LearningForward

Kent Chesnut's technology in education blog.

I know, I know, the XO laptop was designed as a constructive platform for kids in the developing world.  And I’m not one!  When OLPC anounced the Give 1 Get 1 program near the end of 2007, I wanted to find out what this little computer was like.  But… I didn’t have the money to spare at the time.  But I was able to get one of these G1G1 machines a couple of weeks ago on eBay.   

I believe a laptop computer with appropriate constructive software could be the most important piece of technology a student can have.  But I do have some issues with standard laptops for education:

1. They are bulky and heavy (you would need to replace stuff from the heavy kids’ backpack, not just add to it).
2. They are fragile.
3. They are pretty expensive.

The XO appears to address all of these concerns. 

I’ve been evaluating the platform for 3 possible purposes:
(BTW - I recognize that none of these are the specific design goals of the XO.)

1. A platform for learning Scratch
2. A school laptop for my younger kids
3. A backup business laptop

I’ll discuss my general perceptions before looking into these 3 specific purposes.

• It’s small!  Much smaller than I expected.  The small screen is fine for young eyes - and even for me (when I get to the right spot on my bifocals ;-)  The keyboard is a little more problematic.  It is both small (see dimensions below) and covered with a rubber cover that makes the feel a little strange.  I don’t have large hands and I am getting used to typing on it (not touch typing yet).  The size is OK for my teenage daughter (rather petite) - but she hasn’t used it enough to be touch-typing yet.  The size and feel would be fine for smaller kids - especially for those not yet touch typing.  
  The picture at right shows the XO up against a Dell 1505.
  I’ve done a few measurements on other computers.  
  From the left edge of the A to the right edge of the semicolon:
  • Standard keyboard - 7.25″
  • Dell 1505 laptop keyboard - 7.25″
  • XO laptop keyboard - 5.125″
• It’s a little slow.  The XO takes about 2 minutes to boot up.  Activities (programs) take about 20 seconds to start.  Inserting a picture into the word processor takes about 10 seconds to open the file dialog.  Internet browsing seems sluggish.  Scrolling through large PDF files also seems sluggish.  However, switching between activities is fast.  See Wesley Fryer’s blog entry about the XO’s performance here.
• The software is still in work.  A big missing feature is suspend and resume (which would obviate the slowness of booting).  Some activities aren’t quite finished.  The good news is that the software is operational, pretty robust, and development is ongoing.  Also note that shortcomings and problems are documented in the OLPC wiki.
• As I only have access to 1 XO, I wasn’t able to evaluate the collaborative capabilities of the XO.  Too bad, they appear to be some of the most interesting and innovative aspects of the laptop.  For the same reason, I can’t say much about the mesh networking.

On with the evaluation!

XO as a platform for learning Scratch

• Positive
  • There is a Scratch activity version for the XO laptop.  It is very easy to install (just navigate to the activities web page and download the Scratch-1.xo file using the Browse activity).
  • The Scratch activity launches quickly.
  • Scratch on the XO looks / acts just like on other platforms.
  • Unlike on other Linux platforms, the Presentation Mode works (see my earlier post here about Scratch on Puppy Linux and Ubuntu).
• Negative
  • The standard Scratch screen has been scaled to fit on the XO.  This creates a real challenge for the eyes.  Buttons (especially on the dialogs) are very small.
  • MIDI sounds don’t work (same as on the other Linux platforms).
  • It is a little sluggish.  Dragging script components can be a little jerky making it hard to place them.
• Overall
  • I would not recommend using the XO as a platform for learning Scratch at this time.  The screen is just too small to support the standard Scratch user interface (in my opinion).  According to the Scratch website, there is a plan to adapt Scratch for the XO (see here).  I’ll be happy to give it another try at that time!

XO as a school laptop for kids

• Positive
  • The XO is small, light, and tough.
  • The XO has long battery life.  If I remember correctly (sorry, I couldn’t find a link), the OLPC web site estimates between 3 hours (backlight on) and 5 hours (backlight off).
  • The XO is usable both inside (with backlight) and outside (reflective screen mode).
  • Good range of constructive activities installed on the computer.
  • Many additional activities available on the OLPC website activities page. 
  • All the activities (and the Operating System as well) are Open Source and available at no cost.
• Negative
  • Slow bootup and activity start times.  No suspend and resume (at this point in time).
  • It’s not fast enough for gaming (such as flash games on the internet) and videos (like You-Tube).  Although these activities are not typically considered to be “school work”, most U.S. students will expect a computer to accommodate such uses.
• Overall
  • I think the XO will prove to be a very good school laptop. 

XO as a backup business computer (way outside the scope of the OLPC project)

• Positive
  • The XO has long battery life. 
• Negative
  • I haven’t been able to get it to connect to my corporate network (WPA, Leap, hidden SSID).   I bet this is possible (or will be in a future system build) but it’s not automatic.
  •  Slow bootup and activity start times.
  • Screen size is pretty small.
  • Keypad size too small for many men. 
• Overall
  • I got quite a bit of ribbing for having the XO at work… it’s small size and color scheme attracts quite a bit of attention.  Not really a positive or a negative - just an observation.
  • I probably won’t be using the XO much as a backup business laptop.

In conclusion, the XO is optimized as a very low cost platform for constructive student activities - particularly in developing countries.  As such, it’s not really optimized for the uses I’ve evaluated.   

• I consider the XO to be a good platform for a school laptop for kids - provided they understand its limitations in games and videos.  It will be an even better school laptop once suspend and resume are implemented.  I’ll know more on this as my daughter uses the XO for school work (assuming she’s able to wrestle it away from me ;-).
• I think the XO may well be a good platform for learning Scratch once Scratch has been optimized for the XO’s screen. 
• The XO is probably not a good platform for a backup business laptop.