Class programs with a purpose for One Laptop per Child
Though computer science professor Lewis Barnett and his software engineering students explain their semester-long project using terms such as, “python,” “open source,” “sugar” and “Linux,” the project’s impact is something everyone can understand.
The class designed software for the XO laptop, a rugged, low-cost, low-power machine built specifically for educational purposes, designed specifically for school-aged children living in remote environments of developing countries.
Through the organization One Laptop per Child (OLPC), XO laptops are given to children all over the world, providing them with an educational tool that allows them to create, learn, collaborate and connect with other XO users worldwide through a mesh network. Barnett had been reading about and looking into OLPC for a while, searching for a meaningful way he and his students could contribute to the worthwhile cause.
“OLPC has a list of software development projects on their site that they want to include in the XO,” said Barnett. “Anyone who wants to contribute to the project can. It’s all open source software—in other words, you develop the software for free.”
The course Barnett led this fall, Software Engineering, is only offered every few years. In the past, Barnett says, students in the class have worked on software that was eventually used on campus or by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. This time, he wanted a project that had a broader potential impact.
During the summer, Barnett emailed OLPC’s software mailing list to inquire about a useful project at his students’ skill level. He immediately got a response from an OLPC graphical interface designer who suggested the students build a utility on the XO that could open .zip files—something as yet undeveloped on the XO. An application that could unpack .zip files from the Internet, taking them from the traditional computing world and integrating them into the XO storage system, would be infinitely useful.
“The XO is a radically redesigned computing environment,” said Barnett. “For my students, it was a challenge from the start because they had to become familiar with the language.”
Taking the challenges in stride though, Barnett’s students found the project easy to get excited about, especially since Barnett had bought an XO laptop off eBay for testing. The small, sturdy, bright green machine comes equipped with hardware as innovative as its software: antennae “ears” help connect users automatically to the mesh network, built-in cameras, microphones and game controllers create a fun, interactive learning experience and a sturdy handle helps with portability, as every child who receives an XO is allowed to use it at school and home.
“OLPC is not about the advancement of computing in the developing world,” said Barnett. “It’s about education through interactive learning techniques using some of the coolest applications out there, like collaborative writing and music programs.”
By the time Barnett’s students completed their assignment, their project had attracted attention from the free and open source software community. Greg Dekoenigsberg, who works on community and education outreach projects for Red Hat Inc. and is the official liaison between Red Hat and OLPC, was looking for examples of successful integration of free and open source software in academic curricula.
Dekoenigsberg came to the University of Richmond to talk to Barnett’s students in early December, eager to discuss their work on the OLPC project. Red Hat Inc. sells one version of the Linux operating system called Red Hat Linux and supports another called Fedora, which is a free community software project that works as a test bed for experimental software.
He recognized the students’ accomplishments, noting that it’s unusual for college students and professors to dedicate the man hours required to fully develop an open source software program.
“This is the kind of project that’s important enough to make the obstacles associated with working with open source software worthwhile,” said Dekoenigsberg.