[OLPC India] OLPC Small Scale developments India

[Nagarjuna G]

On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 7:30 AM, ravis <ravisu at rediffmail.com> wrote:

> The one thing that we need to remember always is that OLPC is about
> SCALE!It does not work with a few laptops, regardless of how noble the
> intent. Just like one cannot eradicate Polio by working on one patient at a
> time..The first call of leadership is that we are able to generate the
> requisite resources. (See Obama's case, for example)So, while a national
> workshop on OLPC is a great idea indeed, the way we can make a difference is
> by asking those with resources and the desire to help India's future become
> more relevant to our times, to contribute whatever they can.How about asking
> Anil Ambani to start with? He is from Gujarat as well?? And this list serv
> tells us some of his folks wer interested in supporting OLPC.. Let us ask
> the millionaire to part with some of his millions for a great cause???
>
>
>
The whole idea that that OLPC must be deployed in a large scale, and it does
not work with a few laptops is mistaken and groundless.  Are you aware that
most village schools in India where village children go to schools are
single teacher schools (such as Khairat) with about 30-40 students.   I do
not see any problem in first trying out in several such places before we ask
for more laptops.

Do we have a clear magical evidence that shows that OLPC is the only
solution to the educating the millions.   I also believe that it has
potential, I am spending substantial time conducting workshops, because I
believe this.  But I carry now evidence with me, except the dog-headed
confidence as a follower of constructionism in education.  That is why we
need to experiment, study and assess the impact it makes.

We are doing education not eradication.

Your comparison to eradication of polio, I find, most hilarious.  Please let
me know what is the disease that OLPC is eradicating?  What evil is it
stopping from spreading.  Your attitude of comparing village children as
patients is deplorable.  They are as creative individuals as any other
kids.  OLPC is a harnessing instrument that gives constructionist
opportunities for children to make knowledge on their own through
activities.  Independent of OLPC the world is not suffering with any
disease.  There are several other contexts of constructing knowledge without
OLPC, and it is vital not to get stuck with the keyboard through their
school.

Before we ask with confidence either the Govt or the Ambanis, we need to be
certain that this is worth the investment.    For this we need to deploy in
those small schools.

Every child in the school needs a laptop, and they need to take it home.
When the school has only 30 students, what is the issue with OLPC India that
they cannot give me 40laptops (keeping 10 as spare).  This refusal to supply
the small numbers is killing the project.  There are agencies, small NGOs,
that cannot  pay their attention to more than two such villages.  What is
wrong to give such small numbers to an agency?  We do have many such small
agencies.  That is the way to reach millions.  Not by holding the
centralized control.

It is really ironical that OLPC India suffers from the disease of
centralisation, while educationists like Mitchel Resnick, who is inspired by
the philosophy of Seymour Papert, Nicholas Negroponte, talk about
distributed, decentralized, p2p based solutions.  This philosophy that
decentralized collaboration produces miraculous results is one of the
foundations of the design of the OLPC.  If we don't decentralize the
education, it is impossible to educate the millions.

Centralization produces malaise, while decentralization produces miracles,
which one do we want?

--
Nagarjuna
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