The “education laptop” opens doors to new ways of learning

No state has yet attempted to provide all of its children full access to state-of-the-art computer technology and online learning, even though both will affect nearly every aspect of their lives for the rest of their lives.

However, the Palmetto Project has joined with our state’s Superintendent of Education and private sector leaders to make that happen in South Carolina right now.

Thanks to this partnership, known as One Laptop per Child South Carolina (OLPC SC), an effort to provide every South Carolina student a laptop computer is falling into place. Initial pilot programs are pointing to very positive outcomes.

“We’re bolstering the education of South Carolina’s children by giving them access to new technologies years before they could otherwise imagine,” said Palmetto Project Executive Director Steve Skardon. “OLPC SC offers a new way of teaching and learning, while developing skills young people need to go onto college, to apply for jobs, and eventually support their own families.”

The cornerstone of this effort is a powerful Linux-based XO laptop computer that is currently available at approximately $260 a piece. To date, the Palmetto Project has placed 2,300 of these education laptops in 14 South Carolina elementary schools.

The OLPC SC partnership was launched in April 2008 with a pilot project through which every K-5 student in Marion County’s District 7 got an XO education laptop.

The Marion project was made possible with funding from Palmetto Project Board member Erwin Maddrey of Greenville, and former Board member Linda Ketner from Charleston. See how the pilot program is progressing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNLfdLzSc1c

By April 2009, we added another twelve schools across the state to the program thanks to a $500,000 grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC.

By 2010, the Palmetto Project expects to add another component to the OLPC/SC program by creating an online learning center that will allow every child with internet capability access to the most sophisticated educational enrichment programs in the country. Learning programs available through the Center will be designed to enhance curriculum being taught in the child’s classroom.

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Congratulations to the following schools on their selection as our first OLPC SC sites.

Rains Centenary Early Childhood Center, Mullins

Britton’s Neck Elementary, Mullins

Chester Park Technology Center, Chester

Mountain View Elementary, Taylors

India Hook Elementary, Rock Hill

Buffalo Elementary, Buffalo

Foster Park Elementary, Union

Monarch Elementary, Union

Sandy Run Elementary, Swansea

Vance-Providence Elementary, Vance

North Vista Elementary, Florence

Rice Creek Elementary, Columbia

Port Royal Elementary, Port Royal

North Charleston Elementary, North Charleston

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Check out the story and photo here!

Marion 7 XO Laptop program featuring Jim Rex

Although the school year is still relatively new, the OLPC laptop project is proving to be a huge success. Everyday teachers and students are finding new ways to integrate the laptops in and out of the classroom. Here are a few excerpts of letters from the students expressing their excitement with the project thus far:

I would like to thank you for the XO laptops. I have lots of things to do with them. I can play music, chat, play games and also I like it because it helps me with my math and with lots more things dealing with school work. I also like to play games and beat my friends in high scores. I like to use it when we are doing math problems because it helps me get the job done. Again I want to thank you for the XO laptops.

Sincerely,

Louis

I would like to thank you for the XO computer. I have used the laptop for many ways. I have chatted with my friends. I have taken pictures of my friends and me. I have also used the XO computer to do my work in class. The laptops have made my class work easier. The laptops have changed my life. Now I can type faster and I have learned more about computers than I did before. Again I say thank you.

Sincerely,
Zakira

I would like to thank you for the XO Laptops. I had a lot of fun using it.

You can learn more information.
You can draw.
You can have fun!

Again, I would like to thank you for the XO Laptops.

Sincerely,
Keyana

Parents aren’t the only ones getting involved this summer. The program’s partnership with ETV continues to move forward. Teachers met with ETV staff members in Marion. They outlined various creative ways the XO laptops could be used in and out of the classroom.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex announced the initiative Monday at a press conference at Britton’s Neck Elementary in Marion School District Seven. That school, along with Rains Centenary Early Childhood Center in Mullins, is a pilot site for “One Laptop per Child/SC.”

Rex said the pilot is a partnership between the South Carolina Department of Education and the non-profit Palmetto Project and is underwritten with private funding. It has the potential to expand to every school district in South Carolina.

“Our goal is to promote affordable laptop technology for students and communities across the state,” Rex said. “Students who can get technology into their hands early will have a head start on acquiring the kinds of computer skills they’ll need for learning at all stages of life.”

The XO laptops were developed by One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization created by Nicholas Negroponte and others from the MIT Media Lab to design, manufacture and distribute laptop computers that are sufficiently inexpensive to provide every child in the world access to knowledge and modern forms of education. Charleston entrepreneur Phil Noble worked with Negroponte to bring the idea to South Carolina.

“By giving children their very own connected XO laptop, we are giving them a window to the outside world, access to vast amounts of information, a way to connect with each other, and a springboard into their future,” Negroponte said.

“These laptops are all about a much bigger picture,” Noble said. “If we want a better South Carolina, with better jobs, better SAT scores and a better prepared workforce, this is the key. If we fail to act now, our children will be playing catch-up their entire lives.”

The XO laptops are spillproof, rainproof, dustproof and drop-proof. They have a keyboard designed for children’s small hands and come loaded with easy to use software, a built-in camera, built-in microphone and stereo speakers, and a screen that rotates into a tablet configuration. The cost of each computer is currently less than $180.

District officials plan the first XO laptop distribution at a parent meeting May 13 at Rains Centenary. After tips on laptop care and use, parents will sign user agreements for the center’s four- and five-year-old kindergarten students. A parent meeting and distribution for students at Britton’s Neck Elementary will be held May 20.

Executive director Steve Skardon said the program fits the Palmetto Project’s mission to “put new ideas to work solving problems in South Carolina.” Since its founding in 1984, the non-profit agency has formed more than 180 public-private partnerships to work on issues ranging from education and health care to race relations and election reform.

“Since 2001, the Palmetto Project has been a leader in using cutting edge technology to improve math and reading skills for students,” Skardon said. “Everyone realizes that mastery of computer technology will determine whether the next generation of South Carolinians can compete in a global economy. Marion Seven’s teachers and students will help us understand how to make the best use of this amazing educational resource.”

Skardon said a One Laptop per Child/SC interactive website at www.onelaptopsc.org will track the district’s progress and help raise funds for expanding the program to other areas in the state.

“Several communities are already interested,” Skardon said. “We are open to working anywhere in South Carolina. We hope to be able to order another 5,000 laptops in August.”

Pilot program funding was provided by Greenville executive Erwin Maddrey and by Charleston businesswoman and philanthropist Linda Ketner, who called the initiative “a small but critical step in preparing our children for success in a very competitive world.”

“Computer competence will give these children advantages in everything from academics to getting a job or running a business,” Ketner said. “The question is not if we can afford to do this, but whether we can afford not to do it.”

Marion Seven superintendent Everette Dean said the district plans to integrate XO laptops into its summer programs for students. Teachers and media specialists also will be trained on how to use the new technology.

“We’re grateful to be able to offer so many of our students a chance for creative learning and problem-solving experiences,” Dean said. “The more they’re exposed to technology as part of everyday life, the sooner they can become more comfortable with it.”

Dean said the district’s Creek Bridge High School is taking part in a separate pilot – the iAm Laptop Program – that provides computers for its 77 ninth-graders and their teachers. Clemson University’s Strom Thurmond Institute of Public Policy is monitoring and reviewing that program.