Last Day

Hey, guys, it's Henry. Today was our last day working with the Fountain of Hope and the XO Laptops, and, quite honestly, we're inspired by what we've seen. Enough teasing, though. Ellie and I had planned on gathering five of the teachers, and asking each of them to choose one student who they would teach (each of them occupying one laptop.) While this is what we began acting on this morning, the following group of teachers managed to assemble on their own, with most sharing a single laptop:

Moses (who chose to teach Frank), Joe Tembo, Joseph Bwalya, Stephen Siame, Benson (who, to many peoples' amusement chose to teach Isaac, the director of FOH), Vasco (the librarian), Vincent, and Kenny.
This group of teachers lived up to (if not exceeded) all of our hopes and expectations. As far as I could see, every one of the students, even after all of the teachers had left to go and attend to their various activities and obligations, were following every rule perfectly and exploring the laptops in a way that will ensure their longevity.
One of the more exciting discoveries that this group made was the potential of the "Chat" application. Vasco asked me how they could use the "Write" application to communicate with each other, and so I told him about "Chat," (which is basically an instant-messenger.) Within minutes, Vasco, Benson, and Moses had figured out how to use the application and began a conversation. Soon after, Vasco asked me how far away the laptops could be before they lost their connection. I had been told that the laptops had a 3-mile range, and so, after consulting Ellie about metric-unit conversions, I told Vasco that they could safely bet on maintaining connection for 2-3 kilometers. With this revelation, his eyes and smile widened, as he rose from his seat and called for Moses and Benson to go outside and test it. Vasco moved to the gate, Benson sat outside the hut, and Moses moved to the other end of FOH near the bathrooms; they were thrilled to find that it did not hinder their communications whatsoever. I suggest reading the entire transcript, which Ellie has posted below.
Although the teacher-student session was running very smoothly, as I mentioned before, the teachers all eventually had to leave (as they cannot dedicate their lives to these little machines that so abruptly entered them.) As more new faces came into the Arts Center and sat down at the unoccupied laptops, it seemed to me that we would have to begin a new lesson like those of the last few days. I found myself pleasantly surprised, though, when I saw that the students who had just been taught by our "professional" teachers stepped up and became teachers to the new kids without hesitation. If we are to take this as an implication for the future of Lubuto's XO Laptops, it surely is a good one.
After a couple hours, we closed the Center for the day, and sat outside talking to the kids, and exchanging our farewells. We exchanged e-mail addresses with Vasco and Vincent, so that we could continue to offer support from D.C. whenever we were needed. Vasco mentioned that he already had plans for a new protocol for laptop use; a plan to sit and talk about the basic rules and enforce them before anyone sits down at the computers. We also discussed the possibility of funding for Wi-Fi internet access, which could be a blessing in many senses (especially in its allowance of retrieval of lost/new software for the laptops), but which also has its obvious dangers and complications.
Overall, this experience has been amazing for both Ellie and I. For me, it has been especially emotional to be back in Lusaka, and my mind has been constantly flooded by nostalgia and affection for this amazing country. This will not be an experience we will ever forget.
Ellie and I would like to express our gratitude to all of the amazing people at Fountain of Hope; to Dipak and Rodgers for making our stay extremely comfortable and for being so hospitable; to the Coromvlis, and to everyone else who has made this trip such a rich experience for us.
To close, here are some non-XO pictures from our two weeks at the Lubuto Library

(^Vasco teaching)

(^Stephen teaching)

(^Vincent teaching)

(^Joseph teaching)

(^Right to Left: Isaac, Benson, Frank, Moses)

(^Ellie talks to kids outside the Arts Center)

(^Making music on the XOs is delightful business)

(^Some children faithfully upholding rule #1 for laptop use)

(^One of the kids is captivated by various
images of nature)

(^Some kids playing the "Maze" game)

(^Kenny Hau teaching)

(^Joe Tembo teaching)

(^Joe Tembo embracing a friend for a picture)

(^I explain the XO to Milo)

