[DDN] Questions about the Hundred Dollar Laptop / One Laptop Per Child / X0-1 Project

Thu May 17 06:38:10 EDT 2007

> Among other things, in primary schools, we introduced Circle of
> Friends a cultural exchange program for Zambian and US students.

Why couldn't this focus on other African countries? DO you know
enough about your fellow AFricans? DO you have exchange programs
with other African countries?

stay strong,
Kwame

Quoting ProjectEDUCATE <project.educate1 at gmail.com>:

> Sorry John our site is a mess.
> First no contradiction what I am concerned about is the how to. I
> agree technology does hold an answer, the question is how?  Which I
> think Negroponte and company have not quite considered or maybe they
> have and I just don't know about it.
>
> We had set out wanting to provide access and training to teachers. We
> were fortunate to get this donation from MCPS because no one was
> interested in donating their equipment.
> Anyway they went to a total of 8 institutions. Among them the local
> hospital. We are now working on helping them convert their paper
> based records into electronic format.
> Having donated equipment to the local Teacher Training College, we
> are now working with Teachers Without Borders to help improve
> teachers skills through a series of workshops and seminars in
> addition to adding TWB's Teaching of Mastery Certificate to the
> Curriculum, which we have modified to meet community needs. This way,
> the teachers graduate and they are not only able to teach computers
> but begin integrating ICT in teaching. I think this is where change
> comes in. We provided and are continuing to provide basic computer
> training to the teachers in the hope that they will take up the task
> of teaching their students and fellow teachers at other schools as we
> add new community partners. The rest went to a secondary school, an
> orphanage and primary schools.
>
> Among other things, in primary schools, we introduced Circle of
> Friends a cultural exchange program for Zambian and US students. We
> are using e-mail and messenger for communication. (I know, I know
> elementary for a western audience) but we are dealing with basic
> needs that require basic solutions.
> Like you I think mediums like radio can go a long way in education
> and we are actually exploring this possibility especially for our
> more rural and remote areas. If you have suggestions maybe we can
> talk. From where I stand, the issue is not in using ICT to addresses
> problems (in fact there is no doubt in my mind that this a way
> forward) but the question of  application is right up there. How are
> they being used? Is this particular application relevant to a
> particular problem and so on.
> I have seen enough initiatives that bring equipment to these
> communities and they walk away after however long crying failure and
> a lack of participation. It is not that people don't want help but
> programs must be designed to meet needs in the context in which they
> exist. While I like the idea of every child having a computer or at
> least access to one, this is something that must not be done in
> isolation. Give every child a laptop and then what? Among other
> things, there is the issue of connectivity which is a huge hindrance
> to ICT in a country like Zambia. Bandwidth is insanely expensive; it
> costs us $2000 to connect 25 computers to the Internet for our
> community center via cable. I am not saying technology does not
> provide solutions just that we need to seriously examine this issue.
> I would like to see more initiatives that put the emphasis on
> improving infrastructure and  skills, this way individuals and
> communities have a safe, secure place to go to make use of such
> resources. Let's not forget such an approach fosters a sense of
> ownership and self-worth because people are doing things for themselves.
> Whether we agree or not, cost is an issue for African countries. The
> things are expensive. We are talking about a family that struggles to
> buy a $10 uniform to send child to school, how are they supposed to
> afford this? I believe Nigeria, Argentina, Brazil and Thailand were
> apparently ready to buy a million of these things. If this works for
> them and actually addresses these issues then great. We all have one
> good tangible example to learn from. Thus far I am not convinced.
>
> Sorry John, didn't mean to write a book.
>
> On May 14, 2007, at 11:21 AM, John Hibbs wrote:
>
>> It would seem that ProjectEducate could educate us all with the
>> outcome of this (which seems in contradiction to the post below?)
>>
>> <http://www.project-educate.org/test/?q=blog/1>
>>> ProjectEducate is the recipient of 400 computers from the Montgomery
>>> County Public School District through Teachers Without Borders.
>>
>>
>> What happened to the 400 computers? What were the benchmarks for goal
>> achievement? Were they achieved?
