid is continually adjusting his/her commands,...
St John Day 9 Thu, 14-Feb-2008 (bill)
Today is Valentines Day, by default the most horrible day of the year, and generally a day of mourning for me. When I showed up at GBS the place was a nuthouse. The kids were hyper-amped on massive quantities of Valentine's candy and their fragile brains were pretty much short circuiting before my eyes. I had had a plan to start the class with more geometry marching on the playground, but it was obvious that that wasn't going to happen. In fact it was obvious not much was going to happen today. Decide instead to make it a day of...
St John Day 10 Tue, 19-Feb-2008 (bill)
(Laura report) I introduced the digital storybook for the first time. I showed them how to pull a book from the toolbox and how to add pages. They already knew how to draw pictures, so we spent most of the class thinking of story ideas and starting drawing. The problem was that when we added pages and proceeded to the next page, usually the image carried to the new page. I didn't know how to resolve this, but eventually it was discovered that you need to move the images after they are done to keep them on that page....
haitian pilot starts Wed, 20-Feb-2008 (teefal)
Today we're starting our pilot in Haiti, at one of the Mercy & Sharing schools in Port-Au-Prince. Our very own Bill Stelzer, leader of our St John pilot, will be teaching Emile Roulsa Jean and two others to become Haiti's first Waveplace mentors. They'll then start a ten-week pilot using the nineteen laptops we were able to receive in time. Our greatest thanks go to the ten kind souls who donated their XOs last weekend, along with David Weinberger, Jerry Michalski, and Wayan Vota for helping spread the word. David & Jerry are A-List blogerati and Wayan runs OLPC News,...
St John Day 11 Thu, 21-Feb-2008 (bill)
(LaReesa report) During Bill's session in Haiti, I had an opportunity to teach the class with the assistance of Mary. When I went to the class, there was not really much teaching for me to do. All the kids were just continuing to work on the stories that they had started during the session on Tuesday. Most of the class time, I had spent assisting the kids with what to write or problems that they were having with the starting new pages. A lot of the kids didn't know how to create another page so the work was duplicating itself...
Report from our St John and Haiti Pilots Tue, 26-Feb-2008 (bill)
(from newsletter) For the past two months my brain has been in two different places, only a few hundred miles apart on a map of the Caribbean, but worlds apart in challenges faced. On St. John we are now six weeks into our pilot. Learning most of the XO is almost effortless for the kids. Chat, Write, Record, Journal, and Browse took me all of about fifteen minutes to get a few kids started, then I just sat back and watched the newfound knowledge spread like wildfire. Learning Etoys is more like jumping into the deep end of the pool,...
St John Day 12 Tue, 26-Feb-2008 (bill)
Back from Haiti. Laura and LaReesa have been teaching, plan now is for me to concentrate shooting video and let them and Mary do the primary mentoring. Heard all had gone great while I was gone, but just before class started I found they had a problem where at random times an object would be duplicated on every page instead of being on the page it was supposed to be on. Unfortunately I found out about just before class started, so there was no time for me to look intro it. Laura started class by reviewing lesson of week before....
Bringing Education to Life Wed, 27-Feb-2008 (teefal)
(written by Jan Kinder, from newsletter) As I watch the youth of today, I'm reminded of growing up in the 60's. Our daily schedules were not hectic and complicated. We started school in kindergarten and before that, play was our classroom. We had imaginative time to expand our minds and develop our creativity, and express our individuality. Our education system, for the most part, supported the 'teachers taught, and students listened and learned' model. One of my teachers however did not conform to that model and has stood out in my mind for over 35 years and influenced my teaching...
The Shiniest Toy Wed, 27-Feb-2008 (teefal)
(from newsletter) Very likely if you're reading this, you love shiny new toys. Especially intriguing are the clever ones: the iPhone's, Wii's, and XO laptops. Handling a new inspired design is a little slice of Christmas morning, a reminder of a time when gadget play was all that mattered. The XO is quite an eye-catcher. One look and you know it's something to pick up and explore. Like so many toys that make our daily grind a bit better ... Bluetooth headsets, touchscreen remotes, talking GPS nav ... the XO excites our imagination with its swivel screen, mesh networking, and...
Immokalee Means Home Thu, 28-Feb-2008 (teefal)
(written by Ted Coine, from newsletter) Immokalee, Florida, is one of the poorest towns in the United States. Actually, before moving to nearby Naples, I had never seen the likes north of Mexico. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Immokalee is appalling. And to think that it's only a forty-minute drive from the most affluent small city in America. You can see why my wife and I want to do our part to help. Over eighty percent of the residents of Immokalee are immigrants, many illegal. Half of them are migrant farm workers, who make only...
St John Day 13 Thu, 28-Feb-2008 (bill)
Main thing before I come to class is to figure out the duplicating objects across pages problem. Once I'm in a quiet place takes all of five minutes to figure it out. Key is to move or resize the object immediately after drawing it and clicking Keep, to "set" it on the page. Absolutely critical to know, we probably lost a day on this problem. Also another interesting thing that only happens in book mode. Moving an object temporarily "lifts" it off the page. Ramifications in scripting, because if you were to move an object by hand (instead of say...
Electronic Paper for Powerful Ideas Sat, 1-Mar-2008 (teefal)
(by Dr. Alan Kay of Viewpoints Research Institute, from newsletter) Children are set up by nature to learn the world around them by watching adult activity and playing imitation games. Dewey pointed out that this is difficult in today's developed cultures because many important adult activities are opaque or not found in every home. Montessori thought that children's urge to learn the world by immersion and play could be powerfully used for twentieth-century learning if the children were placed into twentieth-century environments and given toys that embodied twentieth-century ideas. One of her special insights was that a main task of...
photos from haiti and st john pilots Sat, 1-Mar-2008 (teefal)
Just received some photos from the start of our Haitian pilot, along with some new photos from our St John pilot, which is in its sixth week. * Haiti photos * St John photos...
St John Day 14 Tue, 4-Mar-2008 (bill)
Laura teaches! Meet with her at Skinny's two hours before class and teach her how to use Holder animation. She practices it till she's comfortable with it. It is interesting in that almost always something invariably goes wrong the first time you try it, as there are host of things that can stop your animation dead in its tracks. (as we shall see...) Laura starts the class with a beautiful mermaid drawn on the Whiteboard. This immediately has the attention of the girls in the front row. Then she goes about the process of duplicating the mermaid, getting a holder,...
