7 Checklist

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Several useful steps, or decision-points, in implementing an LCCD distribution program can be summarized in the following "checklist." 

Coordination
LCCD projects are usually a collaboration between the ministry of education and other partners such as NGOs, international donors and the private sector. Who will participate in the project? Who will take overall implementation responsibility, including integration of pedagogical questions, dealing with LCCD vendors, handling technological issues, coordinating transport and delivery and liaising with schools and volunteer groups? This step involves answering these threshhold questions.
 
School Designations
Which schools will participate? How many students and teachers will be involved? Do the schools have electricity? What languages are spoken? What is the transportation situation? Are parents supportive?
 
Finance
Where will funding come from? How much are import duties and taxes? Should a tendering process be used? How much of the project should be outsourced?
 
LCCD Selection
What are the requirements for the LCCD (e.g., operating system, applications, battery life, national language interface, keyboard, etc.)? How much does it cost? What kinds of discounts are available? What kind of support network (e.g., content, training manuals, etc.) is available? What kind of warranties can be obtained? What kind of battery re-charging and plug configuration are available? Should LCCD selection be tendered?
 
Networking
Is networking capability needed for the project? Do schools have access to the Internet? What kinds of connectivity options are available (e.g., dial-up, DSL, WiMax, 3G mobile, VSAT)? Is mesh networking needed? What are the costs of networking (e.g., installation of network adapters and routers, recurring service costs)? Can local telecom operators or ISPs assist with networking? Are firewalls needed for content control?
 
Transportation and Distribution
How far is the country from the LCCD manufacturing location? What is the lead time for manufacturing the LCCDs? How will the LCCDs be transported (e.g., by air, by ship, etc.)? What are customs formalities and how long is the delay? How will the LCCDs be distributed within the country? What is the deployment schedule? 

 

Content
What education content is needed to support teaching? What content comes with the LCCD? What content is available through the LCCD support network? Is it free? How easy is it to convert existing national content for use on the LCCD? Will new, nationally developed content be needed? Is content documentation available? How will free content be downloaded from the Internet and distributed?
 
Servers and Peripherals
Will servers be used? What kind of computers will be used for the servers? How much additional disk space is needed? What kind of peripherals (and how many) will be needed (e.g., printers, scanners)? Should servers be included in a tender? Should server support be outsourced?                                   
 
Electricity
How will LCCDs be recharged (e.g., on-grid or off-grid electricity)? Will universal power supply (UPS) backup be needed? What is the recurring electricity cost?                           
                                                                                                                     
Training
How will teacher training be implemented? What will be taught? What are the logistics (e.g., centralized training or training on-site)? What kind of documentation will be needed? Should training be outsourced and/or included in a tender? Do the LCCDs themselves have training modules?
 
Support and Maintenance
How will the project be technically supported? Should support be outsourced and/or included in a tender? What is the maintenance procedure? How will students and teachers be trained in routine maintenance and troubleshooting? What stock of inventory should be maintained for spare components or replacement? What is the procedure for sending LCCDs for repair? How will equipment be recycled?
 
Monitoring
How will the project be monitored and evaluated? Who will carry out the monitoring and evaluation?
 
Table 7-1: Project Responsibility Checklist
Government
Vendor
International agency
·   Coordinate all the parties concerned within the country;
·   Nominate a national project coordinator responsible for coordination with the education ministry and all other partners;
·   Exempt duties and/or taxes for the computers;
·   Identify schools to receive the computers;
·   Arrange for local transportation of the computers from the port of entry to the designated schools;
·   Provide supporting infrastructure (including electricity), Internet connectivity, as well as printers, scanners, additional memory devices and servers as required at local sites and provide IT specialists to install networks in the targeted schools;
·   Create awareness and organize community learning and information exchange campaigns, including meeting at all schools with teachers, students and parents to build their support for the project;
·   Keep other partners informed;
·   Translate donated training materials into local languages as required;
·   Identify a team of IT specialists to participate in the technical maintenance and support training to be provided by the vendor, so that local IT specialists will be able to maintain and support the laptops.
·   Assume responsibility for software upgrades as required.
 
