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....
The Voice of Freedom Thu, 18-Dec-2008 (teefal)
(by Christa Crehan, from newsletter) What a privilege it has been to be involved in this Waveplace extravaganza! I just finished watching the Waveplace Awards video. What an amazing accomplishment for all of the children. Watching them combine computer programming and storytelling to create their final storybooks was the best gift from this experience. All children have something important to give and it is up to the adults around them to guide them and show them they can accomplish anything they want. Maria (winner of Best Artwork) and Eric (winner of Best Scripting) began the program with trepidation. What they...
May Your Light Shine Thu, 18-Dec-2008 (teefal)
(by Mary Scotti, from newsletter) Wendy Garcia of Nicaragua was awarded the first Seymour Award bestowed by the Waveplace Foundation and we are proud. Her family is rightly proud. Buenos Aires school and Campo Alegria are proud. Her classmates are too. Wendy joined our pilot a few days into it and spent time catching up. Her first day she had figured out how to spin out stars and patterns of such intricacy with the pen tool that they mesmerized her peers. Geovany praised her abilities. "She is so smart! She just gets it." The principle nodded his recognition. Demonstrating to...
Success in Nicaragua Thu, 18-Dec-2008 (teefal)
(by Adam Todd, from newsletter) Imagine for a moment a small school in a small town on the outskirts of one of the smallest cities in the poorest country in Central America. Imagine a school without electricity or running water, windows without screens or glass, roofs littered with holes and areas that have collapsed, tables and chairs that are virtually falling apart. With all of this in mind, we couldn't have thought of a better place to run the first Waveplace pilot in Central America. Only an XO would be versatile enough to adapt to these conditions and allow children...
blog post from poland Mon, 5-Jan-2009 (teefal)
Nice blog post about Waveplace on a Polish blog. Read it in translated English or original Polish....
haiti update Fri, 22-Jan-2010 (teefal)
Hi all, Tim Falconer from Waveplace. Just a quick update to let everyone know that the schools and kids from our two Haitian pilots, and the upcoming one in Matanwa, are all alive and safe for now. The building in Petit-Riviere was spared, and luckily the Port-Au-Prince children were moved to the new facility in Williamson just prior to the earthquake. Our chief mentor, Bill Stelzer, is in Port-Au-Prince now . . he's helping with the schools and filming. He & Suzie have been on CNN twice in the last two days (http://haitichildren.org). I'm now in Cambridge MA in talks...
Waveplace Plan to Help Haiti Tue, 26-Jan-2010 (teefal)
Hi everyone, After talking non-stop with dozens of people and groups over the last two weeks, Waveplace has settled on a plan to help Haiti in the coming four months. Tonight I've uploaded three videos describing this plan. Please forgive the roughness of my presentation (and my tired haggard look). This was simply the quickest way for me to put the details of the plan online for all to see. I will be transcribing the videos tomorrow for those that would rather read text. Here are the videos: The transcription will be here tomorrow: http://haiti.waveplace.com We welcome the ideas and...
Boston pilots Wed, 27-Jan-2010 (teefal)
Quite a day today. Seems like everything's falling into place easily, which is wonderful given the complexity of the task before us. In the morning, I saw that OLPC News had featured prominently, with the three videos and those awful stills of me right on the home page. Then a productive talk with Chris Low, who co-directs the Matenwa School. We decided to have two concurrent pilots up here, over the next two weeks, on preparation for trips to Haiti a week or two later. The main goal is to get the new courseware tested and tweaked, then translated. She...
two pilots begin Mon, 1-Feb-2010 (teefal)
In two hours, I'll be meeting with William Stelzer, our chief mentor, who flew up from the Virgin Islands last night, and Allison Bland, who just returned from Crisis Camp NYC, which was a very helpful event. The three of us will start two local pilots today, one at the Fayerweather Street School, which has an ongoing relationship with the Matenwa Community Learning Center in Haiti, and another at Graham & Parks with a class of mostly Kreyol speaking Haitian children. We'll meet with each pilot class once a weekday for the next two weeks, teaching them Squeak Etoys and...
Thinking about Color and Imagination in Haiti Mon, 1-Feb-2010 (allison)
Surely the XO cannot be panacea to all existing infirmities within Haiti, particularly the devastation caused by the recent earthquakes from January 12 and on. However, these devices, along with skilled Haitian mentors, can introduce creative problem solving in an area that has suffered for too long from discrimination based on color, and the discouragement of imagination.
"School is Out" Tue, 2-Feb-2010 (allison)
Waveplace friend and colleague John Engle presents footage narrated by Dan Hobson and Chip Coffin of destroyed schools on his Haiti Partners blog. This video highlights the dire need for educational programs, like the pilots we are running this month in Boston, to be implemented as soon as possible in Haiti. We look forward to coordinating a hub in Darbonne with John in the coming weeks....
Piloting Stories in Translation Wed, 3-Feb-2010 (allison)
...deeper issues of translation are at stake. Throughout the day while the children are beginning to integrate the language of their everyday life with this new scripting language, volunteers for Waveplace Foundation and One Laptop Per Child debate translation of Haitian Kreyol.
Vacation Week Mon, 15-Feb-2010 (allison)
The past two weeks were jam-packed. We taught sessions in the morning and afternoon and then decompressed and adapted plans in the evening. We progressed through our eToys curriculum and figured out what worked and what needed to be tweaked. We also kept our ear to the voices of local communities, here and in Haiti. This is the strategy we believe gets the best results. We attended events around Cambridge with our friends at OLPC and MIT and attended Haitian Creole church services in Dorchester. We also trekked to NYC on the weekends to attend Crisis Camps there and connect with burgeoning efforts in translation and community activism.
first five haitian mentors Tue, 2-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Just recieved a photo of the first five Haitian mentors in our upcoming Haiti pilots. Meet Jean Antoine, Ericlese, Alin, Yves Antoine, and Michena-Edith from Petite Riviere des Nippes. Another 35 will soon join them....
impossible tasks Thu, 11-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Today's the first of daily morning posts I'll write during the Haiti pilots. Exactly eight weeks ago, on my birthday, I woke from a late night of worry and resolve, weighing the realities of an expanded Waveplace plan in Haiti. I dwelled on the logistical, financial, and personal risks, running through the whole thing in my mind. On the surface, for hours, my brain was certain that I simply couldn't do this. Underneath was another truth, unspoken but felt . . . how can I not do what I can? I woke on my birthday, struggled for an hour more,...
10! The laptops are flying. Fri, 12-Mar-2010 (teefal)
The laptops are on their way. Yesterday we got our tracking number from DHL, which has graciously agreed to ship our 200 XO laptops to Haiti for free. They’ll be in Port-Au-Prince early next week. The big question is whether they’ll clear customs before next Friday, and how much we’ll be charged by the Haitian government. Place your bets! We can now officially thank One Laptop Per Child for redonating these 200 laptops to our Waveplace effort from the laptops donated by G1G1 recipients after the earthquake. Their trust in our efforts is both humbling and much appreciated. Special thanks...
9! Hedging our bets. Sat, 13-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Anything that can go wrong, will. Or so say the Irish. In Haiti, I'd strengthen the statement and say, "Every part of your plan will have obstacles, so have backup plans for everything, and backups for your backups." As an example, the Graham & Parks kids didn't bring in their laptops yesterday, so I won't get to meet with them after all. As for the Haiti pilots, the biggest bad news we could get is injury, disease, or kidnapping. Bill, Beth, and I are aware of these ever present risks, though aside from watching where we walk, getting immunizations and...
8! Back in Pennsylvania. Sun, 14-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Five hour drive home yesterday through a lovely Nor'easter. Paula had to drive through sheets of rain and wind, while her scared-to-drive husband stared out the window and communed with the elements. I did manage to get about an hour worth of work done, mostly figuring out how to make Wordpress templates so I can switch from Movable Type for the Squeakland and Waveplace blogs. "The world will turn if you're ready or not." Now sitting on my little couch at home while the girls sleep upstairs. I'm always the first up, which gives me some quiet time. I'd say...
7! Rest. Mon, 15-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday my body decided I needed to catch up on rest. Fully intending to work on courseware, I instead slept two-thirds of the day and walked through the rest in a brainless daze. "Take a break, or the break takes you." The problem with barreling forth without regard to emotion is that you gotta pay the bill sometime. The neglected emotions rear themselves the moment you stop moving, like a leg that fell asleep then later woke up in pain. With ample sleep overnight, I drive to Starbucks this morning to get some blogging in. Taking my first sip, I...
6! Redoubling Tue, 16-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday, almost on cue, came the doubts. As regular as clockwork on any big project, there comes a day just before the end where I become convinced that I just cannot finish. Forward momentum carries me only so far. After weeks of unsustainable rhythm, there comes a time when motivation fails and fear creeps in around my resolve. Paula knows the look; she's been there many times herself with her concerts. "Not enough time to finish?" she asked. "There's enough time," I replied, "just not enough . . . nerve." Yesterday was tough. Struggling to do simple things. I went...
5! Courseware Wed, 17-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday I woke at 4am and worked till 10pm, more than making up for my lackluster Monday. Aside from a trip to LL Bean to get supplies, including a compact water purification pump, I tended to a variety of other concerns I've been neglecting in the eclipse of all things Haiti. With now four days of work left before the plane, I'm confident again, but still stressed. Yesterday's big task was courseware. I finished all ten "Basic Etoys" screencasts (video tutorials) and finished outlining through lesson 3. Making screencasts is an art in itself, which has everything to do with...
4! Setbacks. Thu, 18-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday I spent much of the day rendering the screencasts into the various formats we'll need: MP4, FLV, OGG. Rendering's the kind of thing you do in the background, but it requires monitoring, at least the way I was doing it. All done, and ready to upload, and I discover that a setting in Final Cut was wrong, which means I need to redo 6 of the 10 I'd finished. It's the kind of setback that can really kill momentum if you let it, but there's no time for a pity party here, so I fixed the problem last night...
