One Laptop Per Child

“Learning is the basis for full human, social, economic and democratic development.” -OLPC Website

The One Laptop Per Child initiative began in 2005 as a way to bridge the digital divide in developing countries.  The laptops were designed withstand the elements, be readable in bright sunlight, use very little power to charge, and to connect with one another and the internet.  The laptops are distributed to children in the developing world via the ministries of Education in various participating countries.  While charitable organizations and giving account for some of the purchasing, the bulk is done by governments themselves.  According to OLPC, over two million XO-1 laptops have been shipped across the world (“Map”, n.d.).  Additionally, they have begun development on the XO-3 tablet computer.

Following the same principles and research as Sugata Mitra and his “Hole in the Wall” project, the OLPC organization focuses mainly on getting the laptops in the hands of children and less on teacher training and support.  While there has been a lot of criticism of this approach, research by both Mitra and the OLPC organization has shown that children are able to self-start and self-propel their learning.  The idea behind this theory is that, “the best preparation for children is to develop the passion for learning and the ability to learn how to learn,” (Education, para. 1).  Ed McNierney, the Chief Technology Officer for OLPC, defended this idea in an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio.  His thesis was that the needs of children in developing countries are very different from the needs of those in the developed world.  In countries and communities where there are no schools or no teachers, having technology that can be figured out and manipulated without instruction is necessary (Prescott, 2012).  Critics would assert that helping those countries build schools and train teachers is a more effective use of money and costs less per child (One Laptop Per Child, 2013).

“What children lack is not capability, it is opportunity and resources,” (“Education, n.d., para. 3).

Despite the criticism, the aim of OLPC to put mobile technology into the hands of students is helping students in developing communities.  By giving students access to technology that is able to be connected to other devices and the internet, OLPC is allowing these children to participate in the 4 C’s of 21^st century learning – communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

References

Education. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://one.laptop.org/about/education

Map. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://laptop.org/map

OLPC mission, part 1: Principles and child empowerment. (2008, November 15). Retrieved from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c-M77C2ejTw

One laptop per child. (2013). Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_laptop_per_child#cite_ref-warschauer_79-0

Prescott, V. (2012). Exploring one laptop per child in Ethiopia. Retrieved from: http://nhpr.org/post/exploring-one-laptop-child-ethiopia