[OLPC India] India Digest, Vol 22, Issue 19

Mon Sep 22 14:27:02 EDT 2008

That we have to think of all the states in the country. We have to
systematically plan it out.

Regards,

Ananya S Guha.

On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 11:28 PM, Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu> wrote:

> On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 12:25 PM, Ananya Guha <nnyguha48 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I think Marc's basic question has not been answered.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > A.S.Guha.
>
>
> And what is that basic question?
>
> Sameer
>
> > On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 9:19 PM, Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu> wrote:
> >>
> >> On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 10:08 AM, Marc Valentin
> >> <mvalentin at oeuvredespains.org> wrote:
> >> > On Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at 4:31 PM, Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu>
> wrote:
> >> >> On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 3:43 PM, Satish Jha <sjha at vsnl.com> wrote:
> >> >>> I am overwhelmed by the kind of support this project is receiving
> from
> >> >>> everyone.. from individuals to institutions and corporations and
> >> >>> governments.. they have all been trying to do their best..
> >> >>>
> >> >>> My corporate relations adviser informs me that an airline has agreed
> >> >>> to give
> >> >>> a number of free tickets for the staff, a business house is willing
> to
> >> >>> offer
> >> >>> office space and support for all the schools it runs and the
> children
> >> >>> they
> >> >>> have run up in six figures and so on..
> >> >>>
> >> >>> However, our goal is to reach out to those who cannot help
> >> >>> themselves.. And
> >> >>> our efforts are focused primarily in that direction.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> While individual initiatives greatly contribute to the cause,
> >> >>> aggregating
> >> >>> them in an organized way may get a lot more out of them.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> We should also keep in mind that our production batch size is 50,000
> >> >>> at one
> >> >>> time and unless we can scale up, the program will have different
> kind
> >> >>> of
> >> >>> management challenges.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> In this listserv, if we can focus on how to aggregate to large
> >> >>> numbers, it
> >> >>> will be a great help indeed.
> >> >>
> >> >> Maybe what we need is a simple list or table of people who what small
> >> >> batches of XOs in their school, village, neighborhood etc., organized
> >> >> by location, etc. That way we can combine small batches into a larger
> >> >> order. If 50 schools of 1000 children each speak up, we get 50K. It
> >> >> could very well be a simple form that people fill out with all these
> >> >> details and contact info, potential donors (whether they have any or
> >> >> are seeking, etc).
> >> >>
> >> >> This could even scale worldwide...
> >> >>
> >> >> Thoughts?
> >> >
> >> > I think it must be very exciting to see all the children of a school
> >> > roaming around with XO laptops but I don't see the educative aspect in
> >> > it. First, you need capable and motivated teachers, very difficult to
> >> > find.
> >>
> >> I disagree. First, you need capable and motivated *children* and
> >> that's easier to do than to retrofit a thirty-something teacher with
> >> new thinking.
> >>
> >> > Second, children can easily share the laptops during the day,
> >> > they are not going to spend the whole day using the laptops, isn't it
> >> > ? It depends on the quantity of divisions in the school but with one
> >> > division, 50 laptops are certainly enough so during a class using XO,
> >> > each child can have his own laptop. (That was the source of the
> >> > misunderstanding in a previous message : we have 35 laptops and 50
> >> > would be just perfect).
> >>
> >> I am tempted to say that I find your lack of faith disturbing :-)
> >> (subtle Star Wars humor)
> >>
> >> I've seen children work with the XO. Yes, you need teachers to keep an
> >> eye on things in a classroom, and yes you will need to educate them
> >> about the project and process, but give the children some credit. I
> >> don't know how old you are Marc, but I am willing to bet, the kids are
> >> a lot younger :-) They learn faster and in much better ways than you
> >> and I can. I started KinderGarten with chalk and slate. Why should we
> >> subject the children to chalk and slate if we can bypass it?
> >>
> >> So, kids walking around with XOs is educational? I think so. Every
> >> time they learn that multiplication is addition done several times
> >> using Pippy, they learn. I didn't learn that until 11th grade (not
> >> very sharp, was I?) when I learned to write BASIC programs. Why?
> >> Because the nuns at my convent school never bothered to teach me. They
> >> surely did a good job of beating it into me (all the way up to tables
> >> of 14), but that's another story. See more at
> >> http://sameerverma.org/blog/?postid=164
> >>
> >> > If you consider the budget aspect only : 1000 laptops means $200,000
> >> > only for the hardware. You still have to count the training and the
> >> > maintenance. It is a very big amount, too big for a 1000 children's
> >> > school.
> >>
> >> Yes, that number is true. In fact, if you look at Habib Khan's
> >> spreadsheet, you'll see what some of the real costs are.
> >>
> >>
> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Image:OLPC_Cost_Simulation_Model_for_South_Asian_Countries_by_Habib.xls
> >>
> >> We have to be realistic. The idea isn't doing this cheap. The idea is
> >> to get someone who *can afford it* to pay for it. The XO costs are
> >> still less than $350 or so for an ASUS EEE PC. All other costs will
> >> remain the same, if not increase.
> >>
> >> > I know donations can come from abroad but local people will
> >> > feel you mis the point, the main problem in India is the lack of
> >> > infrastructures
> >>
> >> Lack of infrastructure can be bypassed or circumvented by the XOs
> >> bringing their own infrastructure with them. If we wait to build the
> >> infrastructure, that might be another ten years gone by.
> >>
> >> > and the poor attendance of the teachers and the
> >> > students.
> >>
> >> I believe this has improved dramatically once the children have a
> >> reason to be there. In Bhagmalpur
> >> (http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_India/Bhagmalpur), the school has a
> >> near 100% attendance. The real reason? Free mid-day meal from the UP
> >> government. Post lunch, the school looks empty and the kids raid the
> >> village backyards and gardens in search of mischief.
> >>
> >> I don't intend to discount your opinion in any way. After all, you
> >> have a school of 35 XOs. Your input is valuable. We are all on the
> >> same team here. At least, I hope so. However, some of the thinking
> >> with this project is incredibly disruptive, and will require us to
> >> think in disruptive ways. Otherwise, the XO Speak will dictate "Two
> >> one za two..." and the children will repeat.
> >>
> >> Sameer
> >> --
> >> Dr. Sameer Verma, Ph.D.
> >> Associate Professor of Information Systems
> >> San Francisco State University
> >> San Francisco CA 94132 USA
> >> http://verma.sfsu.edu/
> >> http://opensource.sfsu.edu/
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> India mailing list
> >> India at lists.laptop.org
> >> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/india
>
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