<div>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...</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Ananya S Guha.<br><br> </div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/10/09, <b class="gmail_sendername">ravis</b> <<a href="mailto:ravisu@rediffmail.com">ravisu@rediffmail.com</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Now thatOLPC has been operative in India for a little over year, may be its time to take stock of the situation.<br>
<br>We heard about state governments ordering 250k laptops. But the central government has made no announcement if they have released any funds as yet.<br><br>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.<br>
<br>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".<br><br>It will be great to learn about the stateof this initiative.<br>
<br>Based on what we hear about it, it looks as follows.. and it will be good to have considered views on this forum..<br><br><strong>Challenges</strong></span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Typical challenges of decision making in a functioning democracy with a multi-party political system</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Media and non-profit activism makes decision making even more deliberated and discussed</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">An ambitions<span> </span>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</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Typical questions of why a laptop when even basics like food, shelter and clothes are not available continue to exist</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><b><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">What needs to be done?</span></b></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Demonstrate proof of outcomes through credible sources – work with company CSR initiatives with established non-profits to create small, but credible case studies</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Be visible in the media – associate clearly with ‘education’ not just laptops </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'"><span>o<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">We need public discussions around why current education systems, even if fixed, are not enough to provide underprivileged children access to opportunities</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Keep engaging with government – seek smaller contracts to begin with</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">One BIG visibility thrust – Professor Negroponte’s visit with media coverage</span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%"> </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><b><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Important</span></b></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Recalibrate numbers </span></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><span>·<span style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-SG" style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 130%">Be patient – the team seems committed – the opportunity is large – the decision making process is slow – democratic debate is active<br>
<br>??</span></p><br><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://sigads.rediff.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.rediffmail.com/signatureline.htm@Middle?" target="_blank"><img></a><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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