Sustainable Schools International
In autumn 2014, a Kids on Computers® volunteer in Northern Colorado was introduced to Kari Grady Grossman, the Executive Director of Sustainable Schools International(SSI). That social contact led to discussion of the two groups’ work and to further contacts that year. At that time Kids on Computers® had some HP TouchPad tablets that had not yet been dedicated to existing, specific Kids on Computers® schools, and Kari was interested in the potential for using tablets at the Cambodian schools.
SSI’s request presented us a new use model.
Up to this time, existing Kids on Computers® labs were created by adhering to an established set of steps: identify and vet a deserving school, gather volunteers to travel to the school’s location, gather and prepare computers for the school, transport them to the school, install them in a computer lab, train the teachers, support the lab with follow-up visits, etc.
SSI wanted the tablets for audio/video communication between a student in one location and a teacher in another location. The teacher/student communication would be in English and would be for the purpose of teaching the English language to students in a non-classroom environment. Kids on Computers® involvement beyond preparation was not essential in the SSI use model.
A proposal was prepared for the Kids on Computers® board of directors that the tablets would be turned on, configured with a suitable Android OS and tested by Kids on Computers® volunteers. Then the tablets would be given to SSI, who would be responsible for transporting them to their ultimate destination, for deploying them, for training and for all support. Kids on Computers® made only one condition on the gift: that SSI provide feedback showing how and by whom the tablets were being used.
The Kids on Computers® board of directors approved the proposal and fifteen configured tablets were delivered to SSI in December 2014, in time for an SSI representative to carry them to Cambodia.
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