[OLPC India] Some questions

[S. ZAHEER]

Hello Satish,
The points raised by your friend are all valid.  These laptops should not
just be used as educational tool by students but can also contribute in
economic progress of their parents.  For e.g. it is a well known fact that
middle-men in our country buy the produce from farmers at minimal prices and
sell at market rates. XO can be used for disseminating correct & latest
prices of commodities etc to the parents of the kids using XO laptops

For this to happen, relevant and latest content in regional languages has to
be made available.  XO can have strategic tie-ups with such content
providers as I dont think OLPC will be able to aggregate such a diverse
information on its own.

On a lighter side, who knows an XO child may help his parents find a
suitable groom through a matrimonial site for his elder sister not just from
a nearby village but from a distant state or a country :-)

With regards,

S. Zaheer

3 ideas to start the new year in a different way (an innovative new year
greeting from my brother)
http://www.hasnainzaheer.com/2008/12/2009-is-this-the-year-of-opportunities-and-turnarounds-happy-new-year/




On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 4:24 PM, Satish Jha <jha.satish at gmail.com> wrote:

>            One of my friends from Harvard Alumni Group had the following
> to say:
>
>
>
> I'm familiar with this great initiative. The question I would have is this:
> do you have studies on how the village changes when children get the XO? In
> a poor village can the child be "only" a school learner, or does s/he have
> other roles to play? How does the XO impact those roles?
> Coming off reviewing a major book on bio-tech, I'm impressed with the fact
> that we don't see things enough as flow, as context, as ecology. The XO must
> have major impact, but is it to pull the child out of the village, mentally,
> and into the Mumbai-global economy world? Or does it lead to solving
> community problems and enhancing everyone's potential? The child connecting
> adults to resources, for instance.
> Questions, I see, not advice, and perhaps you have good answers already. Or
> perhaps this holistic view helps somehow.
>
>
>
>
>
>           Give a laptop, Get a laptop; Change the World
>
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>
>
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