St John Day 15 Thu, 6-Mar-2008 (bill)
LaReesa teaches! I had worked with LaReesa earlier in the week on Holder animation, the same lesson as with Laura. I had originally thought we would only get through half of it on Tues - i.e. we would work on frames on Tues and scripting on Thurs. However because Laura had managed to teach the entire process on Tues, and because LaReesa had had problems when she was trying out the lesson on her own, I switched what she was teaching just before class to a tutorial/refresher of a few of the more helpful tools in Etoys. In it she...
XO donor comments Mon, 17-Mar-2008 (teefal)
Today I read some very nice comments from a few of the people who donated their XO laptops to children in our Haiti pilot. Last week I posted photos of the children that got their laptops as well as a new video. The first donor comment was from Emily Davidow, who also blogged: Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in this wonderful program! Seeing the pictures and movie made me so happy. Looking forward to following the progress in Haiti and all your programs through the newsletter. The next was from author David Weinberger, who blogged as...
St John Pilot Finishes Sat, 29-Mar-2008 (bill)
(from newsletter) On Thursday March 27, an exciting chapter in Caribbean education history came to an end as we finished our Guy Benjamin Pilot here on St. John. As the kids did their final presentations of the digital storybooks they created, I could not help but be amazed by their journey of the past three months. At our very first Etoys class, I asked the kids how many computer programmers they knew. Between them they could name only three. I then told them they were all about to become computer programmers, and then we strapped them to their rocket sleds...
A'Feyah's Story Mon, 31-Mar-2008 (teefal)
(written by Linda Smutz, from newsletter) "I'm the worst kid in this class." These were the first words out of A'Feyah's mouth, after nodding shyly to grant me permission to watch her work on her XO. As a stranger from the mainland with zero credibility, there was no point in trying to persuade her otherwise, so I simply asked to hear about her story. That's how I found out about CeCe the dog, who was happy enough living under a table outside A'Feyah's trailer until another dog joined the family one day. The draft was a little rough, but it...
Are We Preparing Our Children? Tue, 1-Apr-2008 (teefal)
(written by Peter Wholihan, from newsletter) "The opportunities that young people hold for the Caribbean region, where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, cannot be underestimated." (Caribbean Youth Development, World Bank, May 2003). Cell phones in the pocket, iPods to the ears, GameBoys in the hand, young people are connected. Are schools? What exactly are our youth connected to and how do they use technology? How about Student Cell Phone Pictures, Passa Passa, and YouTube? If you know what I am writing about, you are connected. If you do not, ask a young person and watch...
back from st john Fri, 4-Apr-2008 (teefal)
Had a great trip to Saint John last week, finishing up our ten week Waveplace pilot with the fourth grade class at Guy Benjamin School. I got to teach the class one day, which was great fun, and for our last class, we had each student present their storybooks, then gave out four iPods as prizes. The judges were me, Dionne Wells (their principal), and Jamie Elliot (a local reporter). Mid-trip we presented the results of the pilot to the new USVI Education Commissioner by having A'Feyah, one of the students, sit with the Commissioner and show her what she...
a right to learn freely Thu, 10-Apr-2008 (teefal)
(from newsletter) A child has the right to their own wonder, to their enthusiasm, to their innate curiosity as they explore the world around them. A child has the right to ask questions and be heard, to hear answers from adults without impatience or contempt. A child has the right to create beauty as their heart compels them, to be encouraged in their community without fear of apathy or ridicule. A child has the right to learn freely. Too often we adults get caught up in ourselves, in the demands of each day as we try to survive. Nowhere is...
Fighting the Fear Wed, 16-Apr-2008 (teefal)
(written by Crissi Corbin, from newsletter) When I first started teaching, just eight short years ago, teachers were given the ability to make and create their own curriculum. As a new teacher I was constantly seeking out new tools to help me educate my students. I had to be creative and make tools to use. Since then, the pendulum has swung the other way. We are now forced to use specific curriculum products. Now I feel my hands are tied much of the year with having to force my students who are below level to use materials that were well...
Reflections on the St John Pilot Sun, 20-Apr-2008 (teefal)
(written by Mary Burks, 4th grade teacher, from newsletter) The pilot at Guy Benjamin School in St. John has come to a close. At its inception, all persons involved understood that we were delving into new technological territory. There were some initial roadblocks due mostly to some hardware problems that were resolved. The students were excitable, malleable, and productive. Some picked up the skills step-by-step as they were introduced. Others holistically delved, experimented and learned through risk-taking. Yet others became experts at gaining the attention of the teachers and mentors for special "how-to" tips. Four students were selected as winners...
News from our partner in Haiti Sun, 20-Apr-2008 (teefal)
(written by Amanda Adams of Mercy & Sharing, from newsletter) During the most recent period of rioting and civil unrest in Haiti, we at Mercy & Sharing were forced into "emergency mode" to keep the precious children in our care safe. A bright spot for us was the more than 160 Haitians we employ in our operations in Haiti. Some of these amazing people courageously risked their lives to navigate around mass riots and burning barricades to deliver food, supplies and life saving medicine to our orphanages, schools, feeding centers, clinic and abandoned baby unit where we care for abused,...
computer literacy Mon, 21-Apr-2008 (teefal)
Our overall goal with Waveplace is to teach children to become digital storytellers. Just what that means, and can mean, is really the crux of where we're headed. I've been thinking a great deal about this. Most schools define computer literacy as being able to operate Microsoft Office and maybe do a little web design. They're missing the point. That's like saying, 'If you know which end of a book to hold up, and you know how to turn to Chapter Three, then you're literate.' Literature is first and foremost about having ideas important enough to discuss and write down...
