[LINK] One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Program

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

The following 3 emails are from the main Australian Teacher's email
mailing list, (Oz-teachers), and may be of interest to Link members:

(Ref: http://lists.rite.ed.qut.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/oz-teachers)


1. Paul forwards to the Oz-teachers list: (He reposted the email from
   the Linux-Aus list at http://lists.linux.org.au/listinfo/linux-aus)

"The Australian Government is providing over $11 million to support
the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Program which will deliver over 50,000
custom built laptops to primary students in regional and remote
Australia as part of a 12 month pilot program. The OLPC Australia
Organisation (OLPC Australia) aims to support the learning
opportunities of indigenous children, particularly those in remote
Australia, by providing primary school aged children with a connected
XO laptop as part of a sustainable training and support program.
Participating schools will also receive information and communications
technology (ICT) coordinator professional development, local repair
kits, and access to helpdesk and online support."

http://blog.laptop.org/2012/05/08/australian-brilliance-government-12m-
pilot/

"Our mission is to enhance learning opportunities for over 500,000
primary school aged children by providing each one with a connected XO
laptop as part of a sustainable training and support program, by
2015."
  http://www.laptop.org.au/
  http://dev.laptop.org.au/participate
--

2. Roland responds ..

That is great news Paul,

In case anybody is curious, these laptops can be disassembled by any
repairer using a Phillips Head #1 screwdriver. Yep, the same one for ALL
the screws.  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Screws

These are probably the only Edutech device that I have ever seen that
published instructions explaining how to salvage and repair following
immersion in water (as has happened to some primary schools with floods
etc.)  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Immersion_Repair
--

3. And today, Tracey responds ..

You might be interested to know we run an 'XO-mechanic' program where
*students* become the technical support in the school for the XOs, not in
name, but in reality. If the screen breaks (not that they do very often!),
XO-mechanics fix them. They also manage re-imaging the devices, diagnosing
hardware problems, fixing keyboards and even replacing motherboards.
XO-mechanics work through a skills chart of these types of skills. Once
they complete the chart, it comes back to our offices and we send them out
certificates and their own mechanic kits.

*Tracy Richardson*

*Education Manager*
*One Laptop per Child Australia*
*P: +61 2 9120 5044*
*M: + 61 418 744 318*
*E: **tracy at laptop.org.au*
*A: G.P.O. Box 731*
   *Sydney, NSW 2001*
*W: www.laptop.org.au*
--

Cheers,
Stephen