3! Emotions Fri, 19-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday I woke late, intent to get more courseware done, hoping to get more text to Creoletrans, and had the hardest time getting momentum. As soon as I'd start rolling on the Etoys projects, an interruption would stop me, then again, and again. I call this stage of a creative project the "endgame," when deadlines are looming and total focus and momentum are required. A lot can get done during these sprints, but it takes its toll. As Paula later said, I was a "live wire" yesterday morning, though I did finally get into a rhythm after everyone left the...
2! Family Sat, 20-Mar-2010 (teefal)
This last week was Paula's spring break, her one time off from her grueling sabbatical Spring. The original plan was to take a vacation in our Pennsylvania home, time off to spend as a family and reconnect. The girls got the time off, though without much time from me. As I'm now heading to Haiti for 16 days, which is the longest time I've been away from Isabel, and since Paula is pretty worried about the whole thing, yesterday was about family time, or at least as much as possible given a trip two days away. We visited our friend...
1! Packing Sun, 21-Mar-2010 (teefal)
At noon yesterday we got the news . . . the 200 laptops haven't gotten through customs, which means we won't have them for Matènwa. Good thing about backup plans. I called Beth and Bill to tell them "pack your ten laptops." One potential snafu that had us worried for a bit came from something Chris said a few days ago. She flew Spirit Air and they told her she could only have one checked back because of "the economic embargo". A call to American put us at ease. My mom's old airline lets you take two. Before that I...
blastoff! Mon, 22-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Waking yesterday at 2:30am after five hours of sleep, I showered, kissed Paula, and dragged my five bags to the lobby, tram, and gate. Gotta love the 2 hour recommendation for international travel. I had more than an hour to spare, as usual. The coffee place hadn't opened yet, so I sat in a caffeineless trance for half an hour, looking at all the empty seats around me. On the plane to Miami, I talked with a man going to Columbia who has a textile business there. I showed him Etoys and talked about Waveplace. There's someone he'd like me...
Day 1) "It's centrally located." Tue, 23-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Woke yesterday at John's house to a breezy Haitian morning with roosters calling and forest noises all around. One of the medical team regaled with her tale of tarantula woe the night before. John's wife cooked another wonderful meal for us, then we left for Port-Au-Prince to change money and get last minute supplies. Apparently Haitian currency is a bit of a mess from a naming standpoint. There's the Haitian "goud", which is the official currency. There's about 39 gouds to one US dollar. We changed $300 worth at a grocery store. If all prices were in gouds, things would...
Day 2) First Mentor Class Wed, 24-Mar-2010 (teefal)
The first thing you gotta accept when you're doing something like this: confusion is acceptable. Between the language difficulties, cultural differences, shifting circumstances, and stuff you didn't think of, it's mostly mess, but this is fine. High acceptance, low expectation. The only way to fail is to convince yourself you need to teach everything, they need to learn everything, and that things should go according to plan. To me, plans are a kind of shorthand for things you do when you're not dealing with all the unexpected stuff. Plans are for when you have a moment to think. Plans are...
Day 3) First Children Class Fri, 26-Mar-2010 (teefal)
(from yesterday, no Internet until now) The second best part of this job is handing out the laptops to the children. Watching their eyes as they open them, turn them on, and first start using the trackpad and keyboard, I'm always grateful for the tireless hours that OLPC and the XO community have put into this magical machine for the good of the world. The best part of this job comes much later, when we start seeing a different look in the eyes of the children, that of confidence, mastery, and surprise at what they can do. This is the...
Video : Day 1 : Meeting in Matènwa Fri, 26-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Day 4) No Energy, No Bars Sat, 27-Mar-2010 (teefal)
(post from yesterday ... no internet till now) Power and wireless are problems. Much of yesterday was charge and wait, charge and wait. The solar panels on both buildings are getting an unusually high workout. As for wireless, I wrote my usual blog post in the morning, but was unable to transmit a few kilobytes of text all day, either through the school's wireless or my own USB modem. Luckily we had enough power for both classes, though we had to change between the treehouse and library outlets a few times. I'm thinking the portable solar panel idea was a...
Day 5) Customs, Cold, and Sleep Sat, 27-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday was market day, as it is on every Friday, when goods are brought from all over to the same market area that we walked to the previous day. In the last few days, I had developed a cold, likely caught from a cute little two-year old boy in Pennsylvania, so I opted out on another walk to market to instead relax and take a morning nap, hoping to recover from my cold. I woke and went to the treehouse to blog and access the situation. Power would be a problem again today and the wireless was intermittent. As the...
Day 6) Marathon Sun, 28-Mar-2010 (teefal)
This Haitian saying pretty much sums things up: "Beyond mountains there are mountains." Once you've overcome one obstacle, there's another to take its place, then another. We'd planned to have eleven full days in Matènwa, enough for the ten lessons with a break on Sunday (today). Once we arrived, we discovered that we'd need to lose a day with the kids, since the mentor classes were scheduled after the children's classes each day. The local teachers were in school with the kids, so couldn't do training in the morning as we usually do. The kids needed to have class directly...
Video: laptops clear customs Tue, 30-Mar-2010 (teefal)
John Engle in Port-au-Prince ushering our laptops out of customs!...
Day 7) Community Tue, 30-Mar-2010 (teefal)
Sunday was our day off, which really means it was our time to catch up on all the things we haven't had time to do, at least in the morning. I spent time capturing video from mini-dv tapes so Bill could edit. While doing that, I imported many photos and blogged. As we seem to only have Internet in the morning, I made use of that now magic state (connection!) to catch up on email and do some research. While working in the library, Robert was organizing his music behind me, playing five seconds of each song, choosing what to...
Day 8) Full Power! Thu, 1-Apr-2010 (teefal)
(from Tuesday, no Internet until now) Yesterday morning, Robert told me, "I will fix the electricity today. I will look at the solar and will charge with the generator." I nodded my head with an eager smile. Off he went up to the round house, with my multi-tool in his hand. Earlier I watched him fix a portable DVD player with that same tool, which really impressed me. Robert will be our Matènwa XO repair person, no doubt. Electricity is a real issue, even in this school with pretty good power. The 40 extra laptops have had a strong impact...
Video : Days 2 and 3 : First Classes Tue, 6-Apr-2010 (teefal)
Day 9) Digging Deep Tue, 6-Apr-2010 (teefal)
(from last Wednesday) Some days are tougher than others. Pilots start with smiles all around. Kids are happy; adults are happy. What an opportunity, what a great group! About a week in, it's all about endurance. With a compressed schedule, without much break, the good feelings get replaced with hard work. Everyone's still enthused, but setbacks and exhaustion and doubt become more obvious. It happens in every pilot. Cheerleading and encouragement are critical to success, perhaps the most important task of all. Even if you've got nothing left in the gas tank, you've got to dig inside and find a...
Day 10) Passion and Praise Thu, 8-Apr-2010 (teefal)
(from last Thursday) Ten days in and I've settled into a routine. Wake with the roosters, use the latrine, try for some Internet in the library, charge my laptop while I blog and review photos, talk with Bill and Beth. Not one to wear a watch, I've pretty much forgotten about time. I sometimes skip lunch, so Janose brings it to the round house for me and Bill. Thank you Janose! Lunch is an important meal in Haiti, more important than dinner. The school blows a conch shell at the end of the day, which is my signal to start...
Day 11) Waiting for your voice Thu, 8-Apr-2010 (teefal)
(from last Friday) Up early for more screencasts with Benaja, we couldn't get past the Final Cut editing problems. Bill spent some time on it and got things moving quickly again, but now their wasn't enough time to render the screencasts for the mentors, which was our overall goal. Michena was to teach one lesson, Lionel another. Roll with it . . . Michena could watch the screencasts on my computer in Final Cut, which meant that Benaja and I couldn't continue our morning screencast work. Lionel confided in Bill that he felt uncomfortable teaching Lesson 8 (tests). After watching...
Day 12) Last Circle Thu, 8-Apr-2010 (teefal)
(from last Saturday) I'm sitting in the treehouse for the last time. My luggage is in the truck that will bring us to the beach airstrip where our tiny plane will fly us to Port-Au-Prince. We have two extra passengers, Benaja and Joseph, so whether all of us and our luggage will fit is a open question. We may need two flights. Looking around this panoramic view of Lagonav at the mountains and the mainland in the distance, I'm feeling exhausted and exhilarated. There's a real sense that something big has started. The mentors met once last time in the...
Video: Fallen Darbonne Schools Fri, 9-Apr-2010 (teefal)
Here's a video by John Engle of the four fallen schools in Darbonne, the earthquake's epicenter. Children from each of these schools will be in our two Darbonne pilots....
Day 13) How to Turn 24 in Haiti Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Sunday the 4th) Nail polish. Definitely the best thing to bring on this trip. After getting up early to paint the finger and toenails of John Engle's daughter, Layla, it looks like we have successfully painted the nails of nearly all the women of the Engle household. Next to our laptop program, I think painting the toenails of as many women is possible is another goal of my time here. I wish I could say this is a joke because it seems very shallow. But when you see the look on the faces of the little girls who suddenly...
Day 14) Easter Sunday and Such Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from last Monday) Happy Easter! No news to report today. We all sat around and relaxed while the computers were safely locked away in some place in Port-au-Prince that we couldn't access during the holidays. I spent much of my time checking in with family, blogging on the travel magazine that I started up, Go Girl (www.travelgogirl.com, to put in a plug) and, of course, playing with John Engle's two adorable kids, Daniel and Layla. In the morning, I whipped out my bubbles and nail polish and opened up my playground/salon. Couldn't have gone better. Also opened up the book,...
Day 15) Steps Back, Steps Forward Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Tuesday) Here's the sleep count from last night: Benaja: 6 hours (1:30am-7:30am) Beth: 4 hours (4:00am-8am) Bill: 3 hours (4:30am-7:30am, but, according to Bill, did not actually start moving until about 8:45am). And here's what we pulled from triage: Computers that are totally screwed up and perhaps helpless: 8 Computers that won't turn on (thinking it's a clock problem): 44 Computers that are happy and ready to be used: 56 Putting us at a total of 108 computers that we'll be taking to Darbonne and Petite Riviere des Nippes these next two weeks. Let's just say that Bill and...