·      Donate computers, including any necessary adaptations for use in the beneficiary country (e.g., operating systems, national language keyboards, PIN configurations, etc.) and reasonable warranties;
·      Cover shipping costs of the computers, including packing for export, shipping charges, airfreight or vessel charges and insurance from the originating country to the port of entry;
·      Contribute human resources to provide training and support to teachers in the target areas where the computers will be delivered;
·      Provide an IT expert to provide service and support to each participating country for at least 6 months;
·      Provide initial trainer(s) and training materials on the maintenance of the laptops so that each participating country can train IT experts to repair and maintain the LCCDs;
·      Provide trainers, training materials and training sessions for teachers and students on use of the laptops, peripherals and content.
·   Coordinate with other partners to identify applications and content-related requirements to be included in the computers;
·   Support local training by underwriting expenses, making arrangements for training at local/regional training institutes, etc.
·   Negotiate, through the project coordinator, signed agreements with the beneficiary country to ensure its commitment to the project;
·   Conduct an evaluation of the pilot phase of the project and identify areas for improvement;
·   Following the evaluation of the pilot phase, assist the beneficiary country to design a comprehensive national LCCDs in schools program and assist the beneficiary country in launching public tenders for the provision of LCCDs.
 
Table 7‑2: Feature Comparison of Low-Cost Computing Devices for Students
 
XO (OLPC)
Classmate (Intel)
Eee (ASUS)
Price
USD 199104
USD 280105
USD 300106
Dimensions
242×228×32mm
7.5 x 9 x 1.5 "
8.9x6.7x1.33 “
Weight
1.45 Kg with LiFeP battery; 1.58 Kg with NiMH battery;
1.27 x 1.49 Kg
2.2 pounds
Battery life
22.8 Watt-hours (LiFePO4) 16.5 Watt-hours (NiMH); About 4.3-6 hours depending on battery and assuming 3.81 Watts107
6 hours (6-cell) 4 hours (4-cell)
Up to 3.5 hours
CPU
AMD 433 MHz
Intel 1.6 GHz
Intel 900 MHz
USB ports
3 (2.0)
2 (2.0)
3 (2.0)
Form factor
Convertible laptop with pivoting, reversible display
Clamshell or Clamshell/Tablet
Clamshell
Random Access Memory
256 MB
1 GB/512MB
1 GB
Storage
1 GB
8/4/2 GB Flash
16 GB
Operating system
Sugar (Linux-based)/ (Windows XP also available)
Windows XP / Linux
Windows XP Home
Networking
802.11b/g; 802.11s (Mesh) networking;
10/100M Ethernet;
802.11 b/g; WLAN Mesh with Linux
10/100M Ethernet; 802.11 b/g)
Display
Liquid-crystal display (LCD): 7.5” 1200 × 900
8.9" 1024 x 600 color LCD
7" 800 x 480 color LCD
LCD 8.9” 1024x600
Camera
Yes
Yes
Yes
External audio / video ports
Headphone and microphone
VGA, headphone and microphone
VGA, headphone and microphone
Warranty
30 days
1 year
1 year

 
 
                    
 

104 http://laptop.org/en/participate/ways-to-give.shtml

105 http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/187-0628532-5318435?ASIN=B001LGZ7VO&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B001LGZ7VO|Mirus_Educational_IntelPowered_Classmate_PC_for_Kids_with_Edubuntu_Edition_Gray_TARCM9GU&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B001LGZ7VO&ref=tgt_adv_XSG100

 106http://www.axiontech.com/prdt.php?item=80843&PRICECOMPARISONSID=9e92343b6782b68be9bfff81f0728d40

 107http://news.cnet.com/8301-13512_3-9768920-23.html

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