OLPC struggling for adoption

[HEXUS]

The OLPC (One Laptop per Child) scheme, aiming to put thousands of $100 laptops in the hands of children worldwide has so far struggled to get off the ground. Are politicians to blame?

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[themaidenmaniac]

They've got this completely the wrong way around, but at least something is being done. Why teach someone in the third world how to ride a bike if they dont have a bike? Foundations need to get there first, ahead of laptops.

[jimbouk]

But how many text books, pads of paper and pens is a child going to get through in 10 years of education?

[UltraMagnus]

But how many text books, pads of paper and pens is a child going to get through in 10 years of education?

exactly, thats the whole idea, buying one of these is cheaper than buying everything it will replace.
the other point is, that it is more or less nessicary for country to compete in international markets to use computers, and ergo, have computer litterate people.

i personally just think they OLPC makers are stupid for not marketing these to first world countries, surely they could still be very useful there, and once the technology was proven there it would be easier to market it to 3rd world countries. i would imagine that these would be easy to sell through pc world etc.

[jimbouk]

Good point on the sales. Try and buy a eee pc for Christmas...

[chrism]

But how many text books, pads of paper and pens is a child going to get through in 10 years of education?

On the other hand, paper, pens and textbooks can't break down and don't require power. Textbooks are reusable.

And are there any significant benefits to having one laptop per child?

If your aim is to get them computer-literate, you could just have a computer room and IT classes at school for them to learn in.
I mean, I would've thought that even one laptop per child in this country would have been a bit extravagant...
I just think that the money would be much better spent in other areas (as suggested by Nigeria's education minister).

[frenet]

The assumption OLPC is the answer to education problems in developing world has to be proven. An entry on the blog AptusTech summarize few problems which are not technical : aptustech:com

Sometime politicians can do the math and prefer to invest resources in better projects.

[greenalien]

Much of education these days involves learning to use the Internet for research and communication. You just can't do that with a pen and paper!