>> Me? I like what my friend Tom Abeles had to say, though he failed to
>> mention a favorite subject of mine -- use of conventional radio in
>> the classroom. It seems to me that the combination of low cost
>> broadcasting equipment, cybercafe's, telecenters, and community
>> involvement by way of community radio -- that resources committed
>> there would yield more than $100. laptops.
>> John Hibbs
>> http://www.bfranklin.edu/johnhibbs
>>
>> At 10:00 AM -0400 5/14/07, ProjectEDUCATE wrote:
>>> Arthur,
>>>
>>> I run a tiny non-profit www.project-educate.org and  having been born
>>> and raised in Africa, I could not agree with you more Arthur. I find
>>> it hard to believe that people are pushing for this. In Zambia where
>>> I come from, the average family survives on less than a dollar a day.
>>> Now I know we hear this everyday and tend to deal with it in abstract
>>> but what this means is on a daily basis families have to make the
>>> decision whether to buy food or medication for one, whether to send a
>>> child to school or provide basic necessities this is the harsh
>>> reality of life not just in Zambia but the entire African continent.
>>> The idea that families or governments will have the resources to
>>> invest in this is beyond me. The one way I see this happening is if
>>> African governments are bullied into agreements that will force them
>>> to spend resources on this for the benefit of venture capitalists.
>>> Another thing, even if we were to get this equipment into the hands
>>> of our children, I am yet to hear of training for educators. Which is
>>> critical to the successful implementation of any project. It is
>>> almost as if it is being taken for granted that the technical skill
>>> on the continent is as advanced as it is in the Western world.
>>> Consider this, not too long ago we sent computers to Zambia and out
>>> of 6 schools with about 200 teachers not a single one of them had
>>> ever used a computer.(mind you this was in an urban area) Point being
>>> made is before we can talk of ICT's in education or whatever, serious
>>> thought and resources must be poured into training the educators. (I
>>> get a kick out of envisioning African children running around with
>>> these things) Then there is the issue of infrastructure, where will
>>> these things be housed? Are children taking them home or leaving them
>>> at school? If so, are these people willing to invest in building and/
>>> strengthening infrastructure?(most unlikely from my experience)
>>>
>>> Mbao.
>>>
>>> On May 11, 2007, at 11:18 PM, arthur richards wrote:
>>>
>>>>  On the surface it the so-called OLPC has been dressed as beneficial
>>>>  to third world children and families, but have the proponents of
>>>>  the initiative spared a thought for the following:
>>>>
>>>>    a) that the children being targeted for the initiative are mostly
>>>>  going to be unable to pay school fees and hence do not and cannot
>>>>  gain education. why would a sensible family spend $100 for a laptop
>>>>  instead of using the funds to pay school fees and educate the
>>>> child?
>>>>    b) Suppose 200 million african children could be provided with
>>>>  these laptops. Who coughs up this $20 billion for the laptops? The
>>>>  african continent cannot sustain $20 billion being etracted out of
>>>>  the continent since none of the laptops are built in the continent
>>>>  to provide employment. Indeed this amount represents hard earned
>>>>  foreign currency which is being sucked out of the continent. The
>>>>  economic disadvantages of buying the laptops makes them grossly
>>>>  unsuitable for a poor continent like africa.
>>>>   c) Who is going to be responsible for maintaining the laptops?
>>>>  How much will the bill for spare parts or replacements amount to?
>>>>
>>>>    In my view from the African perspective, what the african child
>>>>  needs first is ability to be educated normally like every other
>>>>  child in the West. They need those who can pay their school fees
>>>>  and $100 will support this for more than a couple of years.
>>>>
>>>>    I think the OLPC is a business strategy and a new front for
>>>>  globalisation - aimed at increasing the sale of computers,
>>>>  software, network devices and foreign content to third world
>>>>  countries and at the same time impoverishing them beyond where they
>>>>  are now.
>>>>
>>>>    How will the proponents of the OLPC initiative address these
>>>> issues?
>>>>
>>>>    Arthur
>>>>
>>>>  Deborah Elizabeth Finn <deborah_elizabeth_finn at post.harvard.edu>
>>>>  wrote:
>>>>    Dear Digital Divide Network Colleagues,
>>>>
>>>>  The Ethos Roundtable (of which I am a co-convener) is hosting a
>>>>  presentation on the One Laptop Per Child project on May 15th.
>>>>
>>>>  More details can be found here:
>>>>
>>>> "One Laptop Per Child: How is this going to work?"
>>>>
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