What Waveplace Means to the USVI Thu, 1-May-2008 (teefal)
(written by Senator Louis Patrick Hill, from newsletter) Upon viewing the final projects implemented during the Waveplace Pilot among fourth-graders at the Guy Benjamin Elementary School on St. John, I concluded that the project has enormous potential for Virgin Islands students. I also came away deeply gratified that the non-profit entity, Waveplace Foundation, had selected the Virgin Islands as a viable location to introduce a pilot program calculated to stimulate learning among children (particularly those outside of the continental United States), with emphasis on the development of language skills, the very bedrock of acquiring an education. The Waveplace Project, utilizing...
growing pains Thu, 1-May-2008 (teefal)
(from newsletter) To say that the last few months at Waveplace have been busy strains the very definition of the word. Aside from finishing our first pilot and helping our second through some very tough times (see below), I've been traveling the US, fundraising for our Saint Vincent and Immokalee pilots this summer. We're also laying the foundation for as many as thirty courses with 600 laptops next fall. More than this, we've completely revamped our Squeaky Tales courseware, half of which was unveiled yesterday to a select group of "beta" reviewers. What you see on the website under Tutorials...
A Whole New World for Nicaragua Thu, 15-May-2008 (teefal)
(written by Jeanie Haas, from newsletter) Nicaragua, the poorest nation in Central America, is a beautiful country which has suffered more than its share of woes in recent history; devastating earthquake and hurricanes, civil war, corrupt government. Still, its people are warm and welcoming, accepting and hopeful. Our family has been involved in projects in Nicaragua for about 15 years; micro-enterprise, schools, orphanages and more. We especially love working with children, as they are the future of this special nation. So it was a great joy to stumble upon Waveplace via friends in Sanibel, Florida, and we are happy to...
Report from the Haiti pilot Tue, 20-May-2008 (bill)
(from newsletter) In Early May I headed back to Haiti to check on the Waveplace pilot at Mercy and Sharing's John Branchizio School. Haiti is one of the most turbulent places in the western hemisphere, and since I had last been there in February, rising food prices had caused rioting and the ouster of the country's Prime Minister. During this time, by necessity Waveplace's pilot had been put on hold. When I touched down on the Port au Prince tarmac it was relief to see that the city was back to normal. (Though I did have a UN soldier standing...
Learning to Learn Tue, 20-May-2008 (jon)
(from newsletter) As I watched the videos of the children and their XOs, it sure looked like a lot of fun! Some of the best learning I have ever experienced came in the guise of doing something interesting and often goal-oriented. While some may enjoy learning everything and anything without a context, this is not the norm (from what I have seen). I never did read the dictionary. Learning while doing was something I learned as a teaching technique while working with Peter Coad. When we combined courseware and lesson plans with trying to accomplish a goal, the learning took...
immokalee pilot has started! Mon, 9-Jun-2008 (teefal)
Today in Immokalee Florida, Waveplace started its third XO and Etoys pilot. We gave laptops to 43 children, and I taught them for two hours. We also started our first intensive teacher training workshop with our new beta courseware. This week, I'm teaching adults five days, six hours a day, in addition to three student classes. The teachers will then spend the remaining nine weeks teaching the students themselves after I leave. Let's just say that between the teacher training and the children training, and the endless logistics (setting up the projector, arranging the chairs, unpacking the XOs, recording the...
Immokalee Week Sun, 15-Jun-2008 (teefal)
(from newsletter) As I write this, I'm flying home from our first Waveplace mentoring workshop, held in Immokalee, Florida. Over the last five long days, I taught our new Squeaky Tales course to a class of eight adults, most of them teachers. The week was enlightening and exhausting! We also started our third Waveplace pilot with a whopping 42 fourth graders, each of whom received their very own XO laptop. I led the class with a projector and microphone while the eight mentors worked with smaller groups. The kids were absolutely incredible: well-behaved, motivated, engaged. The mentors were equally amazing,...
Immokalee Day 4 Mon, 16-Jun-2008 (christa)
In attendance: Christa, Katey, Jane, Mary V., Ted, Russell, Nicole Monday was our first day without our new Waveplace friends. We used the day to review LESSONS 5 & 6 because we knew that the kids would need a refresher from the week before. We set up the room in 4 U-shaped table teams with the projector Jane & Ted brought facing the back wall. The Bethel projector is still broken, but everything worked out after the lightning slowed down! In the beginning we had to restart the projector & computer between 10 and 15 times which slowed our start...
new courseware; new pilots Wed, 18-Jun-2008 (teefal)
Waveplace has finished its beta "Squeaky Tales" courseware ... 30 lessons (with videos) that teach how to teach Etoys on the XO. To see examples, or to become a beta tester, visit here We took everything we learned in our first pilot (in the Virgin Islands) and started completely over. The pacing is much better, as is the storytelling component, which was crucial in St John. We're using the beta courseware in our three pilots this summer, and will then start completely over and make a physical textbook and DVD series (in English, Spanish, and French). All will be sold...
Immokalee Day 5 Wed, 18-Jun-2008 (christa)
In attendance: Christa, Katey, Mary V., Donna, Jane and Teddy The Bethel projector is still broken so we set up the room in 4 U-shaped table teams with the projector we brought facing the back wall. Although Christa and I brought extra power cords, it didn't seem to be an issue because we are now having all the "forgot to charge kids" sit at one table. Hopefully, this will encourage them to remember to charge. I did lessons 7, 8 and 9 today. The students seemed to do well. Mary will teach 10 and 11 on Thursday. One super helpful...
Immokalee Day 6 Thu, 19-Jun-2008 (christa)
(notes by Susan) In attendance: Christa, Mary, Jane, Katey, Susan, Donna, Russell Squeak Day 6 for kids. Day 8 for adults. Here's to keeping just ahead of the kids! I thoroughly enjoyed joining the group for the lesson. My goal is to be available at least once a week and more often if my day job permits or if someone can't make it. The increase in the skills of the kids was quite noticeable after being away for two lessons. I am sure it is harder for Christa, Jane and Mary to see this but I did! We began with...
Immokalee Day 7 Mon, 23-Jun-2008 (christa)
In Attendance: Christa, Jane, Katey, Mary Today went well! Behavior & understanding is getting better each session. We started off with the Starfish Challenge homework sharing: They could share any progress they made over the weekend. We worked on Lesson 10 & reviewed writing scripts. Discuss why we are here. I gave a little motivational speech about how they were chosen for the pilot. Students picked a student from their team to share what they accomplished over the weekend. We discussed procedures, rules, and troubleshooting computer problems. Reviewed naming sketches Created multiple characters for a race. We chose to...
