Le groupe COMPAS, dont je fais partie, a un nouveau blog.

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

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

“PUENTE” stands for bridge and, in this case, the bridge connects the young and the elder or, more generally, new-comers and old-timers to a place, or a community: PUENTE identifies conditions that may draw folks who wouldn’t otherwise meet to do things they couldn’t otherwise do [learn from each other, respect one another, broaden their views]. Combining different approaches, such as case studies and participatory design techniques, the team imagines events and activities that enable participants to unveil aspects of their “personae” that would otherwise remain untapped. The settings and places created are reflective of the changing identities and dreams of its dwellers. For more information on the project, and partners involved, check out the PUENTE website . Also check out PUENTE

Note: Project PUENTE (2007-2009) has evolved out of earlier EU Project "La Piazza". Information on Piazza can be found on this blog, in the same category "projects". You may also visit the site

This week, I participated in the first of a series of workshops to be held at OLPC and in countries to strengthen local teams' approaches to learning when deploying one laptop per child. Even at early phases in the project, the richness and diversity of uses in different countries exceeded my wildest expectations. This is clearly a case where we [olpc learning team] will learn as much from the children's—and teachers'—creative appropriations as they will learn from us! To know more about olpc's learning vision, and pilot projects around the world, visit the olpc wicki for educators



To hear my talk, check out YouTube snippets clip one and clip two

L’ordinateur a-t-il une place à l’école ? Si oui, laquelle ? Pour réfléchir à ces questions, le groupe COMPAS, sponsorisé par Microsoft, réunit des chercheurs passionnés de nouvelles technologies, et informés des apports de la recherche en sciences cognitives. Leur but est de comprendre en quoi ce que nous savons des processus d’apprentissage aide à la compréhension et à la sélection des bons usages de ces technologies.



Pour en savoir plus, visiter le site

august 2007



getting to know karen wilkinson, mike petrich, and their team from the learning studio at the exploratorium has been a mind-opener. “west coast PIE” has evolved its own unique ways of blending art and science, found-art and man-made artifacts, high-tech and low-tech, personal creations and collective inventions, playful exploration and scientific inquiry: the learning studio knows how to capture learners' imagination and sustain their genuine interest and mindful engagement over time. for all ages! constructivism at its best!

For more information, visit website:

La Piazza is part of the EU research network Kaleidoscope, whose participants have come together to exchange ideas and to explore the issue of intergenerational learning in public spaces, using technology. The growing importance of intergenerational learning could be attributed to the demographic trend towards an aging population, with an increasing number of policies to support life-long learning both in formal and informal settings. However, while there has been much research to explore the benefits derived by adults and young people involved in intergenerational learning, the role that technology- enhanced public spaces can play in maximizing those benefits remains largely unexplored. For more on the project, visit the the website

[In French]: Colloque apprentissage intergenerationnel, MAMAC Liege, Belgique, look at the video.

Colloque has been organized by Francoise Decortis and Stefan Safin as part of the field research of EU "Piazza" partner University of Liège, Belgium.