[OLPC India] (no subject)

[Ananya Guha]

OLPC should be integrated with the educational system, so that learning is
fun! Now that the RTE bill has been passed in parliament OLPC should be seen
a necessary adjunct and corollary to learning...

Ananya S Guha.


On 8/10/09, ravis <ravisu at rediffmail.com> wrote:
>
> Now thatOLPC has been operative in India for a little over  year, may be
> its time to take stock of the situation.
>
> We heard about state governments ordering 250k laptops. But the central
> government has made no announcement if they have released any funds as yet.
>
> Part of the reason may be the elections and the model code of conduct. A
> new minister may take his own time to assess the situation. However, the
> media has had some positive stories.
>
> The government has not abandoned its low cost laptop project as yet though
> we do ot hear much about it got discredited and even Sam Pitroda called it
> "ridiculous".
>
> It will be great to learn about the stateof this initiative.
>
> Based on what we hear about it, it looks as follows.. and it will be good
> to have considered views on this forum..
>
> *Challenges*
>
> ·         Typical challenges of decision making in a functioning democracy
> with a multi-party political system
>
> ·         Media and non-profit activism makes decision making even more
> deliberated and discussed
>
> ·         An ambitions  government programs to fix the poor school systems
> has been celebrated to have made some initial ‘visible’ results –
> expectations are high – this may lead to questions being raised on why a new
> thought needs to be entertained when an in-progress activity is delivering
> results
>
> ·         Typical questions of why a laptop when even basics like food,
> shelter and clothes are not available continue to exist
>
>
>
>
>
> *What needs to be done?*
>
> ·         Demonstrate proof of outcomes through credible sources – work
> with company CSR initiatives with established non-profits to create small,
> but credible case studies
>
> ·         Be visible in the media – associate clearly with ‘education’ not
> just laptops
>
> o        We need public discussions around why current education systems,
> even if fixed, are not enough to provide underprivileged children access to
> opportunities
>
> ·         Keep engaging with government – seek smaller contracts to begin
> with
>
> ·         One BIG visibility thrust – Professor Negroponte’s visit with
> media coverage
>
>
>
>
>
> *Important*
>
> ·         Recalibrate numbers
>
> ·         Be patient – the team seems committed – the opportunity is large
> – the decision making process is slow – democratic debate is active
>
> ??
>
>
> <http://sigads.rediff.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.rediffmail.com/signatureline.htm@Middle?>
> _______________________________________________
> India mailing list
> India at lists.laptop.org
> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/india
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/india/attachments/20090810/d2348c21/attachment.htm