Day 16) The Last House Standing Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Wednesday) Next to Joseph's family's house in Darbonne (Leogane) there is an equally large wooden shack with a tin roof. It was quickly built two weeks ago when the family returned to their plot of land after living in a tent community after the earthquake. The original house is a beautiful cement building with white window gratings and sheer curtains that sway in the breeze. It is calm and, besides the curtains, unmoving. In this sense, its mere existence puts a new twist on the recent reality TV shows like “Survivor” and “Last Comic Standing”. For this, with near...
Day 17) Motorcycle Mama Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Thursday) BEEEP BEEEEEEEEPPPPP!!! Motorcycles riding three, four, five people scoot by as we walk towards town to class. As they turn corners they honk loudly. We greet people as we walk by and they smile at us. “Bonjou,” we say as we step over piles of rubble, the remains of people's houses, stores. Darbonne is a town but sometimes it feels more rural. I suppose that's what happens when you lose a lot of the buildings you used to have. Yesterday was our first Etoys lesson. We started as one large group of students and talked about what we...
Day 18) The Earthquake Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Friday) Reached for some banana at lunchtime and there was a shudder. It felt as if an enormous truck had been driving by for just a couple of quick seconds. I had never felt an earthquake before but I knew it wasn't strong or even remotely dangerous. Regardless of that fact, however, the first thing we all did was look up at the cement ceiling above us. I looked at Naomi, beside me. Her face was emotionless, or perhaps a mixture of emotion that was too complex to describe. For how can you describe the feelings of someone who...
Day 19) Steps Forward Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Saturday) It's Saturday and we've just gotten back from the longest walk ever. It's made me completely forget what we did yesterday. We had a good class, did a lot of painting and I think the kids really enjoyed it. The mentors are really starting to find their ground in class and it's great to see. After asking the kids what they did yesterday, trying to “review”, the question backfired and I decided that the white girl needed to stop talking and we needed to let the teachers take over. So today we gathered around in our usual circle....
Day 20) Church Mon, 12-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Sunday) Well, here we were again, standing up in front of a crowd. At this point Bill and I have gotten pretty used to introducing ourselves in front of large groups of people. After numerous classrooms and training sessions, introducing ourselves yet again in front of Renia's church was another opportunity to try explaining, in 100 words or less, exactly what we were up to in Haiti. The church was mainly standing except for the back of it, which was completely knocked out. A USAID tent covered the new sitting area, with the pastor and assistants seated just before...
Day 22) More Valuable Than Anything Fri, 16-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Tuesday) We've been so swamped the past couple of days that I haven't even had a chance to jump on my computer to work. Yesterday's class was GREAT! Benaja had to email a translation so we started class without him. I successfully instructed mentors and students in Creole and they really took over like pros. We are so proud of them. Lionel, one of our group leaders, told us he would be late to class but ended up arriving AFTER class. It frustrated us. He's doing a great job as a teacher but he's not the strongest group leader....
Day 23) Flying Colors Mon, 19-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Wednesday) Getting up early in the morning, repainting John Engle's daughter, Layla's, nails after she lost almost all the color after only one week, driving through the city for hours while trying to not show up to class too late with computers in hand. And class went great! Bill, Benaja and I tried our best to do as little as possible. It's entirely possible that we were lazy and that's the reason. But we also wanted to see the mentors do what they do best all by themselves. We were thoroughly impressed with their work and everything went really...
Day 24) Petite Riviere des Nippes Mon, 19-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Thursday) Sitting at Manilow's Inn in Petite Riviere des Nippes, watching the sun as it sets over the ocean. Just got out of taking a hot shower in my hotel room and eating a delicious meal of conch with Bill and Benaja. Feeling a little bit like a queen right now! We got to Petite Riviere at about 9:30 this morning and headed right into the school. I stupidly forgot a whole bunch of chargers in Darbonne- that's the main problem right now, though we have enough chargers to last us if we use the chargers that were already...
Day 25) Getting Stronger Mon, 19-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Friday) Each day the program at Petite Riviere is getting stronger, and I know the mentors feel it too. After a successful tanning day and a difficult but enjoyable conversation with some Red Cross volunteers, I headed to school with Bill and Benaja in time for our 12:15 mentor planning meeting. The planning meeting was a little less organized than we'd hoped. The mentors kept going into the students' classroom because a lot of the students were already there. They seemed more interested in sitting with the students than in planning, but eventually we got them all to sit...
Day 26) Guidance Mon, 19-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Sunday) With a stomach full of delicious Haitian coffee, I turned around under the dome of Manilow's inn and saw Antoine waiting for me. He grinned his big toothy grin and waved as he sat by the inn's fountain. It's Saturday, which means market day. Despite the fact that Bill, Benaja and I have all tried to explain to Antoine that I am happily in another relationship, Antoine doesn't seem to get it. So we have a date today to go to the market and I can't refuse because he didn't really even ask me if I wanted to...
Day 27) Burnt Mon, 19-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Sunday) My body is burning. It may be from the boat ride in Antoine and Emmanuel's motorboat, followed by a solid two or three hour lay in the midday Haitian sun. What can I say, I'm 24 years old. I'm not supposed to be reasonable yet. Highlights include more saltwater in our faces than we had really bargained for, the stereo that Antoine broke out once we hit land, watching Michena dance with two sticks as if she were playing the drums, and, of course, the sand toilet that we all made (complete with water in the bowl and...
Day 29) Then, magic happened Sun, 25-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Tuesday) It's 12:15- time for our mentor meeting- and there are only six out of ten mentors here. I pace back and forth. Today is the most important day of our visit so far. In trying to make peace with the principal at our school in Petite Riviere des Nippes, we had invited him to come and watch class today, then sit with us for a few minutes as we go through our mentor breakdown meeting. We would welcome his questions and comments, and simultaneously try to show him that he can trust us to make this program run...
Day 30) lean into the wind Sun, 25-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Wednesday) There's a breeze settling in on the ocean. I scan my eyes over the horizon- nothing, nothing, nothing but water and sky, nothing...then, a tiny sailboat in the far-off distance. Imagine the horizon is the peace that I want to maintain today in this blog post, and that the sailboat is the very small detail that I am going to write about- just enough to not disturb what is around it. Today has been quite the day and I am not about to even remotely disrupt the perfection that we seemed to have reached. The mentors showed up...
Day 31) more than anything Sun, 25-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Thursday) We call ourselves the Green and White Berets: Bill, Beth and Benaja. Bill calls us the “B Team”-- a compilation of our three B names and also what you get when you can't afford the A team. Together, we make things work. We are the OLPC/Haiti special forces. And we're here to get the job done. Our mentors in Petite Riviere des Nippes feel the same way. Our last day here went very similarly to the way our last day in Darbonne went. We did little to disrupt class and let the mentors hold their before and after...
Day 33) "To them, you are a mother." Sun, 25-Apr-2010 (beth)
(from Saturday) Eddy tugs my hand and looks at me with that goofy smile of his. I still don't know what his eyes look like because he is wearing a pair of enormous black sunglasses. He has on a yellow shirt and red shorts with a Hawaiian print. Those shorts, they give his personality away in a second. Charmingly awkward, friendly, low-maintenance. He smiles at me and he never speaks, but that smile, it speaks volumes. I hold out my fist. He bumps it with his own. He looks at me with those enormous sunglasses. Then he slowly walks away,...
Day 34) The kids are SO smart Sun, 25-Apr-2010 (beth)
One of our students (I don't know his name yet) is missing a part of both of his wrists so his hand are curved inward. His thumb curls below his hand. Besides this, he is a perfectly normal kid who has completely overcome his disability. He's good natured and I don't think the kids around him even realize that he had difficulty sometimes using his hands. We watch him struggle for hours with the trackpad on his XO. I'm not even sure what to say to him because I'm honestly just holding my breath for the trackpad to keep WORKING....
Day 35) The Seven Elements of Success Mon, 26-Apr-2010 (beth)
Today has been a big puddle of stress. The kids need more attention than Bill and I can offer them. On top of this, an important OLPC meeting has come up tomorrow so we're leaving Williamson early. In evaluating our projects so far, Bill and I have come up with the Seven Elements of Success in an OLPC/Waveplace project. Each element is absolutely essential. Without any one of them, an initiative cannot be successful. We thought we would make this list so that we can better prepare ourselves in the future for more successful pilots. Due to the particular situation...
Day 36) another good day Sat, 1-May-2010 (beth)
(about Monday) Today was certainly a successful day. Since we were cutting short our Williamson visit in order to get to a meeting with Dale and Michel of MIT/OLPC in Petionville, today was our last day of class and it was a little heartbreaking because, not only did I not want to leave the most adorable kids in the world, but I also just didn't feel like we had enough time to teach anything of substance. But Bill had a great idea, and that was to divide the class between students that had taken the XO training last year and...
Day 37) day in darbonne Sat, 1-May-2010 (beth)
(about Tuesday) Coming soon ... lost in the mail :)...
Day 38) Matènwa again Sat, 1-May-2010 (beth)
(about Wednesday) Had a very successful meeting with our Matènwa mentors today, even though Bill and I were about ready to keel over in tiredness after a lot of travel. Normally, we're not so tired, but I think the five past weeks are really starting to affect us! Things that we talked about at Matènwa: -The PORN ISSUE. Kids are using the internet to look for dirty pictures. We talked about putting a password on the internet because all those XOs hooked up is slowing down Chris' connection at Matènwa anyway, but I wanted to put a rule down regardless...
Day 39) making rules Sat, 1-May-2010 (beth)
(about Thursday) The students put their computers down and gather around in a circle. They are interspersed among teachers. One of the mentors speaks up. “We're going to talk today about responsibility. What kinds of responsibilities do you students have with this laptop?” The students put their hands up. To take care of them, to not give them to babies, to not break them. The usual. “And what kinds of things can we do with the computers?” Play games, play with Etoys, go on the internet. “And what kinds of things do we do on the internet?” Do research, watch...