Immokalee Day 8 Wed, 25-Jun-2008 (christa)
(notes by Jane) In Attendance: Christa, Katey, Mary, Russell, Jane Hats off to Christa! She did a great job last class, reviewing scripts, naming sketches, etc. Then she also covered new material from Lesson 10. Although she did a great job, most of the kids I worked with didn't seem to grasp all of it. Therefore, I did a lot of reviewing: duplicating, repainting, renaming sketches, making scripts to race the sketches, using the random tile. I also emphasized the importance of naming sketches and scripts. Because this was a review, I knew some kids would be bored, so I...
waveplace on NPR Wed, 25-Jun-2008 (teefal)
Just heard the two-part NPR story on Waveplace's XO and Etoys pilot in Immokalee, Florida. Have a listen here. Pretty surreal hearing myself on national radio. I'm a bit disappointed that Etoys got characterized as clumsy ... the alligator thing was from one of our advanced lessons for the adults. I imagine someone watching a person learn guitar for the first time would also think it clumsy. Great quotes from Christa and Susan. Photos from the pilot are here. Video is here....
Immokalee Day 10 Mon, 30-Jun-2008 (christa)
(notes by Mary Villa) Lesson 10- Naming Sketches, Starting Scripts We went over this lesson by showing the children a script and naming it. We discuss about how important it is to name each script because later it will get confusing. If you name your script it won't get so confusing because each day the story gets longer and you are adding more and more scripts. We also discussed about the all scripts panel. It was very useful for the children. We allowed the children to work on their story and trouble shoot and we walked around helping where needed....
Immokalee Day 11 Wed, 2-Jul-2008 (christa)
In Attendance: Christa, Jane, Mary, Katey, Russell, Brittany, 2 graduates from Ave Maria University Today we began with sharing of stories that the students had written since the last class. Each team (4) picked one student to share what they had written so far. We discussed our goals and motivations. We reviewed what we have learned so far using a BrainSmart technique: Ten Pegs. The students touch 10 points on the body as we reviewed. The kids were great! Make a Sketch (Head) Open the Halo & Name Sketch (Shoulders) Open the viewer & make script (Chest) Make go Forward...
Immokalee Day 12 Thu, 3-Jul-2008 (christa)
(post by Mary Villa) Thursday was awesome! Thursday we reviewed animation. The students made a funny face and they animated it. The students are learning so fast. The students worked on their stories and animated their characters. We discussed about Monday, Christa will be teaching World startOver. That will be a challenge but hey we work as a team. See ya Monday!...
Immokalee Day 13 Mon, 7-Jul-2008 (christa)
Today we worked on Start Over scripts from Lesson 11. We waited on bringing this up until there was a compelling reason to use it and it made more sense to the kids. We held off on World start over because we could see brain overload and we knew the kids had had enough! We are excited to see the progress in the stories! It is now time to take a step back and reconfigure what we are doing. Next time we get together the kids will be grouped according to interest and need. We will have the following options:...
Immokalee Day 14 Wed, 9-Jul-2008 (christa)
(post by Jane) In Attendance: Christa, Katey, Mary, Russell, Jane (Also, Dick, Brenda, Jorge, Raquel and Juan from Ave Maria and Jared from Immokalee Foundation.) We started class by having the students open their journals and delete any files that were unneeded. We asked the students why this was important and most of them new that their laptops would be faster if they had fewer items in the journal. We also reminded them that having more than one activity opened at a time would slow the computer down. Next we had the students work on their books. The teachers walked...
Immokalee Day 15 Thu, 10-Jul-2008 (christa)
(post by Mary Villa) We talked about Animation. Christa and I worked on a script and demonstrated animation. I printed out a copy for each student on how to use animation on their stories. That was Christa's idea so I put the thought into action. We made a sun and also a funny face with it's tongue sticking out. The starfish challenge was to make a face that was much better than mine and funnier. I shouldn't of said that because they put my drawing to shame. Their drawing were awesome. Christa showed them how to use the eye dropper....
dreaming in possibility Mon, 14-Jul-2008 (mscotti)
There is a community thriving in a place that drew myriad individuals with the hope of finding prosperity against all odds. They embraced a dream, a desire, and impulse for fulfillment in a town called Immokalee translated home. Imagine a map. X marks the spot. Here lies treasure. Some would say foolishness. No treasure lies there. It is a faulty figment of imagination. Others dream. This X holds promise. So against all odds people came to this place marked X on a map inspired by tales that they heard of employment, safety, new beginnings. Rivers were crossed. Fences climbed. Bushes...
Immokalee Day 16 Mon, 14-Jul-2008 (christa)
In attendance: Christa, Jane, Katey, Russell, Brenda (FGCU), and another FGCU graduate...I forgot his name again! Today we started the day whole group and 5 students shared their story progress from the weekend. After, I did a lesson on World Start Over. We broke into our groups of Writing Test Scripts, Scripting Clean up, Writing, and Drawing. We had a few computer snafoos that interupted our progress at first, but we worked through most of it. One of the screens is blank on about 1/3 which made it impossible to work on for one of the kids. Not sure about...
Immokalee Day 18 Thu, 17-Jul-2008 (christa)
(post by Mary Villa) Color sees color test This lesson was kind of difficult for some students. We went over this lesson so many times. We were surprise that so many students used the color sees color test on their scripts. We worked with students on debugging their scripts. Some students didn't want to use the test to their stories but we encouraged them to use it so they could add more flavor to their stories. We also went over animation again. Each table was set up as stations, we had writing, drawing, animation and startover scripts. Each student went...
Report from the Immokalee Pilot Sun, 20-Jul-2008 (teefal)
(written by Russell Van Riper, from newsletter) As a student, I sat through my share of computer literacy classes, with most having one instructor talking out into space, explaining confusing command menus, projected blurry against the wall. Very easy to get disoriented, disengaged, and lost in a wandering mind. The Waveplace pilot in Immokalee was very different once we got into our flow. Problems at the start were solved with professionalism and skill by the mentors. The greatest distraction... kids being kids... was handled purely by the teachers craft, especially helpful was Mary Villa's depth of knowledge of the children...
