[UgaBYTES] One Laptop per Child

[jeff buderer]

Satish,

As one who was linked to the OLPC launch effort in Africa through my 
links with the Club of Rome and of course Ed Cherlin, I can't of course 
deny that I don't see the potential of OLPC in terms of the fact that it 
is groundbreaking technology. However even that is wearing down due to 
the fast embrace of the netbook concept by competitors such as Acer, 
Asus, HP and even African based Omatek Computers which is based in 
Nigeria and also has an assembly plant in Ghana: 
http://wayan.com/2008/08/omatek-smartbook-4pc.html

I would have to see the detailed studies to be convinced that the model 
as put forward by OLPC is a good one. For one thing they early on 
embraced a very top down approach to distributing the OLPCs that I feel 
is counter-intuitive to the bottom up development approach that many 
activists around the world are pushing for. From the beginning I felt 
like this was a approach that Negroponte stubbornly and mistaken clung 
to. It seems that he has loosened up a bit on this top down sales 
approach of sending millions of computers to education ministries in 
major countries and I think I understand why he felt he had to go that 
route in terms of securing large sales orders to finance the project, 
but I the overall model is flawed because it embraces a simplistic 
notion that technology has the cure for what ails us. Really the 
computer is but a tool that when applied through a comprehensive and 
carefully thought out community development strategy can achieve results 
(such as Jhai IT).

Another issue though is that if the schools are in shambles what is the 
value proposition for investing massively in computers without 
addressing the other issues such as bad infrastructure, textbooks, 
teacher pay, etc? In other words show me how by buying a OLPC i get more 
education per dollar than if I were to spend that money on more teacher 
pay, training, infrastructure, health care and adequate shelter for the 
pupils (because how can we educate effectively when the students are not 
sure where they get their next meal?). It seems a bit absurd to me to 
make massive investments in shiny new computers for schools when the 
schools barely have the needed tools to teach the children what most 
would consider the most basic standards for education. Therefore it 
seems that we need to use care in terms of considering one size fits all 
models and particularly when it comes to relatively expensive 
technologies. Possibly we should not to focus on getting every child a 
laptop but rather to develop centers to educate the best and brightest 
and provide them with adequate tools to be models of inspiration to 
others and to consider the role of IT in reforming and optimizing key 
sectors of society such as education. The key consideration is to invest 
in appropriate technology and that means considering the environment and 
its ability to sustain and replicate that technology from an integrated 
and holistic perspective. We have learned that going to some isolated 
region in Africa and installing an ICT system is not always a successful 
endeavor because computers need maintenance and reliable infrastructure 
and trained staff, etc. So then it becomes a lot more complex than 
sending a bunch of computers to a country as most of the people in this 
group know. Critics of OLPC have indeed pointed out that the work done 
by Club of Rome in Nigeria was a learning experience.

Because as we all know providing a computer and access to a child or a 
community for that matter does not automatically lead to progress. 
Indeed it is a legitimate debate to question whether ICT4D is really
on a model to reach its objectives of effectively demonstrating of 
computers in promoting not just development but a more sustainable 
development  model that is community oriented and based on appropriate 
technologies.

Jeff Buderer
> Our schooling system across the rural world is in shambles.. I visited about 100 villages in the past few months and the story is common across the board.. no school buildings, one or no teachers, many classes in one, no books, facilities or environment.. Then I went to the 5 schools where we run pilots with OLPC laptops. The same environment as above but they all have XOs and some training to go forward.. Its a new world for teh children as well as the teachers and the villages. Its changed their view of life..what they can do, what they aspire to and suddenly their language has changed and so have their responses.. In other words, what 60 years of thinking, debates, conversations etc could not change, introducing a new technology did.  I am confident there will be sceptics around regardless of the results and we need them at all times to keep us honest. But the results are overwhelming. Someone else created a technology that may be god for us to
>  leapfrog with. Its up to us to assess it and take the next step forward. I for one would vote for it and therefore am volunteering to take the message forward.  Will you join me in spreading the message out? To your friends, donors, policymakers, leaders, corporations, the rich who may want to give back to society? Anyone? Let them try before they opine or conclude?www.laptop.org Satish JhaPresident & CEOOne Laptop per Child (OLPC India)
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