(^Two watch as a child turns on an XO)

(^ Ellie demonstrating a flash drive)

(^ Bob posing with his XO)

(^ Benson & Moses during the 'teachers' meeting)

~Henry (and Ellie)

The Chat

Hi everyone, it's Ellie, here to present some of the workings of the kids on their laptops. At one point, Benson, Vasco, and Moses all joined a chat together (remember, these are mesh networks between the laptops, no internet required), and decided to test the communication boundaries. Each one took their laptop to a different corner of Fountain of Hope, held the laptops, and chatted with each other. They were all a good distance apart, outside, and none of them could see each other. Lubuto 9 was Vasco, Lubuto 1 was Moses, and Lubuto 8 was Benson. The chat goes as follows (it's super cute):

Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8: lubuto8 is here
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: Lubuto 9 joined the chat
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8: hello
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: whats up
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8: theskyisup
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto1: i love you
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: space boy
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto1: tth4rr6ury4r64uuktyiiif5 t65uue7ujur
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: no meaning u ok?
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto1: hjruyjhyuyr tfbndhhhgyuyyun yyty4r6itdjknhfuygitnu ggheuuyjtjyy6rijiureyjk ju7tr7kkkt yyyuruyrit llo
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8 : vasccosevelino whats going onvasco
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: make some sense chimwanawasa
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8 : dont dof
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: benson kabwali
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto1 : i want money
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8: sunvela
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: for what chimoze?
Feb 12 10:10:07 Lubuto 9: you are right savela
Feb 12 10:10:07 lubuto8 : vasco malambo
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : you stole
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : call me back09779477866
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : chi big moze
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : call me o977766228 BY
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: whose nnumber is this
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : ours
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: wrong number
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1: whtdfy
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1: gdgtwj
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : vasco malambo sise mulla
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : bvdjhe
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: what do you mean
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : uhfhimjg
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: say something guys
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1: vasco i love
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : i maen you and your wife and sise and mulala
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: i love you too
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9 : ben are you there?
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : for me i have no one
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : i lovevasco am here
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : i love you vasco and BEN
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: but were are you?
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : are you in guys
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : aswer mevasco
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : am out vasco
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : u cant see me
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : chipuba moze
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: ben ulikuti kuside
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : chipuba Ben
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: where are you moze
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9 : are you oky ben
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8: vasco whats goiing on with you am witing or you`er waiti for ben am malambo
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : vasco ulecuti kuside
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: ben dont be silly am at the gate where are you guys
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto8 : chi moze ndt tall myvasco am here vasco ben
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : BEN whats go on
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : me too
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: what ar u doin?
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : we are play footBall
Feb 12 10:10:08 Lubuto 9: lets go back inside
Feb 12 10:10:08 lubuto1 : ok

The kids also took some pictures (as always), here are just a few:










(^ One of our teachers, Joseph Bwalya)




~ Ellie

50 Cent

Hey everyone, it's Ellie. Today was a fairly productive day at Fountain of Hope. We started the morning off with a tranquil session, helped by Stephen and Joe Tembo. All of the kids today were non-english speakers, which coincided well with our newly translated notecards, courtesy of Kenny Hau. Each notecard listed those 4 rules that I mentioned earlier, but in either Bemba or Nyanja. When we encountered problems with the kids erasing activities, or improperly shutting down the computer, we simply asked, "Bemba or Nyanja," and pointed to the corresponding rule.

At one point I gave Moses my flash drive from home, and let him play around on it. One of our "teachers", he was able to find the USB link and see the contents of my flash drive without our help. He opened a number of files, one of which was a (slightly absurd) picture of Field School Librarian and Teacher, David Bonner enthusiastically reading a copy of Field News, a photo that was stored on my flash drive for use on an old French project. Moses was extremely amused, calling over Henry and asking, "who is this?". He saved it to Lubuto 9, the laptop he was using, and the picture will forever live on at Fountain of Hope.

