if olpc started today... jsconf.is
TRANSCRIPT
IF ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD STARTED TODAY
how JavaScript-y would it be?!Retrospective and Forecast!
Nick Doiron — @mapmeld (Twitter && GitHub)
WHAT HAPPENED TO OLPC?
THE YEAR: 2005
KOFI ANNAN | MIT MEDIA LAB
A LAPTOP FOR KIDS?
LeapPad, 2005
ZDNet: average laptop dropped
to $1,081
IS IT COST-EFFECTIVE?
edu/$ is already well-studied
people have technology
people want to learn more
HARDWARE
1GB solid state (SD card)
hybrid e-Ink screen
toss-able
water-resistant (USB and SD card inputs only)
low-cost sourcing of pieces
MESH NETWORK
Works in small clusters in surprising ways (teachers have never used Google Docs)
Tedious, breaks down with lots of machines
Disabled by Plan Ceibal
Red Hook Mesh Network
OPERATING SYSTEM
Sugar
Linux / Fedora- with Red Hat help
Still new releases
Android is featurephone OS
THE MIT VISION
Outdoor schools, sub-Saharan AfricaAfghanistanLibya, India
Illiteracy target
100 books x 100 laptops
Danish Qureshi, Asia Despatch
THE ACTUAL USERS
Latin America — Plan Ceibal in Uruguay, MoE in Peru
SOFTWARE
Python
Zipped app folder (.xo) on an Activities App Store
OGG, not Flash/MP3 (dawn of YouTube)
Office apps
THE FIVE PRINCIPLES
Child ownership
Low ages
Saturation (1:1 ratio)
Connection
Free and open source
FOSS IN 2005-08
MIT SICPScheme —> Python
Google hired Guido van Rossum (2005)
focus on a project wiki
git / gitorious
SCALING UP AND DOWN
Small school pilot projects are impractical
Regional / national programs are political handouts
THE ACTUAL INTERNET
target countries changed
3G moved FAST
Khan Academy, India
REALIGNMENT
Sugarizer
remaking the OS asweb / embedded JS
TurtleArt: Python —> web
Scratch: Java —> web
JS MAKES SENSE
JS follows the web and the browser
If you can continuously, silently update the browser, the device is secure the lessons can be cross-platform
WHAT NEXT, THEN?
Libraries of resources
Portable servers for videos, maps, quick collaboration
Provide a path for people to learn to code on their devices
PATHS TO CODING
I get this question a lot
we might not be the ones to fix thisbecause we’re here
open source onboarding is still hard
OLPC CODING SOLUTIONS
TurtleArt (Logo)
eToys (Squeak)
Scratch
Pippy (Python)
PATHS TO CODING
block-based (intro or infinite?)
games
Maker Movement / physical blocks
reactive environment
BLOCKS, NOT JUST FOR TURTLES
Potaka.io
Qalb قلب
SCRATCH AND GOOGLEMAKING INTERESTING MOVES
CODECOMBAT
SWIFT PLAYGROUNDS
ROBOTS AND PHYSICAL THINGS
BaoBot (from 2012 AFRON $10 robot challenge)
Pocky / Coding Blocks / Arduino
RISK FACTORS
JavaScript usurped by some language TBD
JavaScript divides into warring factions
Machine learning redefines role of the developer (both what we’re writing and how we write it)
MACHINE LEARNINGIt’s replacing humans in OpenStreetMap
A NEW LANDSCAPEHardware and browser from local / aid sources
Education libraries which work anywhere (Khan Academy, Library for All)
Adoptable by formal US Edu, translators, etc
Books are still hard (good content, local languages, reading that kids like)
Make it available on portable server / offline apps
CS edu. that works both at school and self-serve
EDU METRICS AND SENSORS
“Just the sight of the device reminds me to use full sentences and talk more frequently, instead of using short sentences or just facial expressions.”
THANKS!
One Laptop per Child
Nick DoironAny questions / stories@mapmeld on Twitter and GitHub