Come join us in the picturesque town of Wilmington North Carolina for Squeakfest 2010. This year we are gathering at the home of National Science Foundation's project USeIT (Using Squeak to Infuse Technology). Learn how Squeak Etoys is used in the K-12 classroom. Children and educators can also sign up for workshops to learn how to use Squeak Etoys. There's fun for everyone!
I guess I should have been clearer when I said "I'm taking these little guys to the Philippines." I wish I can take my little munchkins along with the little green wonders - XO Laptops courtesy of donors and OLPC's contributors program. But I think the XOs would fair better with the summer heat than my little girls. My girls are so happy to help. My 4 year old is a little bit clueless and couldn't care less. She gets to hangout with her grandparents and "party-hearty" while I am gone. But my 6 year old TOTALLY gets why I'm going home which in itself is a big reward for me.
Serene. Full-of-Life. Promising. Words to describe the community of Lubang, Mindoro. This small, and remote island is home to approximately 28,000 thousand people or Lubanguenos. It is also the birthplace of something special - the first OLPC and eKindling deployment in the Philippines. In partnership with former employees of the National Computer Center, the municipality of Lubang and OLPC Friends, eKindling is working towards bringing the transformative benefits of XO laptops and innovative learning practices to the children of Lubang Integrated School and Maligaya Elementary School.
The answer is YES! Ask Harv Viray, a faculty member of the University of the Philippines Diliman. His home in Pasig was flooded as Typhoon Ondoy battered Luzon. Although he made an attempt to save the XO laptop from the rising, murky waters, he was unsuccessful. A month later, the XO laptop still works - a testament to the ruggedness of the XO laptop.
eKindling was invited to speak about the Sugar Learning Platform, One Laptop per Child project and eKindling at Y4iT 2009. Y4iT is an annual event spearheaded by the UP ITTC ( UP Information Technology Training Center), and is the premiere youth congress in information technology in the Philippines. This year's event had a record breaking 18,000 registrations composed primarily of the youth, as well as education practitioners.
Truth be told, I have an ego the size of Manhattan. Children have a way of giving you a reality check and make you realize that you don’t know jack. I found this out when I had my girls. They don’t even have to do anything but be themselves and ask the questions an adult would be afraid to voice out.
This entry is long overdue. The delay is due in part to a week long vacation that I took. Another reason it took me this long to write this is because it was too hard to summarize the experience with just one blog entry, nor would it give justice to the people who had put time in making the event a success. Like Tim Falconer’s post, I would just have to direct you first to the videos and I’ll try to convey the lessons that I learned personally from that experience.
I must admit that before coming to this event I was both filled with excitement and trepidation.
