(by Timothy Falconer, from newsletter)
Things have been relatively slow at Waveplace since our awards extravaganza last October. This is due partly to the economic downturn, and partly because I've been busy starting a new organization with a similar mission as Waveplace. Squeakland Foundation is devoted to Etoys use worldwide, not just the Caribbean. It's a spin-off organization from Viewpoints Research Institute, the creators of Etoys. We've been busy improving the Etoys software and creating new courseware, along with planning two Etoys conferences this summer, one in Brasil and one in Los Angeles. Waveplace will be presenting at both conferences.
Interest in Waveplace remains high. In the last few months, we've received a whopping thirty XOs from private individuals in the US and Canada. Yesterday, we sent 24 of them down to a new pilot in Haiti, which will start in June. We're partnering with the American Haitian Foundation and the Complexe Educatif St. Antoine school in Petite Riviere de Nippes. Watch our blog to read field reports from this pilot, which starts June 17th.
We've also started our first non-XO pilot, using Eee PCs at the Antilles School on St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Our efforts in Nicaragua continue, where our partner Campo Alegria is training new Nicaraguan mentors to conduct XO and Etoys training for as many as 400 Nicaraguan teachers. Lastly, we're in the planning stages with another summer pilot in Immokalee, Florida. One of our Immokalee mentors continues to use Etoys with her students to great success.
Things are shaping up for an exciting summer. We'd particularly love staring a pilot in a new area in the Caribbean, though we'll need a strong partner and funding before we can even begin. Stay tuned, and keep those XOs coming!