Day 40) mentors, mice, and realness Sat, 1-May-2010 (beth)
(about Friday) Today was mainly ups; a few downs. It's hard to say much in the last few days. You just try to watch it all pass, and erase any mistakes that you know you can change permanently. Everything else you just cross your fingers that it works out right. Today the mentors stopped class early because they didn't understand a part of Lesson 7. We were confused because it seems like they just stopped class without even really asking Bill or myself for help. They asked Benaja, and Benaja explained, but they decided to stop class anyway, apparently because...
olpc realness summit (realness.org) Sat, 1-May-2010 (teefal)
Waveplace is pleased to announce the OLPC REALNESS SUMMIT. No hype, no bashing, no wireless, no room service. Just straight talk about what works, what doesn't, and why we do what we do. WHERE: Maho Bay Camps on the island of St John, US Virgin Islands (steps from the beach) WHEN: May 28, 29, 30, 31 HOW MUCH: $300 for four nights, including lodging Twelve invited talks and discussions, three a day, from five continents and the Caribbean: * WAVEPLACE: Tim Falconer * OLPC: Adam Holt * SUGAR LABS: Bernie Innocenti * ASIA: Mike Dawson from the OLPC Afghanistan...
Day 41) last afternoon Wed, 5-May-2010 (beth)
(about Saturday) My last afternoon sitting in the library at the Matènwa Community Learning Center. It's funny how things change; how things are the same. I'm still sitting in the same library. The weather is the same. The people around me are all the same people. Nothing has changed. And yet, everything has changed. For one thing, my hair is braided. I'm a little bit more tan, a little bit more “Haitian”. Now when people talk about me I have a pretty good grasp on what they're saying (even if they don't know it yet). At this point, I'm quite...
Day 42) Leaving Haiti Wed, 5-May-2010 (beth)
(about Sunday) The blue wooden sailboat rocks up and down, side to side. I desperately try to keep my stomach from flying out of my mouth. I look over at Bill and Chris and they are motionless (but I later learn that they are pretty much thinking the exact same thing as me). We woke up at three in the morning to leave Matènwa and make it to the 6am boat ride to Port-au-Prince. Bill and I rode in the back of a big pick-up truck filled with luggage. We laid all the luggage down in a cozy arrangement and...
Kids know when you're not real. Thu, 20-May-2010 (teefal)
Five days until the Maho Workshop begins and I'm already exhausted. Not that I've had much break since the Haiti trip. Pretty much this entire year so far has been one thing after the next, an endless string of details demanding time. Everything I do is instead of something else. This morning I'm wondering just how real I ought to get in these posts. With a name like "realness" staring back at me, my first thought is "very." But people are many and they've each have their own likely reactions. The deeper you dig, the more you risk alienating or...
realness and regis Fri, 21-May-2010 (teefal)
In Haiti, everyone greeted everyone. Throughout the day, people walked from house to house, chatting about everything and nothing, keeping connected. Two weeks later, I'm taking the T home from Boston airport, sitting in a metal subway car filled with more people than lived in that whole Haitian village. No one talks to each other. No one looks up. No connection. When I'm with Isabel, my four year old daughter, I'm often talking to people on the subway. She's a great icebreaker with her antics. I'm usually saying funny things to her, which make the people around smile and pretty...
START: Day One in Maho Tue, 25-May-2010 (beth)
Arrived in St. John late last night due to a few flight delays. Bill picked me up at the ferry. “Man, Bill,” I said to him. “It's like I just saw you two weeks ago!” “Funny,” he responds. “You did!” St. John is a little bit different from Haiti, but certainly an interesting comparison. They're both in the Caribbean and there are cultural things that seem to spill over between the two- Tap Taps (or Safari Wagons, as they call them here), the intense humidity, the mosquitoes. Headed out to Beach Bar with Bill where we filled what was my...
The Difference English Makes Tue, 25-May-2010 (beth)
Class today goes great. George Hunt and Jessica Curtis have joined on board and came with us to class today. It was great having them join up. We're expecting some new people tomorrow evening too- can't believe the summit is already here. Today we worked on Etoys Lesson 2 and tried to build interest among the kids in storytelling, using the book item in the Etoys supply box (which is something students learn in Lesson 2). I was with the Guy Benjamin School today, the same school that Waveplace did a pilot with a couple of years back. We were,...
The Life of Abraham Browne Wed, 26-May-2010 (beth)
It's 3:05pm and we're walking down the hallway of the Julius E. Sprauve School (JESS), heading to class. Our students at the end of the hall can hear our voices and our feet- they come running out of the room, bounding into our arms. There's a lot of yellow in this school- the walls are yellow, the students' shirts are yellow. The air conditioner is strong but it still feels like you're in the tropics because the school is just so colorful. Today, Wednesday, we're teaching the kids how to create sketches using the paintbrush tool in Etoys. At JESS...
Pre-Realness...Here We Go Fri, 28-May-2010 (beth)
At the Gifft Hill School, there are flowers all over the projector screen. They keep duplicating, one after another. “Make sixty!” One kid shouts. “Make a thousand!” Exclaims another. Today is the most calm, disciplined day I have maybe ever seen in my whole experience with the XO laptop. It is also because the Guy Benjamin school was closed today due to flood warnings so we have double our mentors, plus a whole bunch of Realness participants that wanted to come and join in. We have 20 students, and about 16 adults. Today, class is not One Laptop per Child...
Questions...and Answers Fri, 28-May-2010 (beth)
It's amazing the movement that Realness is already beginning to make, and we're only one day into the summit. Here are the countries represented in Realness 2010: Haiti Paraguay Peru Uruguay Honduras Afghanistan São Tomé e Príncipe USA, including the Virgin Islands; Columbus, Ohio; and Cambridge, MA Madagascar Austria The global reach is outstanding- a collection of experience all in one place and time. We have representatives from OLPC, Sugar Labs, OLPC News, non-profits, government reps, computer software and programming groups, schools, even individual volunteers and interested observers. We come all representing various angles of the OLPC experience- the masterminding,...
Philosophy and Failure Sat, 29-May-2010 (beth)
Day two of Realness and it starts off with a bang- Bernie Innocenti of Sugar Labs/OLPC Paraguay and Christoph Derndorfer of OLPC Austria/OLPC News really set the stage for some amazing presentations over the next two days. Both of them regaled us with tales of success and tales of challenge. There are a number of things that Bernie and Sugar Labs hope to do in order to improve sugar- getting the computers to start up faster, making the XO printer friendly, building full keyboard navigability, improving the friend view and creating an error message when you copy too many items...
Models (not Runway-Ready) Sun, 30-May-2010 (beth)
An interesting focus on the day today has gotten me thinking. It started with my presentation on São Tomé and my assistance in the presentation on Haiti, as well as Mike Dawson and Salim Hayran's presentation about Afghanistan. All three of these deployments have visible elements of success and all three have good advice to share. And then, after a nice swim in the ocean and a day that was quite full of sunshine, we sat down with it: models. What model works in a deployment and why? Is it better to have a group of mentors teaching students in...
As Realness Ends...The Fun Begins. Tue, 1-Jun-2010 (beth)
And I mean that when I say it, too. Last night, we all sat up in the yoga pavilion (ie, gazebo high on a hill overlooking maybe one of the most beautiful views on Earth), watched some movies Bill made in his various trips to Haiti and then talked about something that has been simmering throughout the whole Realness Summit. This “thing” is the creation of an organization, a co-op, or some sort of group that would help seed, support and follow up with small deployments that are directly or tangentially related to the OLPC community. We all are beginning...
Last Day...So Unreal Wed, 2-Jun-2010 (beth)
Last day in St. John. Had a blast swimming with Tim's daughter's nanny, Nicole- renting kayaks and snorkeling equipment and finally hitting the water!!! At Gifft Hill today. Class is going well but everyone is rowdy. End of the school year activity I suppose. We're all working on our storybooks and they're actually going extremely well. The kids are adding animations and pictures to their stories which are really fun. Not sure if they really did it simultaneously with the Basic Etoys lesson, but regardless of that fact they seem to be learning very quickly. Having some severe problems with...
Following up Fri, 4-Jun-2010 (beth)
Catch a few notes about Realness and our Waveplace workshop in St. John: First places to look: -Waveplace in the St. John Source on May 30: http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/local-news/2010/05/30/one-laptop-child-comes-st-john -Waveplace in the Tradewinds on May 26: http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/index.php?limitstart=6 Some writings/bloggers that have been keeping us busy: Students and faculty at the Columbus School for Girls: http://csgolpc2010.weebly.com Some great blogging by Christoph Derndorfer of OLPC News: http://www.olpcnews.com/use_cases/education/waveplace_mentor_workshop_on_s.html Sugar Labs' own Bernie Innocenti with pictures and some comments: http://codewiz.org/wiki/blog/2010/06...
More looks at Realness Mon, 7-Jun-2010 (beth)
See John Engle's post in the Haiti Partners blog: http://www.haitipartners.org/2010/06/xo-laptop-exchange-in-virgin-islands/...
Beth heads to São Tomé e Príncipe! Mon, 21-Jun-2010 (beth)
Ready to head to São Tomé e Príncipe, the small, two-island nation off the west coast of Africa. Will stay a month to help teach Etoys to the kids that I kickstarted a program with on behalf of the non-profit organization, STeP UP (http://www.stepup.st). Now we're taking on new challenges, bringing more computers to the kids at the São João School (have about 20 in hand, which is 20% more computer than we started with, yay!) and developing a summer program with the students and teachers of last year's program, then slowly easing them into another year of fabulous learning....
