Laptops are in Uganda

Good news!
Got word from my contact in Kampala. The laptops have arrived safe and sound and are awaiting my arrival.

More good news!
I was able to successfully get the SOAS to work! Took me a couple (well, more than a couple of tries) but finally, it is AOK! Then I attacked the VNC server/client idea so that I could project from the XO through my laptop. Again, I am sooo happy to report it worked! Instant! Yippee! Things are moving along. Started the typhoid pills....planning my lessons....packing my bags...

Something to Think About.

I have been thinking about something that was said on our OLPC conference call. I was asked if my project would be perceived as "another white woman trying to tell black people what to do." That is a good point and I am really glad it came up, but it did catch me off-guard. At the time, I was sitting in a room with my daughter-in-law and my grand-daughter who are both African-American. After teaching for so long in NY, and having the family for which I am eternally grateful and of which I am enormously proud, I have become blind to color. Yes, prejudice and fear do exist, but if we are, as Ghandi said, to "be the change we want to see in the world", we have to ACT as if it doesn't. I know I will, as I work with colleagues and friends on my trip to Africa. To be asked to present to universities and high schools in another part of the world is indeed an honor and the implied trust fuels my resolve.

Whew!

I just entered my first OLPC IRC Chat Room (the wrong one initially) and eagerly read the postings from those reviewing my project proposal. I am looking forward to a conference call on Sunday, when, hopefully, I will receive more guidance on how to get my project off the ground. There are so many things to plan aside from the pedagogy! I guess I am glad that this Uganda visit will only be 10 days long, so that I can take more time to prepare for a "deeper" visit next time. I guess I am of the school, "I have to see it to believe it." sort of a dream world. I know that when I get to Uganda, I will understand better what can and cannot be done with the technology I find. Having lived in the US all my life has made me think all things are possible but unfortunately, so much of what I have experienced has been a privilege, not a given. This will be an eye-opening experience for me, my family, my students. I am going for it!

I have been reading, researching how I will project my XO to a wall. Calling manufacturers, etc. The tech here, Martiny, will help. A grad student, Jaimiee, and I tried a quick and dirty fix of just pointing my camera at the XO and using a VGA projector. I guess that could be a fall-back plan if all else fails (and I don't get my camera and projector confiscated).

New Beginnings

Charting a new course! I am planning my trip to Uganda. It is an exciting time in my life as I approach new arenas with abandon. Today, I received my second group of shots: yellow fever, polio and Hepatitis A. A month ago, I had the menangitis and DPT shots. I honestly thought it would be an issue but it was a piece of cake. Let's hope it all goes so well!

My plan is to join my husband and friends on a vacation in Damascus. Then I will leave Syria for Cairo where I will meet my colleague for the weekend. Then, we will leave for Kampala, where I will work with colleges and highschools for a week.

As an instructional technologist, a Director of Academic Technology and a college professor, I would hope to set up a collaborative effort with my counterparts in Uganda. I will also try to visit Gulu to see an OLPC project in action, in the hopes of spreading the phenomenal work done there to another area. Big hopes, too little time, but you have to start somewhere!