[IAEP] Printing in Uruguay

[mokurai at earthtreasury.org]

Copied to OLPC-SUR. We would be grateful if anyone felt like translating
this conversation into Spanish, and even more grateful if some of the
Spanish-speaking readers there would join this project.

I am about to make a section on the Ideas for Projects Wiki page for this
project...Done. Feel free to add ideas.

http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Ideas_for_Projects#Printing

On Tue, May 17, 2011 2:12 am, nanonano at mediagala.com wrote:
> />mokurai at earthtreasury.org wrote:
>  >Shall we take this discussion back onto the mailing lists?
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------/
>
> Sorry, I was replying your mails, and not replying to the entire mailing
> list.

Understood.

> The printing Problem is one of the issues that we are talking from 2008,
> and a lot of people wrote about it, but nothing practical  was decided.
>
> -------------------------
>
> I Know that printing is not necessary, but teachers ask us how to print.
> May be in 50 years nobody will print , but now is a issue that maybe
> someone can solve-.
>
> Mr Mokurai asked me what he can do to solve that problem.
>
> I'm  from Uruguay, and here the deployment is "monopolized" by Plan
> Ceibal, we (the volunteers) can only change little things, but we can't
> change big things, like installing something in the school servers, o
> installing printers, etc etc.
>
> That's why it is very difficult for us to try to install something to
> solve the printing problem.
>
> For example: from other countries, many people told us: "do that and
> these, install that thing and this software, and the problem is solved"...
>
> We can not go inside a school installing or touching thing that belongs
> to a school!. We are volunteers, that means in legal words: "less than a
> fly".
>
> The server on each school is closed in a metal cage like a little
> fort-knox <http://mediagala.com/rap/varios/servidor-ceibal.jpg>, nobody
> can touch the server, and most of the times the server is in a separate
> room that the "computer-room", in the cases that the school have one.
>
> --------------
>
> I Think that the "printing problem"_* may have two approaches: *_
> "_the big centralized solution_", or _"the little solution in a little
> school_".
>
> the "big solution" would be that Sugarlabs and/or Plan Ceibal install
> something in all the schools servers and all the Xos.
>
> This solutions does not concern me,

In English we call that a "boil the oceans" strategy.

> but maybe the second ...
>
> _*T**he second approach could be to try something in a little school*_,
> . For example, using the printer that a school already has, with a normal
> computer that that school already had, connected somehow to the Xos,
> with some software that can print.

And once that is working, we think about how to extend it to other
schools. I suggested having a student art show, and inviting children,
parents, teachers and administrators from other schools, local
politicians, perhaps even a Plan Ceibal person or two. No argument with
them is necessary. We just want them to see happy, smiling faces, and
perhaps hear what educational changes followed the availability of
printing.

It doesn't have to be art. A science fair with printed posters, or a
poetry or writing contest, or a photography exhibition, all would do.

It would be possible to have an exhibition on the children's own XOs, with
the children at hand to demonstrate their work, and to mention how much
the children would like to see their work printed out to exhibit when they
and their XOs are not there.

> For example: the first thing that may be done is printing a "Write
> document" (made on the XO), and printed using a school printer,
> connected to a computer with a web-printing software. or something
> similar.
>
> -----------
>
>
> At this moment the teachers has a lot of problems printing something,
> because they have to use a USB penDrive to copy the file, saved in pdf
> or rtf, then taking the pendrive to someplace and with the fingers
> crossed she have to hope that on that computer she can open the .odt , o
> pdf,. or whatever.

Let us find as many teachers  as possible who are presently doing this,
and ask them to tell us about the value of printing for their students.
Let us also invite them into the project to find a better solution.

> -------------
>
> Connecting the School Xos with the normal PCs of the Scool it is
> impossible right now (on the Plan Ceibal Network).  The normal Computers
> can't connect with the "ceibal network".   The only PCs that connects
> are SOME teachers laptops and the XOs 1.0 .
>
> You need a user and password to connect to the "ceibal network", that is
> made so the people can't steal internet from the schools.
>
> ----------
>
>
> Possible solution N°1:
> -*We need a school, that has normal Pcs and one printer *(there are
> schools that already had computers and printers before OLPC). This is
> possible (not for all the schools, of couse)
>
> -*We need to connect that computer* (the one that has the printer) to
> the "Ceibal NEtwork". This is possible too, (in theory).  We need an
> user and a password from PLan Ceibal to do that.
>
> -We also need an* USB Dongle to connect that computer* to the AP of the
> School.  That dongle costs less than U$S 20 (american dollars)
>
> -_We need_ a "*printer administrator*", a teacher or someone who is
> paid to do that work. This is the most difficult part because that
> person will be paid by the Primary School , not by Plan Ceibal.
>
> - *We need some web-based software to manage the printer*, and it have
> be administrated by the teacher.
>
> That software doesn't have to be a printer server, because the XOs don't
> have the "print button", but it could be a software where the children
> upload the files and later the teacher authorizes the printing.
>
> Initially it could be made for .odt files, or jpg, .rtf or pdf, hat is
> easy to print, and later we can think about printing from Etoys,
> "browse" , or other Sugar programs.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> _The Things that the volunteers can do:_
> -going to a school and help the teachers installing all that stuff.
>
> _Things that are very difficult to solve by  the volunteers:_
> -Have the permission of The Plan Ceibal to connect an external computer
> to the "Ceibal network" inside the school.
> -Have the permission of the "Anep" (the Primary School) to touch the
> computers of the school.
> -Obtain funds to make sustainable the printer:  buying the paper for the
> printer, the ink, and the time of someone (a Teacher, maybe) that will
> be the "printer administrator".

We have to consider whether to use a monochrome laser printer with very
inexpensive toner, or a color inkjet printer with much more expensive ink.

In order to fund the supplies and people time, we need to demonstrate an
educational advantage of printing. This is not a problem in my mind, but
it is clearly an issue to some.

> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This solution it can be applied to_* solve a second problem "the backup
> of the children"*_ If we can install a server in the school where the
> children uploads files, that software could be used as a server file
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
>
> The "printing problem" it's not the biggest problem that we have her in
> Uruguay, but it could be one thing that helps the Teachers to approach
> more and more to the use of Sugar.
>
>
>
>
> Paolo Benini
> RAP-CEIBAL
> Montevideo
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep


-- 
Edward Mokurai
(默雷/धर्ममेघशब्दगर्ज/دھرممیگھشبدگر
ج) Cherlin
Silent Thunder is my name, and Children are my nation.
The Cosmos is my dwelling place, the Truth my destination.
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Replacing_Textbooks