Made it to São Tomé! Sat, 26-Jun-2010 (beth)
Well, a lost bag, a mix-up at the check-in desk in Lisbon and a canceled flight later, I have finally made it to São Tomé! TAP USA and TAP Portugal had trouble communicating with each other, and the message about my laptops had somehow not traveled from the former to the latter. I had smartly (or perhaps luckily) decided to check in a whopping four hours ahead of time, and well worth it- it took nearly two hours of Skype calls from my computer to TAP USA, a really frustratingly busy supervisor at the check-in desk to Portugal and a...
Day Two in STP- And Feeling Good Sun, 27-Jun-2010 (beth)
The five USB flash drives that I purchased for my teachers are stuck somewhere in Boston or Lisbon in my checked baggage, among other small things like that for class. I say to myself over and over, “At least it wasn't the computers that were lost. At least it wasn't the computers.” Today I scrounged around in all my bags and ended up finding a perfect total of five used but still functioning emergency flash drives that I had hidden in various bags in case of emergency during our time in Haiti. Thanking my lucky stars right now as I...
Starting The Party Mon, 28-Jun-2010 (beth)
Stopped by São João this morning around 10:30, after students' exams were over for the day. Four of our five teachers met me at the school and we moved into an empty classroom so we could talk a bit about how we want to organize this summer program. The teachers explained to me that students are in exams this week and then next week is a sort of evaluation period, so students won't be available for the summer program until the week after that (what I believe will be two weeks before I leave). This is both good and bad...
Etoys: Lessons 1/2/3 Tue, 29-Jun-2010 (beth)
At 10am I began my walk from the STeP UP office to the São João school. Walking there takes about 30-40 minutes total, and though my bags are heavy I somewhat enjoy it- passing through neighborhoods, a long stretch of bakeries, shops and a garage, the bustling market with many taxi and motoqueiro stands, then waterfront, with old, rusted ships that beached ashore long ago and soft waves lapping at the sand below a short cement barricade. And then, of course, the São João School, a pinkish colored cement building behind gates, outside of which women sell jaca and bananas...
Frustration = Learning Wed, 30-Jun-2010 (beth)
After class today, the teachers pull me aside. “We just wanted to say,” they begin, “That...before you came along, we had no idea how to use Etoys. We are learning a lot. It's great!” I'll be honest; I swelled with pride upon hearing that. It was such a relief to know that the teachers are appreciating class. Today was a particularly difficult day. We covered lesson 4 in Etoys, which I think is when things start to get a little bit complicated. First, I showed them how to save things to the Squeakland Showcase. This took a good amount of...
Lesson 5 -- Go Team Go! Fri, 2-Jul-2010 (beth)
Today was a pretty successful day. I had forgotten when I arrived at São João that the students would be here today, not for class but in order to hear how the class would be structured in general. It was awesome to see these students- suddenly I remembered every single one of them, and they were just the same, if not six months older. And at that age, in six months, kids grow! Maybe 10 or 15 of the girls were waiting by the gate for my arrival. When I got there, they stayed by my side as I walked...
Failure -->Success Mon, 5-Jul-2010 (beth)
So I arrive at the São João School at 9am sharp. We had to call the director on Friday to make sure he'd have the school open for me to install Etoys 4 on all of the computers, so I was pleasantly surprised when the school was open and ready to go. I went into the director's office and took out the computers among the stacks there. Only six to start, as I only had five functioning USB drives anyway. I brought them into an empty classroom, a small crowd of students that were hanging in the schoolyard following me....
Le Ultimate Sigh Tue, 6-Jul-2010 (beth)
If I so much as look at another computer I am going to scream. Unfortunately I have to look at my computer in order to type this, so consider me screaming. So I spend the whole morning loading Etoys 4 to the computers. The thing that the teachers don't know is that we're eventually going to have to reflash all of the computers, and when we do that, we'll have to reload Etoys 4 again. But there just wasn't enough time to reflash 100 computers this morning AND add Etoys, so I did the quick solution and will slowly reflash...
O.M.G.! Wed, 7-Jul-2010 (beth)
I title this post "O.M.G.!", in response to yesterday's "O.M.G.", because it is nearly the polar opposite of yesterday. In fact, nearly the polar opposite of....noon today. Ned saw me over lunch. I was a nervous wreck. The iPhone wasn't working, class was not as I had hoped, things were tearing me apart. I could hardly take another minute. And then, the sky opened up. Spoke with both UNICEF and Voice of America about funding our program this morning. Both organizations are definitely interested in lending a hand. It will take a lot of pushing, but things are looking up...
So much to say, so little energy Sat, 10-Jul-2010 (beth)
Didn't post yesterday out of exhaustion. It's been a lot of work these past few days, organizing things. Yesterday class went well. Shout out to the Columbus School for Girls who made large print copies of the halo handles for teachers to use in the classroom (see pictures at right). I wasn't able to print them in color, but let me tell you, the teachers here in São Tomé are using them and they LOVE THEM. The printouts have helped us so much to teach a large class. Way to go CSG! I even had a chance to meet with...
10 Days Left in STP...Crazy!! Tue, 13-Jul-2010 (beth)
Class doesn't go badly today, woohoo! We did the teacher class first because students are coming to class extremely late (a feature of our summer program, NOT of our regular academic year program) and we don't feel like getting mad at them since it is vacation and all, so we had our teacher class from 2-3:30 and our student class from 3:30-5. At the teacher class we learn Lesson 8, tests. The teachers are picking up things pretty well. They have a problem with listening -- it drives me crazy -- they'll just drift away into their project and then...
Things and Lesson 7 Wed, 14-Jul-2010 (beth)
Called Roberta this morning to confirm our meeting at the Ministry of Education. Good thing I did, because it was cancelled and she appropriately didn't tell me. At STeP UP today I was a little annoyed with her. She thought it would lighten her image to compliment me on my shirt. When that didn't work, she worked a new meeting out with the Ministry- 9:30am on Friday. Then we'll go to the US Embassy shortly after. The electrician came by today (he also stopped by the school to check out the wire hookup). He wants about 5,500,000, or about $280,...
Not So Bad Thu, 15-Jul-2010 (beth)
Hey, today was not so bad! The electrician came by STeP UP. I looked him in the eyes and said, listen, let me take your number and think about this. It seems this idea of using the internet when there's no electricity sounded really good when I thought it'd only cost like $50, but now that it's more like $250 it's seeming a bit like a money pit. I want to be very careful with the money that we spend for this project so I think I'm going to put it on hold until it's something we really need. And...
So Proud Fri, 16-Jul-2010 (beth)
Before class, all the kids are sitting around with their computers, enjoying some "free time" before we start. It's a computer programmer's dream. The schoolyard is quiet and the teachers and students are all sitting around, on benches, on the floor, under trees, using their laptops. I buy five lollipops from the man selling them across the street. I approach the first group of kids with laptops I see. "Are you guys on the Internet?" I ask. "Yes, Professora." They say. I tell them that we're going to have a contest to see who can find out what the capital...
Politics and Candy Mon, 19-Jul-2010 (beth)
So I'm walking in town and I get a phone call. It's the Embassy of Taiwan. The ambassador is going to come by tomorrow afternoon to watch our class!!!! This is huge news, as the Embassy of Taiwan is considering funding our laptop program. I mean, this is bigger than huge. This is the culmination of a year of work, and it's all happening tomorrow. About an hour later I'm sitting in the office of the Minister of Education, a really sweet man who sounded really pleased to hear that the laptop program was going well. His office had cancelled...
Good Day, Good Day! Tue, 20-Jul-2010 (beth)
Today is the day the ambassador is coming to visit. I'm dressed up really nice. I arrive at school about 10 minutes before 2pm, and most of the teachers and a solid percentage of the students are already there. I think everyone realizes that today is an important day. I review Lesson 8 with Professora Arlete; she has a few questions that she wants to cover before class starts. And then class begins. Today is the polar opposite of yesterday. The teachers are working together beautiful...their teamwork is like magic. The kids are angels. I swear they're all sitting up...
Aula Como Deve Ser (Class As It Should Be) Wed, 21-Jul-2010 (beth)
Sometimes we have bad days, that is for sure. But the ratio of good days to bad days is getting better and better. Yesterday we had an amazing class. Today we had an amazing class, too. I'm so proud of these teachers for taking a difficult subject and making the most of it. Explaining animation (Lesson 9) was a little bit difficult for the kids (for the teachers, too). Many thought the only way to animate something was to change the color and watch the drawing automatically color-shift. But I explained to the teachers that if the students didn't actually...
Darbonne Pilot Video Fri, 27-Aug-2010 (beth)
Here's a great video posted by John Engle of Haiti Partners showing some of our Darbonne students in action back in May. A quick note that Waveplace did not *create* Etoys, but we do make training materials for it....
"XO Laptop Helps Healing" Mon, 30-Aug-2010 (beth)
Here's a post from the Haiti Partners blog. It tells a short but very touching story about one of the students in our Waveplace program in Darbonne: XO Laptop Helps Healing August 29, 2010 Haiti Partners participated in a pilot with Waveplace and OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) of 200 xo laptops in April and May of this year. Last week I (John Engle) visited with about 20 students from our various partner schools to see how they’re progressing. Respecting one of OLPC’s principles, all students in our partner schools keep the laptops so that they can continue learning. I...
Petite Riviere Pilot Continues for Another Five Months Tue, 7-Sep-2010 (beth)
Great news!! Our pilot in Petite Riviere des Nippes has gained enough funding to continue for five more months to come. "The laptop program Waveplace has put together has had a very positive effect on the mentors as well as the students involved with the pilot program in Petite Riviere Di Nippes, Haiti," said Jack Davidson, the director of the American Haitian Foundation, our partner organization in Petite Riviere. "The children enrolled in the program are out performing their peers in all subjects. This year during registration many parents have asked how they could get their children involved with the...
A Note from Zo Mon, 27-Sep-2010 (beth)
We received a report from Joseph, one of our Darbonne mentors, today. As some know, our ten Darbonne mentors have chosen, on their own accord, to continue teaching their students for one hour per day, despite the fact that no one has found the funds to pay them yet. Marie Flore and Nahomie have been working with their own team of ten students on the other side of the river, since flooding these months makes it difficult to ford it. The other eight mentors have been working with the remaining 30 students in town. Here is what Joseph wrote to...