The Benefits of Etoys Sun, 20-Jul-2008 (christa)
(written with Susan Jordan, from newsletter) The purpose of education is to teach kids how to become critical and creative thinkers. It's about the process, not the end product. When children are learning, you can get inside their mind and break apart what they are doing to find out what they know and where they need to grow. The brain thinks visually. Squeak Etoys takes full advantage of this by being a cognitive bridge that takes traditional concepts and connects them to 21st century thinking skills and computer programming content. Etoys appeals to students emotionally as something fun and exciting....
The Importance of Storytelling Fri, 1-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
(from newsletter) Developing a story invites children to a deeper exploration of their inner reality. The sharing of stories allows them to share a piece of that reality with others. Empathy stems from a willingness to truly hear and identify with another person's perceptions, feelings and views. Stories help build empathy. Developing a story allows the emergence of a child's imagination to manifest itself, whether it's a funny tale, a silly musing, a true experience, an episode of an admired action hero, or an adventure of a ladybug or an errant crocodile. From concept through finished storybook, children develop awareness...
Summer Rush Sat, 2-Aug-2008 (teefal)
(from newsletter) With our Immokalee pilot in full swing and our Nicaragua pilot starting in August, this summer has been an exciting blur of activity at Waveplace. To kick things off, we had a great story done on us by NPR, which kicked off a wave of new interest in our efforts. To date, we've received inquiries from more than fifty organizations around the world hoping to do similar work as Waveplace. Also last month, I participated in a worldwide video conference hosted by Duke University. All things OLPC are really starting to gain momentum. Just now I spoke with...
florida finishes & nicaragua starts Tue, 12-Aug-2008 (teefal)
Last week, Waveplace finished our pilot in Immokalee, Florida. We'll be posting student storybooks soon, but for now you can watch our first Florida video, which gives a taste of our "improv theater" teaching style. There are also several newspaper and radio reports on our press page and a few articles in our latest newsletter. Today we start our pilot near Rivas, Nicaragua. We're using Spanish-keyboard XOs and solar panels this time, since the school has no electricity. Our three Waveplace mentors flew in last night and will begin teaching the teachers today. The kids get their laptops tomorrow. We've...
Nicaragua Day 1 Tue, 12-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Spent the morning dealing with logistics - unpacking, numbering computers. Bill worked out glitches in upgrading them and trouble shooting that process that would continue well into the night. Meeting with Adam, getting his back story on the project and what he perceives his ability to participate due to all of his other responsibilities here at the camp. Issues arose concerning translators and transportation after the first 2 weeks. Possibilities included getting a local peace corps volunteer on board as well, hiring a local with a vehicle to drive every day (may be cheaper than the rental car option). Adam...
Nicaragua Day 2 Wed, 13-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Around noon Bill, Carolyn, Jonathan, Daniel and I packed up the XO's and piled into the car to travel the pot-holed dirt roads past cattle grazing and sugar cane farms. In the distance spectacular volcano's vaulted with cloud-shrouded peaks never failing to impress by virtue of their mere presence. Passing nary another vehicle during the 40-minute drive, everyone in the pueblo rides bikes, horse pulled wagons or motorbikes, and we reached the elementary school in Buenos Aires pueblo. Marcial and Roxanna meet us at the gate to the school. We unpacked the suitcase filled with the xo's and entered the...
Nicaragua Day 3 Thu, 14-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
All of the children were anxiously waiting in the gated courtyard when we pulled up to the school. We greeted them and their exuberance for a few moments until Marcial arrived and unlocked the classroom. Once inside they quickly scrambled to their desks eager to claim their computer for the second time. Without prompting or need for instruction they powered up and were ready to begin etoys lesson 1. For a better view of Carolyn's screen they moved their desks to form semi-circles radiating out from her and dove into the lesson. Once again the number of mentors facilitated the...
Nicaragua Day 4 Fri, 15-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
The morning wind was blowing steady as Carolyn, Bill and I struck out on our first horseback ride on the shore of Lake Nicaragua. It had been far too many years for Bill or I to comfortably mention since our last equestrian experiences, and just a few for Carolyn. Once astride we coax our horses to head down the beach. It was easily apparent that the horses were far more in charge then we were. Heading back towards the camp Bill and Carolyn’s horses found the road that led back to their pasture and headed home. I circled back and...
Nicaragua Day 5 Sat, 16-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
There were no absences today even though it was Saturday. The children were gathered at the school dressed in their uniforms and eager to start another lesson. They were introduced to the halo tool and the children were pleased to learn how to further manipulate their sketches. They practiced resizing, by both retaining the scale and not, duplicating, rotating, repainting and discarding. We had decided to first present the children with each tool through demonstration and then to have them experiment with the new tools by creating a pond and a fish. They appreciated that it was easier to draw...
Nicaragua Day 7 Mon, 18-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Today marks the beginning of week 2 of our pilot sans Jonathan and Daniel our two volunteer mentors from Camp Alegria. They need to get back to their obligations at the camp and then will be headed back home to the US. We are all grateful for their capable, good humored and helpful presence. They were a tremendous asset the first week. To fill their absence Patrick, a Peace Corps volunteer, has come on board. I hope that his involvement will prove beneficial to the ongoing sustainability of the project, as he will be in Nicaragua for another 11 months....
Nicaragua Day 8 Tue, 19-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Today began with an outdoor activity designed to give the children a physical experience of being a sketch on the page responding to commands to advance and turn. Outdoors in the school courtyard the children were supplied with a paper compass to refer to determine the correct angle to turn upon command. As commands were called out groups of children responded to them intersecting and navigating the courtyard parameters. Despite the hot sun the children happily participated in the exercise. They responded well to determining the angle of turn and proudly strutted out their paces. Once in the classroom, the...
Nicaragua Day 9 Wed, 20-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Today began with an initial review of yesterdays lesson. Many of the children had some difficulty getting their sketch to advance and turn to reach a target located in a opposite position on the top or the bottom of the page -- perhaps a fish diving into a lake below. After the review they set about it once again. By experimenting with increasing in increments the amount of turn most were able to accomplish this task. As time began running out two of the children independently discovered an innovative approach to solve the problem -- simply move the target to...
