OLPC TEST PROJECT IN NIGERIA CONCLUDES

The closeout ceremony of the testing of the "One Laptop Per Child" (OLPC) XO machines in Nigeria came to a memorable end on Thursday, June 19, 2007 at the premises of the test school, LEA Primary School Galadima, Gwarimpa village, FCT Abuja. The event saw a display of acquired computer skills in essay writing, drawing, basic programming and elementary computer engineering by the children in the school. The guests were treated to various Nigerian cultural dances which was recorded by fellow students using their XO's. In attendance were the representatives of some of the project's stakeholders: Alteq.ict, the UBE (Universal Basic Education) Board, NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission), NAN (News Agency of Nigeria), UNICEF, the PTA (Parents Teachers Association) and GBF (Growing Business Foundation) an NGO chaired by Dr Ndidi Edozien.

The OLPC project, the brainchild of Professor Negroponte and created by the faculty members of the MIT lab, aims at providing children all over with a low cost laptop (referred to as the XO computer) to avail them with opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves with this educational tool.

The XO is designed to operate on less than 5 watts of power. It is a brightly colored plastic laptop with rounded corners with antennae that folds up the sides to form ears. It utilizes the "sugar" interface which presents people icons in a neighborhood metaphor, a built-in camera and other media options to offer scope for creative schoolwork. The basic hardware specifications are 256MB of DRAM and 1GB flash memory.

For the test project to be possible, supporting infrastructure was put in place at the school. This comprised of a 15KVa electricity generator for power supply, a VSAT dish for internet connectivity, WiFi access points, to connect the laptops to the VSAT (Which was provided by Accelon ) as well as to one another and electrical wiring of the classrooms where the XO's were to be used by the children and their teachers (to facilitate laptop battery recharging). An alternate power source (solar panels using gange chargers) was also used to support the laptops power needs.

The LEA Primary School Galadima was chosen by the UBE and OLPC as fitting the criteria for an XO test school. It is a public (i.e. Government funded) school with a relatively high student (300) and staff(8) population with the target age range of children 6-12 years old.
The test, which lasted 5 months(March- July 2007), brought up several issues. On the positive side, the pupils and teachers showed enthusiasm in the adoption of the XOs–a sign that they were open to new ideas. They children learnt to use the XO's to carry out classroom assignments and homework, surf the web, carry out minor repairs and perform routine cleaning and maintenance of the device. The teachers on their part learnt to organize their schedules, obtain teaching material on the Internet as well as well as offer improved and more holistic tutelage to their wards. On the downside, it was observed that the XO's for some student constituted a form of distraction from academic activity as they indulged in spending "school" time playing with the laptop's camera and surfing the web for entertainment material. In a few cases, children were found (possibly inadvertedly) visiting inappropriate websites showing pornographic material. It was also observed that some children did not handle the XO's with the the utmost care it deserved.

Aside from the negative observations the project has been a success as it was able to reveal a new vista to child education and teacher efficiency. Unrestricted access to x-rated websites can easily be corrected by the internet service provider, ISP and also installing a server in the school to monitor the pupils. The local OLPC4Nigeria Galadima School project team comprised seasoned professionals across board. They include Carla Gomez Monroy(OLPC Learning Specialist), Tomi Davies (Project Director), Asabe Yabani & Roland Igwe (Content & Learning), Ahmad dan Ahmidu (Software) , Olusola Sanni (Logistics) and Adetola Adeola (Hardware) all from Alteq.ict. Together they were able to conduct the test which from all indications will support the final adoption of the project on a large scale across the country.