How far does $330 go? Mon, 4-Oct-2010 (beth)
Recently, one of our mentors, Joseph, asked Waveplace for $330 USD on behalf of the Léogâne mentors. They want to run a three-day workshop from October 7-9 to refresh their knowledge about Etoys. Joseph and the other Léogâne mentors have been working for an hour per day on a volunteer basis (ie, no pay, completely on their own caliber) in order to keep their students learning on their XO laptops. They recently requested to have mentor t-shirts, and we are proud to announce that Red Fish Blue Fish Dye Works in Somersworth, NH has generously donated their time to create...
Waveplace Heads to SF! Thu, 14-Oct-2010 (beth)
Waveplace will be heading to San Francisco this week for the OLPF San Francisco Community Summit 2010. The summit runs from Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 24. Beth, Tim and Bill will all be presenting! Saturday: Beth participates in Women, health literacy and empowerment with Carol Ruth Silver and Humaira Mahi Sunday, 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM PDT, Tim participates in Internet-Streamed Panel: Deployment Success Stories with Daniel Drake, Claudia Urrea, Pablo Flores and Sameer Verma Other proposed topics: Team, with OLPC's Adam Holt: Haiti: Painful & Wonderful Lessons Learned; Tim: Many Small Makes One Big: The wisdom &...
T-14 .. Ten Ten Twelve Sun, 17-Oct-2010 (teefal)
It's 4am. My body's as lethargic as a sacked-out 2 year old. I'm trying to go back to sleep, but my brain's a mile a minute with Haiti details. Must be pilot time. I leave for my Haiti reconnaissance trip in two weeks. Ten schools and ten organizations in twelve days. One hundred XO laptops, courtesy of OLPC, are now sitting in customs. We'll be reflashing and fixing them midway through my trip, and handing them out to schools near Pétionville soon after, in preparation for more formal pilots in December. Adam Holt from OLPC will accompany me for the...
T-13 .. Shifting Details Mon, 18-Oct-2010 (teefal)
From the moment of purchase of non-refundable plane tickets to the welcome collapse on the couch back home, Haiti is a study in shifting details, particularly this trip, as we've had very little time to prepare. So let's start with the "necessaries of life", as Thoreau called them: Shelter, Food, Clothing, Fuel. Given the nature of our trip, I'll add: Safety, Transport, Translation, and Communications. Since Haiti is a warm climate, I'll change "Fuel" to "Power". Shelter: I've got the second week covered, as I'm staying at John Engle's. This leaves shelter for the first week. Two nights in Petite...
T-12 .. The Little Things Tue, 19-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Coming back from Haiti the last time, I walked through Boston airport, the subway, our rent-a-home, in an extended sort of trance. I was distracted, embarrassed, and thankful for the myriad little things around me: running water, flush toilets, showers, streetlights, clean. The "necessaries" remaining on my list were abundant: Power, Transport, Communications, and Safety. My trance lasted for weeks. Flick a switch, a light goes on. Take out your mobile, there's a strong signal and the calls are pretty much free. Make a mess and the faucet comes on. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't suffer for the...
T-11 .. Flag in the Distance Wed, 20-Oct-2010 (teefal)
I'm riding on my way to Newark Airport, where I'll fly to San Francisco for the OLPC Community Summit. As usual, my brain's a blur with Haiti details. Rather than more logistics today, I'll instead write about goals. With all the talk that swirls around, with the unending stream of to-dos and people scolding us for lateness and lameness, it's very easy to fall into the trap of just reacting all the time, losing sight of the big picture. So let's plant a flag out in the distance to remind us why we're here and where to go. Put simply:...
T-10 .. Golden Gate Goals Thu, 21-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Riding a bus to the "Books in Browsers" event. Spent the day in San Fransisco with Beth and three other OLPC Community folks, Pablo Flores (Uruguay) and Tabitha Roder (New Zealand). Beth and I are staying at the Fort Mason Hostel with wonderful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. We drove across it yesterday to get a better view, then found the Trieste Cafe where jazz drove the conversation. Following yesterday's general goals, today I'll discuss specific goals for our Haiti efforts in the near term. Currently we have four active pilots in Haiti with four dormant ones that can...
T-9 .. Relativity Fri, 22-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Around you now, at a cafe, on the street, in the next apartment, there's a person sighing deeply, bracing for the day. Not so much the tasks that weigh heavy, but what we make of them: our attitudes, our expectations. We think the worst not because we want, but because it's happened before, and it hurts less than hope. And it's all the same between us. The twenty-something sighing because she lost her iPhone charger is no less worthy of compassion than the father worried about his children. Our struggles are relative to whom we've become. The yardstick we imagine...
T-8 .. Getting Around Sat, 23-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Great reception at the OLPC-SF Community Summit last night. Everyone I shook hands with seemed serendipitously placed in my path to help Haiti. One man's brother worked at the UN in Haiti. Another was involved with the OLPC large scale deployment in Haiti. Mary Lou Jepsen knew a minister in the government. One group is working on alternative energy solutions with XOs. Etc, etc. Amidst the flurry of activity here in California, the big questions remain regarding my trip in nine days. I've written about Lodging, Clothing, Food, and Water. Still in the air are the moving logistics: Transportation, Translation,...
T-7 .. OLPC Summit, day 1 Sun, 24-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday was quite something. Each session at the OLPC San Francisco Community Summit seemed custom-fit to our current needs: first, solar power and storage solutions in *Haiti*; then research brainstorming focusing on *Jamaica*; and finally peer-to-peer learning in *Nicaragua*. Midway through I had great talks with Barbara Berry, Jennifer Martino, Morgan Ames, and many others. We even did fifteen minutes of whiteboard brainstorming about Sugar Journal instrumentation and a replicated question-map network (more on this later). As for Haiti, I'm loving the new trending topic, which is #cholera. Had a talk with my wife yesterday about it. She's worried of...
T-6 .. OLPC Summit, day 2 Mon, 25-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Flying east after five exciting days, I'm at a lost to sum things up, likely because I'm exhausted beyond words. Saturday night I went to sleep at 8pm and woke at 3am. I was then up for 22 hours straight, slept three hours, and am still up. My favorite part of yesterday was the "service with high school & college" session where I finally got to see Beth and Christine present, along with the gentlemen from Upper Canada College and RIT. Later I lunched with the UCC folks and Christine. Something's brewing with regards to North American students, not sure...
T-5 .. Remaining Details Tue, 26-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Oh, yes, right . . . I'm going to Haiti in five days. Details for the trip were essentially sidetracked in San Francisco. This morning we confront all that's still not settled. * water purifier .. Bill left it home, so I'll have to get another, or pills * malaria pills .. I have some left over, but I'll need about 14 more (and they're expensive, at least the last minute ones) * laptops .. I had hoped to hand out some XOs to potential new partners, but I left the five I was going to bring in SF at...
T-4 .. Rest Wed, 27-Oct-2010 (teefal)
After nonstop San Francisco and homestead catchup and Haiti trip prep, my body's crying out for some serious rest. Intended to take the day off today, but got called into a meeting anyway. I just now glanced at Twitter to see the ebb and flow of #cholera tweets and other details. Earlier went to LL Bean to pick up a $90 water purifier and some camping stuff, then CVS for mini-toiletries. I guess there's no day off between two big trips. The toughest part is pushing through when there's nothing left in the tank. I had a day in SF...
T-3 .. Scramble and Safety Thu, 28-Oct-2010 (teefal)
We've passed the point where planning means much. From here on, it's pure scramble: what do I absolutely need before I leave? This morning I tested the new XO build on both my XO 1.5 and the older XO 1.0. I'll be upgrading 50+ laptops and reflashing 100 more, so it helps to have it down now. Troubleshooting becomes much more difficult in the field. I'll also need to debrick a portion of the laptops. I've got a debricker cable and will try on one bricked donated machine tonight to remind myself of the process. Beth sent new mentor certificates...
T-2 .. Ready to Go Fri, 29-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Materials arrayed at my feet, awaiting my carry-on packs, ready to leave tomorrow at noon. There's a calm that comes when you see the time when decisions are over. When I get on that bus, I'll have everything I'll have, and no more. This morning started with a terrific call with the head of school at JP/HRO, the Sean Penn camp outside Pétionville. Lisa sounds very interesting in having a pilot there. Talked details with Beth and Adam. We're pretty amazed that we've arranged as much as we have in so little time. Eleven organizations want to hear more, with...
T-1 .. Why On Earth? Sat, 30-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Sitting in Newark Airport, waiting to board my flight to Miami, watching the hundred or so strangers also waiting, I'm pensive and patient and getting philosophical. With years now to this effort, with tens of thousands of dollars invested that will not go to my daughter, with my wife's clingy kisses this morning, and my tired sore limbs that need rest . . . Why On Earth am I doing this? Why am I flying to Haiti when I could much more easily train teachers in my local elementary school? Are these people around me less worthy than Haitians? What...
D1 .. New Traffic Patterns Sun, 31-Oct-2010 (teefal)
Typing now from Manalo's Inn in Petite Rivière De Nippes on the northern end of the southern peninsula. Tonight we met with most of the ten mentors and about a dozen of the children. Before that Adam and I braved our way through Port Au Prince, Carrefour, Petite Goave, and Mirogoane in our rented Mazda pickup truck. Let me just say that actually driving myself through Port-Au-Prince is a completely different experience. It's a real trip navigating through a chaotic stream of pedestrians, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and animals. Not hard, actually, but very different. There's a comfortable calamity to the...
D2 .. Petite Rivière Tue, 2-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday was a full, full day. Starting with breakfast and Internet at Manalo's Inn with their wonderful view, then "We absolutely cannot be late" and we were off to College Saint Antoine de Padoue, the site of our 2009 pilot and two of our pilots last Spring. We arrived just before Michena, at "8 am sharp." We started by getting the kids together for a photograph. I had them raising their XOs in the air and saying "Squeak .. Etoys" and swaying. As it was a school holiday, we have trouble getting electricity. We bought some gasoline across the street...
