Notes from the first conference call the other night (which will hopefully help answer questions):
From Ginger Tissier (Mauritania Peace Corps Contact)

• The deployment guide will be ready by Friday and posted on the wikipage, which will hopefully help teams have a realistic picture of the scope of the project; it will give project ideas from things already done in other parts of the world. Teams are encouraged to check their proposals to make sure they are in accordance with the deployment document; turn in a new one if necessary. This is an important document.

• Teams are advised to write in all needs. Make no assumptions - most things are beyond the scope of what the OLPC group can foresee. Include all details, no matter how insignificant they may seem (power bars, extension cords, etc.) into the final budget.

• The training in Rwanda will cover many areas - constructionist viewpoints, technical related tasks; it will provide the opportunity to work with Rwandan schools where it's already set up and meet teams from around the world. At least 2 team members need to travel to Rwanda. Teams are allowed to bring teachers of someone from the NGO that you will be working with. The 10-day training is not part of the 9-10 weeks of time for the proposal work. People are welcome to arrive in Rwanda up to a week prior, if they wish extra time to plan better with teachers. Mentors at the conference are people who have past experience. They will partner with teams. OLPC will match teams to the mentors strengths.

• OLPC is taking care of transportation logistics and costs to deliver the xo laptops to the recipient country. Laptop distribution will be done with the help of the UN to bypass customs and other red tape. UNDP or UNICEF will set up a point for the local partners to receive the computers (in most cases this will be the regional capital... and then from there, the team or NGO will have to arrange transportation to the sites). State that you will need to move the items in you detailed budget.

• The wiki page - this may be the first time people are using this format. Use hyperlinks to save on space for things that may need further explanation to give background but don't affect the overall proposal. Post your proposal on wiki - it is not mandatory, but in your better interest.

• Teams need to turn in 750 word proposal (using hyperlinks to minimize and provide background information), a letter from the local NGO, and local community.

• There will be multiple deployments funded in the same country. If there are multiple applications, the cheapest budget doesn't necessarily win.

• Does it have to be 1:1 saturation of laptops to children? There is a fear of what the reality will be like compared to the proposal. Include in the proposal that there are grey areas that will possibly need adjustment once teams get to country. It is good to be aware that there is a need for flexibility. This is a limited resource, so a need to share the xo laptops between children is understood. There is a trade off for who you give the laptops to by the saturation model. Do you allow each child 30 minutes a week or only a specified handful of kids a whole week? The more time, the more it tends to reach out and gives access is what OLPC wants an active tool for learning.

• • An example: Kitani primary school, South Africa - the 5th graders were chosen even though the school has several hundred students. The teacher redefined everything. Every class got access one day a week and anyone was welcome to take them home. The teacher is now the lead for the OLPC program in South Africa. The downside is there is not enough time; this is the limiting factor per student. But when there are limited resources, what else can you do? OLPC will create a wikipedia page to talk about ownership.
  • OLPC would like to encourage that the children can take them home after school rather than the old model of a computer lab, which is only available at certain hours.

• For people applying to travel with university grants, OLPC will write a letter of endorsement, but only if they see the project proposal being drafted. There is an understanding that on the condition the team is accepted, the team will receive the funds, while those who are not accepted will return the funds.

• Editing wiki - put drafts online to gauge how many people are applying where they are, etc... One group's proposal has been received already from Sweden. The OLPC team will try to read those that have taken the effort to put up their proposal ahead of time and give feedback (so try to get your proposal to wiki). If you have specific questions (anything urgent or pressing), contact the OLPC team directly. The wikipage idea is new for a lot of people. Don't be afraid to edit, you can remove a post the next day if you like. Nothing is permanent. Provide feedback if there's a mistake on wiki. The proposal that will be used is the one posted on the 27th or emailed. You can always ask more questions. That won't hurt your proposal.

• The OLPC idea with this new way to launch the xo computers is to connect deployments through training and networking; this includes communication through the wikipage, the corps listserves, and the conferences in Rwanda and the MIT conference in October. Networking is a large part of this (which will be fairly informal prior to the March 27th deadline, once proposals are reviewed, teams can do more) - there's a large benefit posting on the wikipage so local partners can reach out to teams. Get the draft online and post to the mailing list!

Paul will hold this call again 6pm US EST. The OLPC team is at their computers ready to answer questions.