One Laptop Per Child
December 13, 2007 · Print This Article
The one laptop per child project really sounds like a great idea. Design a computer that can be mass produced for around $100 each, give them to millions of kids in developing countries, viola! instant smart kids.
While there is a lot of value in learning how to use a computer while you are young, most of the true educational value won’t come through the hardware itself. This type of mindset is very common when it comes to technology. People like to focus on the hardware instead of the software. Focusing on what a piece of equipment is theoretically capable of is a lot more exciting than focusing on how you can actually use it today.
In the US educational system there are many computers. The problem is that teachers are ill equipped to really use these computers as educational tools. Sure, computers are a great way to learn how to type, do research, write papers, etc. but most of the time they are acting as little more than replacements for books, pencils and paper.
Technology is capable of so much more. We should have systems that actively teach kids in an individualized way. Computers should be able to learn how to teach by looking at the results on an individualized level as well as aggregate information about all students.
I like the OLPC project and I really want it to be successful, but technology is only as good as what it allows you to do. Buying a Pocket PC or new desktop computer only helps your productivity if it has software that lets you do more in less time. This is especially true in education.
Gonna have to disagree with you here. Here in America (and the rest of the industrialized world), computers are not necessary in schools. However, in the parts of the world where these computers are meant to be used, many of the schools may have only one or two textbooks to be shared by all students. The computers allow students and teachers to access up-to-date information, educational materials, and, in fact, all kinds of information, that would not be available otherwise.
@Mnementh - So where is this information coming from? I agree that it can be a great tool, but it can’t be used as a textbook unless someone has actually written the materials to be used as a textbook.
It seems to me that getting the content for the textbooks on all the necessary subjects would be at least as difficult as creating the technology for the computer.
I agree that the laptops *could* be very valuable teaching tools, but I think there needs to be more of a focus on the software and content. Right now I think there just just kind of a “if we build it, they will come” approach. This approach doesn’t seem to have worked in the US, so I don’t know that it will work elsewhere.
Have you checked out the software on the OLPC computers? I think that it’s probably pretty useful– lots of software for sharing, creating, exploring ideas and even physical objects.