As the hours progressed, a number of kids decided that they wanted to use the already occupied computers. No matter how much we stressed that all the computers were being used, and to come back tomorrow, they persisted. We absurdly found the Arts Center under seige of small children, and were forced to literally barricade the door with our bodies. Obviously this made it difficult to help the kids, who sat at their laptops raising their hands and watching us struggle. Some of the kids ripped apart the already broken shutters, until they became bored and thankfully directed their attention elsewhere. Their enthusiasm is encouraging!

Yesterday, while Henry played basketball with the kids, I sat and talked with a different group. Sitting on the ground, they asked me some questions and shared a few details of their lives. Frank, the strongest english speaker in the group, told me that he thinks that his Mom is in South Africa, his dad is in Kenya, and his grandmother is in Spain. He would like to find them, but he isn't sure of their exact location, and doesn't know their addresses. Another young boy told me that his parents live in the mountains of New Zealand, and that he is 20 years old. Such a joker. We talked about Kwacha vs. USD, bicycles, D.C., and Obama. The excitement on the latter is still very fresh here, and the kids all wanted to know, "In person, is he black? Is he colored? Really?".

Tomorrow (our last day at Fountain of Hope), we're planning on getting together with our small group of teachers, and making sure that they're fully prepared to handle the XOs. We'll try to round up Moses, Joe, Joseph, Stephen, and Benson and are considering asking them to bring along one other person who they'd like to teach. This way we can smoothly make the transition, and see how they handle themselves in their new positions, in addition to letting them further explore the machines. Henry and I have complete faith in them, and expect that they may do a better job than we ever could.

And now I leave you with a piece of authentic XO artwork:

"50 Cent" - by Clement


~ Ellie

Teachers

Hey everybody, it’s Henry.
When we arrived today, there was a tense atmosphere at Fountain of Hope among the adults. Before we’d arrived, there had been an unfortunate incident that Vasco and Kenny were now, preoccupied with, and, save for one brief encounter; we did not see them for the rest of the day.
We were greeted with a fresh group full of excited faces; again, we found that no one in the group spoke any English. Luckily, though, even though Kenny and Vasco were not available, we still had help: Stephen, a 12th grader from FoH, and Milo, a student from the University of Zambia.
Ellie and I began our lesson with the basics (turning on the laptops, using the touchpad, using applications, etc.), and Milo and Stephen translated for us. Eventually, though, when the kids got bored of just us talking and ventured off into their own private adventures, Ellie and I found ourselves almost useless, as Milo and Stephen stepped up and became the teachers. They were great: communicative, knowledgeable, and familiar, they were very good at teaching the kids how to use the laptops. Occasionally they would not know how to answer a child’s question, in which case they would ask us; after we’d answer them, they would either translate the answer, or, even better, demonstrate it for and show the kids. They are going to be huge proponents of the future success of the XO laptops at Fountain of Hope, and we are very impressed by them and grateful to them for their help.
Our major problem today was the one we’d expected to encounter the least in total; the one which we had decided to make a rule for the kids using the XO’s after Loveness Zyambo discovered that her laptop did not have the application “Browse”. Kids in this new group were frequently selecting “Erase” on the drop-down menu for applications on the home screen. Ellie and I found ourselves panting after we spent the morning running back and forth across the Center, crying, “No, press ‘Keep’! ‘KEEP’!!!” (“Keep” being the more favorable option on a prompt which asked the children, “Are you sure you want to erase ‘XYZ’?”) Ellie and I later theorized that our earlier emphasis on closing out of applications when they were done with them using the drop-down menu (to the extent that it was the only way they knew to return to the home screen) had caused them to resort to the lower-most option whenever confronted with a drop-down menu from any situation. Tomorrow we hope we can correct this, while maintaining the kids’ devotion to using only one application at a time.

