Nosy Komba – News for 2012

For the third year, teams from OLPC France and « G du coeur » (Ecole Supérieure de Gestion) will be present in Nosy Komba in 2012. Each year, the volunteers donate their time and energy to bring the best to the children to Madagascar. Hopes, joys, disappointments, failures sometimes, but we are more motivated every year!

On our program for 2012:

• Computers
• Teachers
• Children
• Network
• High School Pilot Project

Computers:
Fifty new XOs will be brought to the site this year. They are for the school’s new children, and will replace lost equipment and defective XOs. We also plan to establish a repair center to perform repairs on site. On the software side, we plan to upgrade the system to version 0.94 of Sugar and update Activities.

Teachers:
More than ever, the anchor of a successful OLPC deployment, and also of Nosy Komba, are the teachers. One week of training is provided for new teachers, and to further the team of existing teachers. High school teachers will be included in the training. It will be an opportunity to share new learning content with the teachers, and to build lessons for coming year, teachers & trainers working all together. In the end, the training will be recognized by a diploma.

Children:
While the team is present, as every year, an “open school” will be organized so interested children can come use and charge their XOs. Competitions and outdoor fieldwork will be implemented. We will create opportunities for children who take responsibility to help others, and actively reward those.

Network:
Our overall aim is reinforcement of the Internet connection installed last year. We will try to consolidate infrastructure, both in terms of configuration and monitoring, and in terms of energy–by doubling the number of batteries and solar panels. The XS server will be replaced by a sturdier machine more resilient to local conditions (humidity, temperature, dust, …). Finally, workshops will be organized for kids and teachers empowering Internet learning inside and outside the classroom.

High School Pilot Project:
To investigate continuing deployment of XOs in the high school, in addition to just the primary school, a pilot class of twenty will be implemented over the course of the year. The aim will be to study the value of using the XOs among children 12 to 16 years of age, and the ability of the teachers to use them effectively. Based on our results, we hope to be able to consider expanding next year’s deployment to all 70 high school children.

More than ever, this year’s program is extremely ambitious; more than ever, we need your support to carry out these important projects. Your support would be invaluable: our donation form is here, thank you!