Nicaragua Day 10 Thu, 21-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Today I taught my first lesson to the children with David as translator. We felt it was time to begin the transition from Carolyn delivering all the lessons in Spanish to a new format that will feature a collaborative teaching approach in the weeks ahead. Carolyn and Bill will be leaving Monday of next week and the new mentors will have completed all 30 training lessons. From then on the mentors will take on the primary responsibility of presenting the material with my support and facilitation. By the end of the pilot the goal is that all of the mentors...
Nicaragua Day 11 Fri, 22-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Six am we made for the beach to try to meet the fishermen setting out on the lake in pursuit of their daily livelihood. Bill had hopes of filming them in their preparations and launching of their vessel. As I had suspected we were too late. Five am is the hour. Still we met Will, a Nicaraguan from up north, who was rather familiar with English as he left for Miami in 1979 after his brother was killed at the start of the war. He was happy to practice his English and engaged us in his tale of his experiences...
Nicaragua Day 12 Sat, 23-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Jubilance captures the description of the day. At one pm we heard the far rumble of a bus making its way toward Campo Alegria. Moments later 19 of our students with siblings, mothers and grandmothers tore off the bus near the main hall where we were waiting to welcome them. We gathered outside and Bill made introductory remarks and introduced Carolyn and myself to the crowd. We then invited them inside where tables were arranged in a u-pattern for the children with chairs situated behind so that family members could look on as their “computer whiz’s” showed off their new...
Nicaragua Day 14 Mon, 25-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Some days are bitter sweet. Days of parting after sharing unexpected closeness are like that. Everyone felt it today. Carolyn and Bill are departing. The children's lesson began as usual. Carolyn led them through scripting. StartOver. A task. They listened and achieved. Ruben moved his desk aside and worked on a story about his brother’s birthday party. Cakes with chocolate and vanilla. A piñata. Pigs, swing sets, trucks, and stars rotated, spun. Got named. Still the real part of the day was the piquancy of parting. A singular hug started it. And then the freedom to hug took over. In...
Nicaragua Day 15 Tue, 26-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Today marked the first day of my being solo here at Campo Alegria. I woke early and went for a swim and then made preparations for this afternoon’s class, reviewing the lesson, watching Tim’s video and checking that all of the computers were charged. Promptly at 12:30 my taxi arrived to transport me and the XO’s to the school in Buenos Aires. Marcial was away for the day attending a AIDS forum in Managua but Roxanna, David, Geovany and Patrick were all present. Jose and Marvin rushed to the taxi to fetch the XO’s and carry them into the classroom....
Nicaragua Day 16 Wed, 27-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Roxanna seemed transformed today. During the last two weeks of teacher/mentor training she was serious and quiet, concentrating and applying herself to the lessons. Her soberness softened only when she mastered a task and then beamed with earned self-accomplishment. But today she was radiant. She had prepared well for the lesson and oozed confidence smiling and engaging the children. That was the key – the way she engaged. She didn’t just instruct but led the children through the lesson by urging and inviting their participation with questions and prodding. She overlooked no one in the class. With everyone working on...
Nicaragua Day 17 Thu, 28-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Geovany is a natural teacher. When I arrived, he greeted me as his usual upbeat self, telling of the challenging night he had had preparing. He had watched Tim’s video and reworked lesson 13. “This stuff is pretty hard,” he offered. “I hope I can do the kids justice.” And then he went on to do just that. Like Roxanna he employed the children’s direction to locate tiles and describe process. Never saying no, he would say, “maybe but how might I do this.” He went over the difference between variables and commands in several ways until the children all...
Nicaragua Day 18 Fri, 29-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
The prospect of delivering lesson 14, animation and holders, found Geovany bubbling over with excitement. “Yesterday was hard,” he stated. “We’ll probably have to go back over a lot of the startOver script stuff, variables and all, again and again. But today’s going to be easy.” I was impressed by his enthusiasm. He began by talking about cartoons and the amazing Walt Disney. The children were calling out names of cartoons they have seen and enjoyed. Geovany showed them a sample animation of a ball bouncing over its shadow and the children were entranced. “This is what we’re going to...
Nicaragua Day 19 Sat, 30-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
Two children burst into the camp kitchen seven am on the dot as I was just pouring a fresh cup of brewed coffee into a cup. Yasser and his four-year-old brother were ready for an early morning swim. I downed a few gulps and we were out the door and down to the lake. After an hour or so of frolicking in the water they ran home to change and before I finished showering and dressing they were back wishing to work on the XO’s. Just quickly I would like to note how leisure time to explore and experiment enhances...
Nicaragua Day 20 Sun, 31-Aug-2008 (mscotti)
I visited a very poor fishing village today with Adam, who runs the camp, and Oscar, whose wife is from that village, is Nicaraguan and lives here with his family at the camp. A church from the states had sent money to repair a roof on a church there and Adam needed to inspect it and take some photographs. It is a remote fishing village and the roads to it are in sorry condition. They were having a celebration of thanks for the new roof and served sandwiches of white bread and spaghetti. What is shocking is that every once...
Russell's Sea Stories Mon, 1-Sep-2008 (teefal)
(by Russell Van Riper, expanded from newsletter) As this is written, I am at work. Sailing, four days at sea, the last leg up the Indian River. We are delivering a boat and its owner to a new home port. Nearly four weeks have passed since the end of the Immokalee pilot. When first handed this little computer with great ambition, I asked myself, "How does one introduce computing to children who have never been exposed, without losing childhood to the screen?". I have never been enamored with technology for tech's sake. I see far to many people passively using...
Astronomical Potential Mon, 1-Sep-2008 (paula)
(by C.T. Kormann, from newsletter) The classroom is lit only by the mid-day sun, which angles in through the glassless windows of wrought-iron bars. Outside is a grove of plantain trees. The heat is heavy, the air dusty. Rubén, a skinny 11-year-old, is clicking and dragging his miniature mouse across the arm of his battered wood desk-chair. His toes just barely touch the floor and his saucer-shaped eyes are locked on the glowing screen of his XO laptop, where he has, on a whim, created the solar system. It was my third day in Nicaragua teaching 21 students, (six girls,...
