http://marketfort.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/olpc-flip-screen.jpg

The OLPC Laptop|http://laptop.org/ is a unique machine with features created specifically for children. However it is virtually worthless without a supporting ecosystem. Apart from mundane things, such as power and some for of connectivity - the key enabler is integrate this tool into the learning environment.

Doing so requires several things:

• Applicable and appropriate teaching tools which fit within the established practices, are understood by those who have to work with them - and which clearly aid, add or improve existing tools.
  • Including a group of dedicated local domain experts and influencer's which have a clear, locally applicable, vision.
  • Including a set of (collaboration) tools which allows for the creation and coordination around those.
• A deployment infrastructure within the learning environment which ensures ready access to school training, teacher training, IT-caretaker training, run-books, call-for-tender and contractual approaches. Including viable business models for the above group.
• A support ecosystem; allowing for provisioning the infrastructure; i.e. ensuring connectivity, wifi, that printing works and a matching stack of support; tuned to the turnaround times required and staff afailable within schools.
• A backing eco system - allowing for cross project coordination, warranty, repairs, DoA, bulk provisining and so on within the local marked.
• The actual OLPC laptops
  

Now one of the bootstrap issues is that none of this is in place.

The approach of OLPC is to firmly approach this bottom up. Following that cue - the obvious step is ensuring some sort of provisioning platform which allows a few 10's to 100's of OLPCs to function within an educational environment. Ensures that people can get their materials, collaborate, interact, print.

XS is the name of the SchoolServer.

It will be schipped with XO's (olpc laptops) on their projects. The purpose is to server schools with:

• Local content
  • Publishing, Accessing
  • CMS and portal of sorts
  • Storage, Editing, Sharing, Collaborating
  • Keep in mind that the OLPC produces rich data; from physical measurements, recordings to photos and text files.
  • Local services, synchronization for collaboration purposes.
  • A SDK, JDK, framework, portal, or CMS or akin into which you can plug educational components/backend services. Modular?
  • Administrative services to aid the educational processes (tracking, statistics, inventory, attendance, records).
• Above local content may well 'mesh' with content at other schools or locations; and various CMS systems will be relatively distributed and/or federated.
• hhttp caching / filtering
• XO backups.
  

Hardware is

• small,
• limitted in CPU and Memory
• rugged for harsh invironments.
  

Software:

• smart
• child friendly
• secure

Purpose of the BOF:

• collecting ideas / concept to build an XS
• start thinking about the (web) publishing frameworks required.
• getting people in XS-dev group
  (even for short moment to bootup this smart concepts...)
  

Contact:

• MartenVijn (OLPC-nl grassroots)
• Martin Langhoff (OLPC)
  

Find us at the OLPC stand in the main hall, at the BOF or later on:

• irc : irc.oftc.net #schoolserver
• mailing list: http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
  

http:

• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/School_server
• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XS_Roadmap
• http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Summer_of_Code
  
  

slides:

http://martenvijn.nl/svn/olpc