Here are some pictures of some of the future XO teachers:

(^Milo demonstrates how to snap a photo)

(^Stephen aptly demonstrates the same to another

child, as I hover uselessly behind him)

Until next time,

~Henry

XO Update

Hey, it's Ellie here. Today was productive day at the library. After opening up the XO's to 10 or so kids throughout the morning, we started to compose a set of rules derived from the various obstacles we've been facing:
1. Wash your hands
-We found that when the kids came in with dirt caked on their hands, it would spread to the to the touch pad, making it malfunction. The little particles of dirt would confuse the touch pad, causing the "arrow" to go haywire.
2. Only use one activity at a time
-This has been an ongoing problem with the XO's: these machines can only efficiently handle one activity open at at time, and too many running cause them to crash and break down. Relaying this to the kids is difficult, and we must remind them every chance we get.
3. Do not erase activities
-On one of the laptops, the activity "Browse" (the internet client) had been permanently erased. This is unfortunately an option that the kids have easy access to, and most may not understand its capabilities. Henry has found a way to download "Sim City" onto the XOs, and we hope that we can do the same for Browse. The only problem is that these are downloaded through Browse...further investigation will ensue...
4. Shutdown properly
-The kids, who are used to manually shutting down the machines when they freeze, aren't shutting down the XOs properly. We hope that we can remedy this soon, as the longterm consequences of improper shutdown are not known to us.

Already we've made progress with the rules: we had a smaller meeting with Vasco and some of the more advanced learners, Benson and Moses; those who will take our place when we leave this week. We're also planning, once back in D.C., to create 3 large, laminated posters for the center, one in English, another in Bemba, and another in Nyanja. All posters will illustrate the above rules, but accessibly enough so that everyone can understand.

Vasco mentioned how on first impression, the machine looks like a toy, but its going to have a huge impact on the lives of the kids at Fountain of Hope, both current and future.
We fully trust the program in their hands, and see a bright future for XO laptops at Fountain of Hope!

~Ellie

XO Pictures!

Hi, it's Ellie and Henry. Just like we promised, we've uploaded some of the pictures from the XOs that the kids took themselves. These were all taken using the "Record" program, and the built-in camera and microphone:




(^ Joe Tembo & Moses Zyambo)





(^ Kenny Hau (right) & Co.)





( ^ The aforementioned and extremely helpful Loveness Zyambo)

~Ellie & Henry

Henry's 3rd Day at FOH

Hey everyone, Henry here.
Today was another good day at Fountain of Hope. We got a flat tire on the way, which was a minor setback, but we arrived in due time. We got a quick start, with the regular kids from the previous two days familiar with the procedure and ready to help out and get started. These kids, I will not hesitate to say, are now proficient with these XO laptops. They know how to get in and out of applications, how to save and name their projects, and how to utilize the machines to the point at which they are most useful for them.
With this realization, we decided to try and introduce the laptops to a new group of kids. Our second group is made up of much younger kids; most of whom cannot speak English at all. I was caught off-guard when these new kids sat down on the laptops and did not know how to maneuver the cursor, having gotten so used to seeing the extent of the previous groups' dexterity.
While starting off was slow, going through the kids one by one (with much needed Bemba translation help from other volunteers), we were eventually able to familiarize them with the layout and controls, as well as the basics of the operating system.
The applications that were immediately popular with this group were the "Tam Tam Mini", "Browse" for listening to music, and the essential "Record" for all the little celebrities (one recorded himself performing a very innovative rap he had thought up.)
Today we were also nicely surprised to see an increase in girls using the laptops, as previously it had been almost entirely boys. In the second group, Loveness Zyambo, a particularly bright young girl, was among the first to understand and master her laptop. She was also very helpful to the other kids, and to us; she would share her projects and discoveries with her neighbors, urging them to share theirs, as well, and being a Bemba speaker, she was able to help her peers in ways that Ellie and I could not.
For the future, Ellie and I plan to make a visual to help communicate rules about the laptops to the kids who have a harder time understanding English (ex. washing hands before using the touch-pad, not deleting software, proper shutdown, etc.) so that these laptops can be more accessible to other kids like those in the second group.
Overall, today was a success: we found ourselves totally irrelevant to the first group of kids, and the second group are already well on their way to mastering these machines.

-Henry