We got around the need for antitheft measures with a community-based approach. This may not work in all communities, but it has worked very well for us.
BEFORE distributing any computers for student use, we held meetings with all participants, including teachers, students, parents, and the community. After getting their input, we guided the teachers and school administrators in developing a written set of rules and regulations for the project, with four sets of contracts that the students, parents, teachers, and school administration had to sign in order to participate in the project. We did this by posing a series of "what if" scenarios, and then requiring the local educators to come up with answers that best suited their school and community's culture, needs, and economic situation. Included in the contracts that resulted from this were "fine schedules" and clearly defined consequences for any damage, loss, or theft of a laptop. Because we work in very poor communities, "work in lieu of fines" for parents was included, with a very detailed schedule of hours and type of work required. One critical stipulation that we required to be included in the governing documents was that, if a laptop goes missing (lost or stolen), the project comes to a complete halt until there is a satisfactory resolution. What constitutes a satisfactory resolution is clearly defined in the documents. Since deployment, within the school and immediate community, laptops can be left unattended in classrooms and the school yard without worry. This is because they aren't ever really "unattended." The entire community is hyper-vigilant about keeping an eye on them. When students or teachers who live in other communities take laptops home, they are hyper-vigilant about taking care of the laptops and protecting them, to the point that one teacher who lives in an unsafe area will not even take his flash drive home with him, let alone a laptop. Their protectiveness is so strong that one school paid to put burglar bars on the classrooms and storage room, and another school hired a security guard for off-hours. The result has been that 2½ years after deployment, we have not had a single laptop damaged, lost, or stolen. This is especially impressive considering that I was told repeatedly before we started about cases of computer theft and vandalism at other computer projects in the country. We were told this would be a major impediment, but we proved them wrong. Our approach was a long, grueling process, but by bringing the participants into the process, allowing them to customize the governing documents to meet their needs, and giving them complete control over the outcome, we have not had to deal with any theft or vandalism. That's not to say it can't happen someday, or that it will be as effective in all countries and communities, but I think it is essential to long-term success to incorporate community involvement in the design, implementation, and operation of any computer project. The time invested in laying the groundwork pays huge dividends in the long run. Janissa Balcomb Laptops to Lesotho Inc. www.laptopstolesotho.org _______________________________________________ Server-devel mailing list Server-devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/server-devel
