Bringing the Internet to the 3rd World
Thursday, May 24, 2007
While the Western world is blogging from its Blackberrys and Treos, the impoverished citizens of the 3rd world can barely get access to the Internet. With these people so deep in the netherworld of information-gathering, how can they overcome their situation and join the world economy? Stepping up to the plate for a viable solution, Nicholas Negroponte introduced the “One Laptop per Child” (OLPC) initiative in 2005 with plans to develop a $100 laptop, the XO, which is stripped to its most essential functions (it doesn’t even need batteries and can be wound up for power!). Recently, Intel also stepped into this arena with its own version of an affordable laptop called the Classmate. To compare the two presents a Mac vs. PC situation – the XO being the Mac and the Classmate, the PC. The XO is more durable and cute and emphasizes creativity by having a built-in camera, music-making software, and capabilities for chatting to anyone in your area. The Classmate, on the other hand, is stripped of these creative functions but is more beefy in terms of power and memory. The XO also comes equipped with something called “mesh networking”, which allows many users to tap into the same internet connection and communicate with one another. This presents an obvious advantage to impoverished nations that cannot afford internet for every household. Our firm works in the education space, so we are fairly versed in the issues. While this initiative is obviously a positive incentive, there are always things to consider when educators make an investment in technology. The foremost of which is to be sure that adequate training and planning is conducted with the teachers; otherwise the cute little green laptop can amount to being nothing more than a toy. Education Week’s Andrew Trotter presented Education Secretary Sudeep Banerjee, the head of the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development, in his recent article on the issue. In it, Banerjee explains that an investment first has to be made to vital resources that are still missing from India’s schools, saying, “We need classrooms and teachers more urgently than fancy tools.” India has rejected the OLPC. Some U.S. states and counties have also experimented with programs that provide each student with a laptop. Hoping to bridge the digital divide, many found that the laptops nurtured more havoc than education. A district outside of Syracuse, NY, for example, is phasing the program out because of ongoing IT issues with laptops breaking down and students misusing the technology. So do these negatives mean that OLPC should be scrapped? On Monday, the AP reported that a small village in Uruguay is piloting the program and experiencing great results. A teacher said, “Some children who didn't like to even write are now getting used to working with a word processing program." And while the US is concerned about leaving no child behind, in a developing nation, even a few children reaching way beyond their potential can make all the difference.
posted by Gina Bolotinsky
0 comments
Post a Comment
0 Comments:
Home
 |
