Mission Accomplished :)

I went to Haiti with David Cavallo (OLPC) and Claudia Urrea (IDB). Our hosts, Guy Serge Pompidus (SC) and Sophie Makonnen (IDB) have managed a tour de force to get the stars aligned. Thanks to their help, we met key players from government, IDB, and universities; we visited schools in and out of Port-au-Prince; we discussed the learning potential of the XO with educators, officials, and researchers. By the end of the week, IDB and government representatives gave their approval to fund and support the project, and heads of university and research centers offered their expertise. It looks like the ball is now ready to roll. Next steps, from a learning perspective: prepare for the arrival of the machines. On a personal note, this has been a memorable week. I don't know of an other place where extreme poverty and great potential co-exist in such incomprehensible fashion. I marveled at our hosts' abilities to displace mountains and at the children's sunny faces. For photos of the trip, visit the site

The work of Fischli / Weiss makes use of surprise, the technique of ‘détournement’, and thus leaves room for amazement, as if to provide an antidote for a ‘disenchanted world’.



Swiss artists Peter Fischli (born 1952) and David Weiss (born 1946) have been collaborating since 1979. The 2007 retrospective boasts the most comprehensive overview to date of an oeuvre as varied as it is enigmatic. Comprising sculpture, photography, film and video, the work of Fischli / Weiss simply resists classification.

A third learning workshop was held at OLPC this past week (14-17 january). cf. OLPC laptop news (2008-1-19)

OLPC learning-team and localities are joining forces to imagine and design the learning environments and communities of the 21st century. Most striking, from a learning perspective, was the sense of ownership and engagement among participants who use the "give one get one" window as a lever to grow city-wide initiatives, both in the US and abroad (Anchorage Alaska, Birmingham Alabahma, and New York City are 3 cases to be followed :) Equally impressive was the range and depth of expertise around the table—and facilitators' ability to strike a balance between hands-on and head-in; practical challenges and long-term goals [thanks David, Walter, learning-gang!]. Some highlights of the workshop include: an inspiring presentation by Dr. Felton Earls and Maya Carlson of the Harvard School of Public Health on participatory surveys and indicators for community development, as well as their work in Tanzania and Chicago; presentations and contributions by OLPC Learning-team [Edith Ackermann, Ed Baafi, Juliano Bittencourt, Fatimata Seye Sylla, Elana Langer, Julain Daily, Cynthia Salomon, Alice Cavallo, and David Cavallo]; open house for OLPC developers to 'demo' their XO tools and discuss tools' learning potential with participants.

For more information on this workshop, visit the site
Also see comments by John Clemente and Evan Odonnell on the "teaching matters" blog