This past week has seen a frenzy of activity in preparation for what might be the most exciting event of the autumn when it comes to OLPC and Sugar:

Class Acts Writing Sprint
September 6-11
Gallaudet University
Washington, DC

The goal of the event is to produce a mini-guide on how to successfully use the technology created by OLPC and Sugar Labs to actually improve learning in classrooms.

The guide will be short and professional, possibly only 30 pages long -- drawing on innovations from successful rollouts around the world -- with separately downloadable chapters. It will enable entrepreneurial teachers in small schools to begin formulating real-world plans jumpstarting 21st century learning using XO Laptops.

Soon on a newsstand near you

The Class Acts event will follow the model of last year's highly successful FLOSS Manuals Book Sprint which brought you the awesome Sugar and XO manuals You can learn more about the book sprint in these articles: Part I and Part II.

This is a true community event with everything from the idea to the planning and the execution being run by the fine people that make up the OLPC and Sugar Labs communities. Subsequently the list of attendees really reads like the North American of OLPC and Sugar Labs community members. But don't despair if you can't make it to D.C. because just like with the earlier Book Sprint remote collaboration is very welcome and helpful!

To cut a long story short: Please contribute to help make this event a successful one so the resulting guide really enables teachers across the globe to make education more engaging by using Sugar and the XO! From what I'm hearing at this point we're particularly looking for folks with Photoshop (or your tool of choice) skills.

For more information about Class Acts 2009 please go to this wiki page, read the official announcement or e-mail me at christoph AT olpcnews DOT com.