Spark of Light Mon, 1-Sep-2008 (paula)
(from newsletter) Teaching, learning, playing, creating ... everything is interwoven. The spark of light in a child's mind is there at the very beginning. It is our job, as the caretakers of these bright lights, to kindle that spark and fan them, and watch them grow. This spark wants to grow naturally, strongly, because it knows its purpose: to love, to watch, to learn, to know, to grow. The thing that weakens that spark is fear. Fear keeps us trying to do what we think other people want. Fear keeps us distant from our lives, locked in life-long jobs or...
Nicaragua Day 21 Mon, 1-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Jose has become my eager helper. I arrived early today and he a tad late. He was disappointed that he was not there to unload a box of computers from the taxi. Two other children were busy calling out the laptop numbers for the children to claim. Seeing the bag holding the mice, he quickly snatched it and began passing them out. Tasks like these are physical was for him to show his appreciation. They are important to him. Geovany had endured an awful flu over the weekend. I told him he was free to go home if he wasn’t...
Nicaragua Interviews 1 to 5 Tue, 2-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Today I began interviewing the children one by one. We have reached the halfway mark of the pilot. These first 15 lessons are the foundation of Etoys and the rest are the "banquet" of skills and deepening explorations of the program and its possibilities. I thought this was an appropriate time to start. Basically I am asking them a bit about their family life, their dreams and aspirations, their pastimes. I am photographing each student individually and David and Geovany will translate their responses to be sealed in an envelope and delivered to them five years from now. Perhaps it...
Nicaragua Interviews 6 to 8 Wed, 3-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
6. Adan Jose Alcocer Monestel I live in El Cacal part of Buenos Aires. There are twelve of us children, four boys and eight girls. My mothers name is Sonya and my father is Juan. Yes, it s a very big family. I also have eight more cousins but only two grandparents. They are all near by. After school first I have lunch and then study for a while. I play both baseball and football but I prefer football. I do some errands at home. I draw water from the well, run errands for my mother or father and go...
Nicaragua Days 22 to 25 Fri, 5-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
This week saw a deluge of thunderous rainstorms at the camp. Electricity was out for whole evenings and nights and Internet service was intermittent at best. When electricity was available, I rushed to insure that the XOs got charged and fortunately the children saw no interruption in classes. This curtailed my ability to write as my computer was often lacking charge and the loss of signal severely limited my ability to post. All the rain also wrecked havoc on the road, still my taxi driver was stalwart and managed to navigate the swamped areas often forgoing the road altogether to...
Nicaragua Interviews 9 to 13 Sun, 7-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
9. Ruben Rivera Casanova I live in a white house just one block north of the school in section 7 of Buenos Aires. There are 8 sectors in the pueblo. I have one brother and a baby living in my house. We live with my father and Grandfather. I lived and went to school in Costa Rica for five years before moving here. After school I go home for lunch and then come back here for class and fun. In the evening I watch television, do my homework, have dinner and go too bed. I often play football and other...
Nicaragua Day 28 Mon, 8-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
“Muy claros,” was the phrase of the day. Buenos Aires was sweltering. Vapor rose off the tin rooftops. There was neither faint hint nor whiff of breeze. And it wasn’t just me, a gringo in a different clime. Everyone moved slowly. Hand towels stayed in hand, not pocketed, to wipe the sweat from ones brow and neck and hands, continuously. I had brought cookies to tame appetites and found myself rueful that I had not waited and opted for popsicles. Still, the children beads of perspiration sliding down their foreheads and cheeks were present and smiling. After all it was...
Nicaragua Day 29 Tue, 9-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
The future of the pilot weighed heavy today. Adam and I have been discussing it. What can it look like ideally and what are the options with the resources at hand. Is it possible to turn the computers over to the children themselves? What actors do we have and what might support and/or capabilities look like that they may bring to the table? I spent the afternoon in discussion with the Peace Corps workers, discerning their commitment and making arrangements for their director to visit on Friday for a first hand observation of the project. Adam will be present and...
Nicaragua Day 30 Wed, 10-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Yesterday Roxanna’s computer was experiencing ‘the fritz’, simply acting erratic on it’s own accord so Geovany took over (quite happily – he may have put a jinx on her XO) with Lesson 21 – the joystick. I, as noted, was occupied with other issues so based on inquiry the children, especially but not only the boys were thoroughly engrossed. Still they found it a bit complex. We have decided by consensus to review this lesson in its entirety another day when a future lesson is readily grasped. I want to note both Roxanna’s and Geovany’s commitment to being prepared to...
Nicaragua Day 31 Thu, 11-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
What is a present? A gift? Is it a bestowing of something valuable from one to another? Ideally a sharing or token of appreciation? What sorts of gifts live on? What is aid and what of this talk about sustainability? Geovany, Roxanna and David expressed that they have been given the opportunity to be engaged in their world. They feel empowered to make an impact in a few children’s lives, at a small school, in a small pueblo, in their beautiful but impoverished country. They now carry something special and relevant in their hearts – hope. They have been following...
Nicaragua Day 32 Fri, 12-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Karen Ocon, a native Nicaraguan employed by the Peace Corps, visited us for an hour at the school in Buenos Aires today. We held class in a ramshackle room usually used to store bicycles. Our regular classroom had been transformed into a theater, the iron barred windows covered with paper to block out the goings on inside. A talent show was to be held there later in the afternoon and tickets were being sold – no peeking allowed. We had our own talent show on display in our makeshift classroom. The children pulled up their favorite lessons to date. Karen...
Nicaragua Day 35 Mon, 15-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Schools throughout Nicaragua are on vacation this week in honor of both Nicaragua’s and Central America’s independence. The weekend was host to parades throughout the country. School marching bands, colorful floats depicting scenes from Nicaragua’s history and uniformed children abounded. Today Buenos Aires pueblo, not wishing to compete with the larger Rivas, held its’ celebration. The march began at eight am and continued past one thirty in the afternoon. Needless to say it was misguided to hold class today. Still eight of the children showed up exhausted from parading but eager. Opting not to give a lesson the eight delighted...