D3 .. Songs and Sights on Rt 2 Wed, 3-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday we started with breakfast at Manalo's Inn while I blogged, then picked up Michena for our bumpy journey along Route 2 to Léogâne/Darbonne. Our first stop was in Miragoâne to meet with Father Grandjean from the Petite Rivière school. We were surprised when we arrived to see his new school, with an audience already assembled to hear about our program. They even sang for us as we arrived. The group was very impressed with the laptop and with our vision for education. Father Grandjean seems like a great partner for both Petite Rivière and Miragoâne. I was very happy...
D4 .. Four Schools in Darbonne Thu, 4-Nov-2010 (teefal)
After a restful sleep at Abelaird's house, we interviewed Joseph about his thoughts on expanding the project throughout Haiti. "No government, no government." After breakfast, we began our walk around Darbonne to visit the four schools working with Haiti partners. At each, we were introduced to every class and showed them the laptop, though many had already taken part in the pilots. Joseph had them say to the video camera, "We want more laptops, please" and "Thank you OLPC and Waveplace." One of the future schools was recently built using the template developed by Haiti Partners. Looks like it will...
D5 .. Mountains to Jacmel Fri, 5-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday started with much discussion about the mountain road to Jacmel and whether estranger could drive it safely. After a while, Abelard offered to drive us, which made me feel much more comfortable, as he has driven the road many times. The hour long trip was one switchback after another, and another, and another, through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. In Haiti, there are truly dèyè mòn genyen mòn (beyond mountains there are mountains). After some tricky moments at the highest elevation when we passed into a very thick cloud (where I closed my eyes...
D6 .. Hurricane Day Sat, 6-Nov-2010 (teefal)
With rain through the night and most of the morning, we were braced for the worst as we looked down the mountain to the tent cities of Port-au-Prince. Watching the weather forecast, we were surprised to see the bulk of the storm had already passed before noon, which was much sooner than expected. After another wonderful meal by Merline, we headed out to see if there was an flooding down the hill. Here is an overflowing stream that is normally just a trickle: Driving around the capital, things seemed relatively quiet and calm. Most things had been closed in preparation...
D7 .. Schools, Lunch, Land Sun, 7-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Saturday began with a beautiful view from our mountainside perch. The rain was gone and Port-au-Prince looked beautiful. Adam mentioned over breakfast that he'd like to meet with a gentlemen from Artists for Peace and Justice who was interested in buying some XOs. John, Adam and I picked up Benaja and headed to the US Embassy to meet Bryn at the Daily Cafe, an American restaurant that clearly catered to the many organizations that surrounded the embassy. It felt surreal to walk into this cafe, as it was very much like home. The market across the lot was also very...
D8 .. Rest Tue, 9-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Sunday was a rest day, for the most part. We started with a phone conference with our good friend Mike Dawson in Afghanistan. Having a meet between Haiti and Afghanistan felt pretty cool, as did his emphasis on cost effectiveness and assessment. Adam, John, Bonnie, and myself had a good talk about both of these subjects before breakfast. I drove Michena to the bus station in Port-au-Prince with Alex, Merline's brother. He showed me some landmarks in preparation for my solo trips this week. Port-au-Prince is a real maze, though I guess like anywhere, it's understandable after a bit. To...
D9 .. Cite Soleil and Back Tue, 9-Nov-2010 (teefal)
We drove two cars down the mountain to meet at Phillippe Armand's office complex to borrow his parking so we could meet with the Blue Tarp Group. We started with a quick greeting in a posh conference room, which given our next destination was quite the contrast. We all crammed into two cars for the drive into Cite Soleil. I've seen pictures and heard much about this "worst slum in the western hemisphere," but had never been here, so was bracing for the worst. As we drove in and around, I realized that it didn't seem much worse than pretty...
D10 .. Solo Tim Wed, 10-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Said goodbye to Bonnie early yesterday morning, which left me with no companions to accompany me through Port-au-Prince. After a quick breakfast, I headed down the mountain towards the US Embassy. I went into the Daily Cafe for water and Coke, then followed my directions to the Tabarre School, which was quite nearby. There I met Gladys, who was very welcoming and gracious. She introduced me to the Bishop and I demonstrated the laptop and Etoys. I've become so accustomed to my demonstrations that I fear I'm being too automatic, though from people's responses, this doesn't seem to be the...
D11 .. Restavec Roundabout Thu, 11-Nov-2010 (teefal)
I will never complain about traffic in the States again. Yesterday was one standstill spot after another as I toured five schools with Djougine from Restavec Freedom. This wonderful group works with very poor children who have been given to wealthier Haitian families, where they are essentially treated as slaves without education, free time, or much food. First along the infamous traffic on Rue Frere to the Restavec headquarters... Then across to Route 9 for a visit to a primary school with many restavec children that Restavec Freedom has convinced families to allow to attend school. I presented the laptop...
D12 .. Big Thursday Fri, 12-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Started down the hill yesterday for my meet with JP/HRO, the Sean Penn Camp, with calls aplenty trying to coordinate the day. Note to self ... don't talk on a cell phone while you're navigating through the Petìtionville market during rush hour. Found my way to the Petionville Golf Club, which has been turned into a camp, and had a great meeting with Lisa and Shannon from JP/HRO. Things look good for a December pilot. Peter from Haiti Partners joined me at the club, then we drove up and up and up to Save the Children for a meet with...
D13 .. 18 Meets, 20 Schools Sat, 13-Nov-2010 (teefal)
As I type this, I'm sitting on a plane at Miami Airport, waiting to fly north and home. Last night I had my first hot shower in a while, my first flush toilet, my first guiltless power-up for all my devices. Yesterday started with goodbyes at John's house. John, Merline, Layla, Daniel, and Alex were truly a home away from home these past eight days. Saying goodbye was bittersweet, with promises to soon return. I then met Hannah for a meet with Valerie of World Vision, which went very well. There is a strong possibiity for a year long grant...
D14 .. Cause for Complaint Sun, 14-Nov-2010 (teefal)
I woke early in my airport hotel bed, then went looking for coffee. Two women were sleeping in chairs near the elevator on my floor, as were many people downstairs in the lobby adjoining the airport concourse. I later learned the airport had sold out, so these thirty or so people were making do with an uncomfortable night. After a trip to Starbucks across the way, I settling in to a free lobby chair to drink coffee and play with my well-traveled XO. The women who were sleeping on my floor sat across from me. One of them said, "Did...
What We Learned in Haiti Mon, 15-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Re-reading from the start of these posts, here's a quick summary of things I learned during the last trip. * If you can speak French, you're fine on the Haiti mainland. It was absolutely no problem traveling with Adam translating. There were times when Adam translated for Michena and then Michena translated in Creole, but all in all, there's always someone around that can understand French. * Bottled water is abundant. I never had to use my water purifier, which I am hoping to return to LL Bean for a full refund. * Suits are unnecessary, laundry is easy, though...
Sustainable means money Tue, 16-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Sitting at a Starbucks with my XO 1.5 in Gnome mode. This is quite the little portable machine now that I can use the adult software too. I'm watching the stream of Pennsylania caffeine addicts plunk down their $1.50+ for their morning fix, while listening to smooth sounds from Frankie and friends. People are talking about family visits and minor car damage. There's a stranger-ness to the awkward smiles and hellos between us. We're behind bubbles even when we talk. Adam's mom wrote me an email about my blog. She called this "culture shock," relating my re-entry observations to her...
How to choose? Thu, 18-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Now with a few days to rest and tend to homefront fires, I'm ready to turn two weeks of talk into a plan for sustained action. Eighteen organizations are interested. Now it's time to choose which to focus on first and how exactly to proceed. I've decided to keep up the daily blog, given the tremendous feedback I keep getting. Thanks to everyone who has retweeted and emailed. It helps to know you're out there. It's an odd kind of community we've got, but it's almost as real as if we were sitting in a circle helping each other. SO!...
Our next Haiti workshop Fri, 19-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Had a great phone conference yesterday with Sarita from AMURT about hosting our next Waveplace training workshop next month. Turns out their location couldn't be better for the pilots we want to hold in Port-au-Prince. Their AMSAI school is literally in the middle of everything, just ten or fifteen minutes from all sites. I asked her about current tensions over the UN protests. She said there was definitely a different vibe in the capital, though for those that have been through other events, this episode wasn't particularly troubling. Hours after our talk I got word about the protests near her....
T-40 .. Countdown to January Mon, 29-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Back to daily blogging, as we're 40 days away from another trip to Haiti on January 8th. Our next workshop is scheduled for January 10th to January 21st, with the first pilot starting on the 10th and going until February 18th and the others starting January 24th and going until March 4th. At this point, we're working with Haiti Partners, AMURT, JP/HRO, Restavek Freedom, One-By-One Leadership, and Wozo Youth Choir. Spent the morning reading news of yesterday's election in Haiti. Most of the candidates held a press conference alleging fraud by Preval's party, asking for the results to be thrown...
T-39 .. Running the Numbers Tue, 30-Nov-2010 (teefal)
Logistics have a magic when you've acquired an intuitive sense for numbers and constraints. Most of yesterday was spent on the phone with Beth, talking out the various spreadsheets and plans we've got going. My own number goals are somewhat exacting: covers all constraints, easy to remember, easy to combine and adjust in my head, feels fair and affordable. Finding workable numbers is a real skill which is surprisingly similar to my chief talent: designing software. Lots of conflicting constraints, lots of stuff to keep in mind at once, lots of interdependencies ... all boiled down into something simple and...
T-38 .. Waveplace Partner on Today Show Wed, 1-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Once in a while, I look up from our Waveplace work and feel a little starstruck. Today I spent time on the phone planning January's pilot at JP/HRO, the Sean Penn relief organization. Last night I was watching a movie with Maria Bello, wife of the man I met from future Waveplace partner Artists for Peace and Justice. Last week I was flipping through People magazine and saw photos of Maria and Patricia Arquette, patron of future Waveplace partner, MMRC. Today I was researching possible partner Richard A. Morse and discovered that his band had a song in the movie...
