A First Project: All About Me, an Autobiographical Exploration

All About Me is a great way to let new XO users explore and use several of the programs on the laptop.  In this project you create an autobiography--"All About Me" document.

Let users know that the first thing that they need to do with their new XOs is to be ready to tell about themselves. You can let them know that this will be a great way to have fun using the laptop, and help them be ready to work with others on the Mesh Network. You can use the Mesh Network Demo to help explain what a Mesh Network is.

To start the project, explain that they will need to write a little bit about themselves. This should include their name. An important note is that  online privacy for children is a #1 priority. Make sure that they only use their first name, and no street addresses. Providing Town, State/Province or Country is OK.  You can help explain cybersafety to them by using the Nortel LearniT video tutorial about Online Identity.

When they're ready, have them open the writing program on the XO and write about themselves. Be sure to have them address such things as what they like to do in school, at home and tell about their family. They will need to learn how to save their work using the filing system of the XO (the book icon with the arrow pointing into it). They will need to provide a name to their work when they save it.

Next, ask them to take a picture of themselves. They can do this by launching the camera application and using the XO to take their picture. Once they take their picture, they will be able to add it to their document. They can do this by switching between the camera and the writing application and ‘inserting' their picture in their document.

Then, have them create an original drawing that tells something about themselves. Maybe it is a visualization of something that they wrote about or an extension of that detail. They will be able to open the drawing application from the XO's Neighborhood view. After they have created (and saved) their drawing, have them insert the drawing into their document.

Finally, they will need to share their All About Me document. If there are other XO laptops being used near you (you can look to check in the community view to see if other XO icons appear there), you can use the chat and application sharing features of the XO to share their documents. When there are no other XOs near you, have them e-mail, using a free web based e-mail program like G-mail, Yahoo Mail or Hotmail to create an account.

NOTE: Again let them know about cybersafe ways to work online. Consider using other video lessons from the Nortel LearniT Online Safety series to do this.

For more information or ideas on All About Me, please see the Nortel LearniT Lesson Plan of the same name.

For more suggestions for first projects visit the Learning Activities section on the OLPC Wiki.