new Etoys courseware, new pilots in Florida and Nicaragua

Hi everyone,

Waveplace has finished its beta "Squeaky Tales" courseware ... 30 lessons (with videos) that teach how to teach Etoys on the XO.   To see examples, or to become a beta tester, visit:

http://waveplace.com/resources/tutorials/

We took everything we learned in our first pilot (in the Virgin Islands) and started completely over.  The pacing is much better, as is the storytelling component, which was crucial in St John.  We're using the beta courseware in our three pilots this summer, and will then start completely over and make a physical textbook and DVD series (in English, Spanish, and French).  All will be sold at cost for physical materials.  (We're a non-profit.)

In other news, we held our first intensive teacher workshop last week in Immokalee, Florida.  The teachers are very enthusiastic.   For the next two months, they'll be using the courseware to teach 42 children, each of whom received their very own XO last week.  Larry Abramson from NPR spent a day with us, listening as we taught the teachers and later the children.

Lastly, we've just finished prep work for our 4th pilot ... this time on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua in a school that currently has no electricity.  If all goes well, we'll be starting that pilot in mid-July.   When this pilot finishs, Waveplace will have given both XOs and training to more than 100 children and 20 teachers.

For more on the Immokalee and Nicaragua pilots, or to hear about our Haiti pilot, read the current issue of our newsletter:

http://waveplace.com/news/newsletter/web.jsp?id=7

You can also subscribe to it by visiting:

http://waveplace.com/subscribe/

Take care,
Tim


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