T-37 .. Whittling it Down Thu, 2-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Talked with another partner today and learned that the teachers they wish to train teach until 1pm and then go directly to university classes. The only option is teaching another workshop class at their location at 7am, followed by a children's class at 8am, which at this point would mean we'd have FIVE classes a day for two weeks. Too much. So we talked it out and decided it might be better to push their pilot to February since there are other partners near them we could combine them with then. This makes perfect sense, and it helps take the...
T-36 .. Remix the World Fri, 3-Dec-2010 (teefal)
More work today on proposals and budgets. Trying yet again to slim down my rap, the endless conversation, the Why of Waveplace. Today I told Beth, "The most important tool in writing is the delete key." Someday I'll be happy with it. Here's a great TED talk that covers many points. If you substitute "math" for "creative problem solving", you're pretty much there. I particularly like his highlighting of programming as a benefit in itself. Also great is the end, where he refers to the new subject, as yet unnamed, that should be the center of it. During lunch I...
T-35 .. The Waveplace Plan Sat, 4-Dec-2010 (teefal)
We're nearly done with our new Waveplace Accord, which details the roles and responsibilities of Waveplace and our partners. First though, we need to outline what we aim to do together. Here's the text from our accord called "The Waveplace Plan". This is a pretty good summary of the parameters we've tweaked throughout our 18 pilots. It took a while to get these right. Each Waveplace class consists of five mentors and 20 children between the ages of seven and eleven. Classes are usually held after school for 90 minutes each day.Each child and mentor receives for their personal use...
T-34 .. A School Is Not A Building Sun, 5-Dec-2010 (teefal)
A school is not a building; it's a place where learning occurs. Reading "Three Cups of Tea" with tales of new bridges to carry wood and concrete, I'm left thinking, "Why so much cost, so much labor, merely to erect walls and roofs where children can meet?" Once built, the work has just begun. Hundreds must travel daily to meet in too-large groups, to hear teachers speak *at* them, to take turns scrawling on chalkboards and precious paper. Of what benefit is this central meeting place to merit such a cost? Imagine a world where cooking never happened at home....
T-33 .. Micro Schools Mon, 6-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday's post, prompted a good amount of discussion on various mailing lists, so today I'll follow up with some specific ideas. First though understand that it's not my intention to say that schools serve no purpose, that they have no value. Quite the contrary. My visits to twenty schools in Haiti last month, several of them built after the earthquake, left me impressed and full of hope for the children and teachers I met. My purpose in these posts is merely to suggest a less expensive alternative for a country with a greater need than current funds or capacity are...
T-32 .. Election Results Tue, 7-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Listening tonight to a Haitian radio station and watching the #haiti #election tweets flow by was a bit surreal. Anticipation was very high. Spoke with both Benaja and John Engle tonight as well. We're on with the Cité Soleil pilot ... power, food, schedule all okay. Benaja will even have time for us, which is great news. Given that we'll be doing our workshop during the runoff election, I was worried that Celestin, the Préval successor, would make the cut. Riots have been a daily event this last week. He's a very unpopular candidate. Tear gas has been used to...
T-31 .. School Costs in Haiti Wed, 8-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Responses keep coming to A School Is Not A Building. Even made the home page of OLPC News, with comments as well. I was talking yesterday with a woman down in Haiti, with considerable experience helping education down there. She's been reading the responses and said, "Do the people responding have any idea what it's like in Haiti?" The answer is "Not really," but that's not anyone's fault. It's our job to make the picture clearer, to provide context enough to cross the culture shock. So in this post, I'll address the realities of building schools in Haiti. But first,...
Haiti Trip Postponed Sat, 11-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Yesterday we had a Skype conference with three of the four partners due to start Waveplace pilots in January. Collectively we decided to push the dates back three weeks to give us a safe distance from the January 16th runoff election. Sarita from AMURT says that the last week have been very bad in her neighborhood, which is where the workshop would be taking place. Many of the protesters are located around her. There is constant shouting, singing, some gunfire, etc. I'll resume the countdown, and daily posts, when we're a month out from the trip. Currently it looks like...
Haiti November Photos Sun, 12-Dec-2010 (teefal)
Finally got around to picking the best of the many hundreds of photos I shot while down in Haiti last month. Here's a slideshow. Click the four corner arrows in the lower right to watch it fullscreen....
Haiti Spring 2010 Video Tue, 14-Dec-2010 (teefal)
At long last, here's our video that tells the story of our 7 pilots last Spring. Once again, thanks go to William Stelzer for doing such an incredible job....
T-16 .. Two Weeks, Two Days Tue, 11-Jan-2011 (teefal)
With flights just bought, we're off to Haiti once again. In two weeks, two days, we'll spend two weeks, two days, starting new pilots: two in Cite Soleil, two in tent camps, one with a youth choir, all of them exciting. As usual, there's a half dozen snags. We don't yet have the laptops out of customs, which makes me nervous as hell, though our chief partner said, "It'll be fine, book your flights", so we did. Even if we get the laptops out of customs, we won't know how many of them work until just before the pilots. Even...
T-15 .. 47 Seconds Wed, 12-Jan-2011 (teefal)
"My house has no roof and it is raining in my eyes." - Rilke Out my window, the world is fresh and clean with new fallen snow. Covered now, the hills and trees. Silent now, with no movement at all. A perfect morning to mourn, to listen to Bach's Art of Fugue and think of Haiti. My first thought was of New York City after a snowfall, how eerily clean the streets felt, how unlike the usual clamor and grime of city life. I then imagined Port Au Prince under fresh fallen snow. Gone for a moment: the curbside garbage,...
T-14 .. Partner Accord Thu, 13-Jan-2011 (teefal)
Since my trip to Haiti in November, Waveplace has been very busy. First finishing the Haiti Spring 2010 video, then lining up the new Haiti pilots, then writing and rewriting our budgets (which took a surprisingly long time), and lastly writing three non-trivial documents: our Partner Accord, our Pilot Plan, and our Haiti Laptop Plan. The Partner Accord is an informal signed agreement between Waveplace and each individual partner organization. In the past, we've conveyed expectations informally, through email bullet lists and on the phone. Needless to say, some things got forgotten, which inevitably led to problems at pilot time....
T-13 .. Pilot Plan Fri, 14-Jan-2011 (teefal)
The next big document we created in November was our Pilot Plan, which breaks down into three sections: Details, Schedule, and Budget. While the Partner Accord is an ongoing agreement, the Pilot Plan is specific to one pilot. Meant to clarify expectations further, each Pilot Plan can be changed easily without signatures. Here's the schedule for one of our upcoming pilots. It takes a great deal of talk between five different organizations to get things so simple. • Thu Jan 27th .. US-based Waveplace team flies in • Fri Jan 28th .. 3pm to 5pm .. mentor class #1 at...
T-12 .. Gunfire and Traffic Sat, 15-Jan-2011 (teefal)
Yesterday morning, someone on Twitter made a comment that in Haiti they mention gunfire in the traffic reports, where in other places they usually write about it separately. Other tweets mentioned barricades and burning tires. I'd expected some protesting today given Preval's delay in responding to the OAS report, though wasn't sure how far it'd go. Last night I found an article in the Canadian Press that mentioned a protester had been shot and killed by the police. Apparently there'd been an exchange of gunfire, likely prompting the mention in the traffic report. Writing this now, I'm a bit floored...
T-11 .. Haiti Laptop Plan Sun, 16-Jan-2011 (teefal)
The third big document we produced last December was our "Haiti Laptop Plan," written with Haiti Partners, which essentially describes our hopes for 2011 in Haiti. Put simply, we're pursuing a bottom-up approach. Waveplace sees itself as the Johnny Appleseed of laptop goodness, starting successful pilots around Haiti to serve as hubs for further expansion. Here's the first section of the plan: === SUMMARY Haiti Partners and Waveplace Foundation propose the following for the distribution of laptops to 30 locations in Haiti in 2011, partnering with 16 organizations. Building upon our successful work in 2010 in four locations, we plan...
T-9 .. Return of the Dictator Mon, 17-Jan-2011 (teefal)
This morning I was all set to write something meaningful about Martin Luther King, but as I checked my Twitter feed, found out that Baby Doc Duvalier returned to Haiti last night after 25 years in exile. As Beth said, this sounds like a new wrinkle in a bad Hollywood movie. Just as we're waiting for Preval's pronouncement, as Haiti holds its breath in hopes of democratic resolve, the very embodiment of the old way returns to "help his country." Now the buzz is all about him, which of course serves to distract from Preval's delayed announcement. Instead of adding...
T-8 .. Press Release Tue, 18-Jan-2011 (teefal)
Waveplace Starting Five New OLPC Laptop Projects in Port-Au-Prince With "Camp Penn" (JP/HRO) and Other Groups Port-au-Prince, Haiti Following the success of their seven OLPC ("One Laptop Per Child") projects last year, Waveplace Foundation is returning to Haiti to start five new laptop projects in the Port-Au-Prince region. This time, Waveplace is partnering with J/P HRO (tent camp founded by Sean Penn), Restavek Freedom (advocates for Haitian slave children), AMURT (working in tent camps and schools), and Haiti Partners (teachers of civic empowerment). The overall purpose of these laptop projects is to help solve Haiti's long-term difficulties by teaching problem...
T-7 .. Inequity Wed, 19-Jan-2011 (teefal)
Today started with a trip to my daughter's Quaker school, where my wife and I sat with a half-dozen other preschool parents watching a Kindergarten class in action. We were all there to become convinced that private Kindergarten was really worth the extra money over public Kindergarten. Two of the boys in the class were Haitian, apparently adopted at an early age. Watching them and the rest of the kids interact with their wonderful teacher, playing writing games and dancing in movement class, I was swamped with an unexpected sorrow. These children were free to be themselves, encouraged to speak...