Nicaragua Day 36 Tue, 16-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Vacation and yet all the children showed up for class. It was fun to see them out of their uniforms. A bit more of their individual personalities revealed in their day-to-day attire. Many were all ready waiting and others trickled in on their bikes. The greeting now is “Goood Afternooon” the ooo’s stressed and drawn out. We held the lesson outside once again under the mango tree. A breeze wafts through the courtyard every once in awhile making the atmosphere much more comfortable then the stifling classroom. Many parents were on hand today as a parent meeting was scheduled for...
Nicaragua Interviews 12 to 15 Wed, 17-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
12. Katherine Massiel Siesar Narljaez In my house there are six people in my family. one older brother, 2 older sisters, one younger and my grandparents. One of my aunts also lives with us. Our house is in the El Cacal sector of Buenos Aires. I like to watch the soap opera “El Patito Feo” (The Ugly Duck). Some of my cousins live by me but not many friends so I play with them. We play many games, mostly house and tag. I help with the dishes, sweeping, and run errands. I like to cook and know how to. My...
Nicaragua Days 37 to 39 Fri, 19-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Once again storms and intermittent inter-net access prevented me from posting. This week Patrick introduced moving an object along a path. This was one of the most well received lessons so far even though it involved come complex scripting. The children saw great potential in this activity and its usefulness in enhancing their stories. After explaining the process by scripting a star to shoot across a wending path the children hurriedly booted up, opened their journals and began tackling this new activity. The room was abuzz with consultations. Small groups formed as children who ‘got it’ drew others around them...
Nicaragua Day 40 Sat, 20-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
The bus arrived promptly a 1:30 under cloudy skies and slight drizzle. The children, family members and friends poured out of the bus smiling and animated. Jose ran to be first to greet me feigning exhaustion as he claimed he had run the whole way beside the bus. He needs no antics to impress me. He’s already stolen my heart. I was delighted to see Aaron’s father present knowing that he would be so pleased with his sons remarkable new abilities. We had opted for no lessons today but rather to give the children the first opportunity to present their...
Nicaragua Interviews 16-22 Sun, 21-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
16. German Luis Romeros Alvarez There are six persons in my house. My mama and stepfather, me and two sister’s. one eight months old and the other fifteen years. We live in a southern sector. I like to play, also to help my mom, study and similar things. I wash dishes and sweep the house. I also amuse the little one who has started to crawl. My favorite sport is baseball and I like to watch TV., mostly channel 10. It has both cartoons and soap operas that I enjoy. I like the Simpson’s, especially Homer. I’d like to be...
Nicaragua Day 42 Mon, 22-Sep-2008 (mscotti)
Saturday night through to this Monday morning displayed thunder and lightening storms of ferocious intensity and downpours to wash out the road and make pasture land look more like ponds then grazing fields. I wondered whether my taxi driver would be able to make it. A little late, his car caked with mud and tires that looked like chocolate donuts he puttered up to camp. He announced that he would never leave me stranded. I am indebted. We loaded up and slowly made our way through the water sodden roads often solely defined by the fence posts on both sides....
Educational Evolution Fri, 17-Oct-2008 (teefal)
(by Donna McAvoy, Immokalee teacher, from newsletter) Last summer I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Waveplace Program in Immokalee. I was so impressed with the experience on many levels, most especially with the passion of organizers, trainers, investors, teachers, volunteers, and students. It soon became apparent to all of us that something very special was going on. On the last day of the program, I was sitting next to a smiling gentleman who whispered, "God is pleased." As a result, I was inspired to implement the Waveplace course with my 5th and 6th grade technology students during the...
Teaching With Love Fri, 17-Oct-2008 (teefal)
(by Mary Scotti, from newsletter) Each day the children in Nicaragua waited excitedly in the schoolyard. Others on their bicycles anticipated the first glimpse of my taxi as it rounded the bend toward Buenos Aires. Waving and calling out greetings, they would ride along the puttering cab towards the school. Boys gathered round, anxious to be the ones to unload the computers. A mad dash for the door ensued as the children jockeyed to be the first in the classroom. The mentors were usually engaged in playful banter with the children. During the entire pilot, this excitement never waned. The...
Winds of Change Fri, 17-Oct-2008 (teefal)
(by Timothy Falconer, from newsletter) As I write this, Hurricane Omar is about to make landfall on the US Virgin Islands. From my talks with our friends, it's fair to say that everyone's scared. Guy Benjamin School has been closed all week. Ferry and mail service have been stopped. Mary Burks has moved her live-in boat to Hurricane Hole. Jan Kinder has been boarding up buildings since 6 AM. Everyone's braced for impact. Looking at the satellite images tonight, I'm reminded of our first Waveplace proposal, which starts: "Each summer and fall in the Caribbean, locals watch the weather with...
the waveplace awards Fri, 24-Oct-2008 (teefal)
Thanks to everyone for the gift of your time to make tonight's Waveplace Awards a reality. I'm sure you're all wondering how it went ... and who won! For those watching at home, the live event may have seemed a bit haphazard, with long waits between acts. My apologies and great thanks for your patience. I was running "the booth" by myself. It was quite a task coordinating everything and communicating with four very distant places at the same time. While "whatever can go wrong will", in retrospect quite a lot more went right than not. The dances by the...
Waveplace Awards Video Tue, 28-Oct-2008 (teefal)
Just posted the one-hour Waveplace Awards video, which includes the winners and all twelve children reading their storybooks. http://waveplace.com/awards/ You can either watch the full hour from that page, or choose chapter-by-chapter from the list below the video box. Once watching a chapter, click "next" to view the next chapter. If you just want to know the winners, click the "Award Presentations" chapter. Thanks once again to the many who participated....
yes we can Tue, 11-Nov-2008 (teefal)
The president-elect's new website asks everyone to "tell us your vision for the country." Here's what I submitted: Transform everything by teaching our children to be creative problem solvers, not through a broken education system that teaches compliance and deficiency, but through a new spirit of guided discovery with mentors devoted to kindling the spark within each child, so they may feel their own promise. This is truly the lever that will change everything, given a chance. When children learn to question, when they're taught confidence to solve problems with creativity, their lives become stories of opportunity and discovery....
