[OLPC-Asia] ReadWrite DeathWatch: One Laptop Per Child - Cormac Foster

[lite li]

Another video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EUq0VJb1_c&feature=share

On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 9:04 AM, T.K. Kang <tsikit在gmail.com> wrote:

> Ha.. so are we celebrating birth day or death day on Nov 16 as XoD?
>
> Have a student from this part of the world who wants to give a helping
> hand in tranlasation, etc. These students do have a wealth of experience.
>
> http://www.columbusschoolforgirls.net/etoys/
>
> Cheers and add oil to ge the translation into the 90% complete status!
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 1:31 AM, lite li <litekok在gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> http://readwrite.com/2012/10/23/readwriteweb-deathwatch-one-laptop-per-child-olpc
>>
>>  [image: ReadWrite DeathWatch: One Laptop Per Child]
>>
>> One Laptop Per Child puts computers in the hands of the world's most
>> vulnerable children to help educate them out of poverty. It's a noble cause
>> championed by our brightest minds - but it doesn't seem to work.
>>
>> The Basics
>>
>> In the mid-2000s, faculty members from the MIT Media Research Lab<http://www.media.mit.edu/research> set
>> out to "to design, manufacture, and distribute laptops that are
>> sufficiently inexpensive to provide every child in the world access to
>> knowledge and modern forms of education." By 2006, the nonprofit One
>> Laptop Per Child <http://one.laptop.org/> (OLPC) had created theXO<http://laptop.org/en/laptop/>,
>> a rugged, low-power laptop with a number of innovative features, including
>> ad hoc, peer-to-peer wireless networking, water-resistant keyboards and a
>> solid-state hard drive. By running a Linux variant (highly customized for
>> education) and a using unique, low-cost screen, OLPC was able to reduce the
>> price of the XO to $200 – just within the reach of cash-strapped
>> governments in developing nations.
>>
>> OLPC's mission was simple: "To empower the world's poorest children
>> through education." To that end, it worked with education ministries around
>> the world, and have distributed more than 2 million XOs in 42 countries.
>> While Uruguay was the first participating country, the largest deployment
>> by far has been in Peru, involving more than 8,300 schools and 980,000
>> laptops.
>>
>> The Problem
>>
>> The XOs have been in the field now for several years, and the numbers are
>> starting to come in. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be working – at
>> least not well enough to justify the expense.
>>
>> *The Economist* called the project "a disappointing return from an
>> investment <http://www.economist.com/node/21552202>," noting that after
>> Peru put $225 million of XO laptops in the field, an Inter-American
>> Development Bank study<http://www.iadb.org/en/research-and-data/publication-details,3169.html?pub_id=IDB-WP-304> found
>> no measurable improvement in math, reading, motivation or time spent on
>> homework. Specifically, the study found that "although many countries are
>> aggressively implementing the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program, there is
>> a lack of empirical evidence on its effects."
>>
>> OLPC has never leaned heavily on empirical evidence. According to its
>> website, "the best preparation for children is to develop the passion for
>> learning and the ability to learn how to learn." And the IDB study admits
>> that "some positive effects are found, however, in general cognitive
>> skills."
>>
>> But as the Economist pointed out, any improvements just weren't worth the
>> cost. ROI might seem like a cold measure for an educational program, but
>> every dollar spent on XOs is a dollar *not* spent training teachers,
>> building schools or subsidizing transportation, meals and other programs
>> that encourage children to attend class. In the world's poorest regions
>> (OLPC's target market), where average spending per student is just $48
>> per year <http://mashable.com/2012/04/09/one-laptop-per-child-study/> and
>> the cost of an XO could feed a family for months, ROI is essential.
>>
>> At its heart, the problem comes from the top. In the video above, OLPC
>> Chairman Nicholas Negroponte lays out a radical educational vision for
>> disadvantaged regions that might not require teachers at all:
>>
>> *"What is transformation? It's not making the classroom better. It's not
>> trying to do traditional educational technology. It's actually using the
>> kids – and I really mean the word **using** the kids – as the agents of
>> change."*
>>
>> Doing an end-run around lousy infrastructure and poorly-trained teachers
>> might actually work with the right support to guide the child's learning.
>> Unfortunately, Negroponte has also stated that you actually can give a
>> kid a laptop and walk away<http://www.good.is/posts/go-ahead-give-a-kid-a-laptop-and-walk-away/>
>> .
>>
>> According to Jeff Patzer, a former OLPC intern, that's precisely what
>> they did in Peru. Hardware degraded faster than expected, and OLPC allowed
>> Peru to build its own branch of the system software that was incompatible
>> with patches. Interns were not prepared to educate teachers, and teachers
>> were not prepared to use the XO to teach students.
>>
>> "The only thing that happens is the laptops get opened, turned on, kids
>> and teachers get frustrated by hardware and software bugs, don’t understand
>> what to do, and promptly box them up to put back in the corner." Patzer
>> explained<http://jeffpatzer.com/2011/01/06/part-6-who%E2%80%99s-to-blame-why-the-olpc-plan-in-peru-is-failing-and-who-is-causing-it/>
>> .
>>
>> In an interview with the Associated Press<http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/7217599/Why-laptops-aren-t-beating-poverty-in-Peru>,
>> a Ministry of Education official admitted that, "In essence, what we did
>> was deliver the computers without preparing the teachers…The Ministry is
>> not going to do another macro project of this type. It is not going to make
>> multimillion-dollar purchases and distribute (computers) like candy."
>>
>> OLPC may be a noble organization with a valid cause, but its methods just
>> don't seem to be moving the needle. Like many people, I truly wanted OLPC
>> to work - wanted to believe that it made sense. But there's no evidence
>> that this kind of investment makes sense for poverty-stricken countries.
>> It's time to try something new.
>> The Prognosis
>>
>> The next few years will be rough. Internet access will continue to lag in
>> the world's poorest areas, greatly diminishing the XO's utility, and Peru's
>> difficulties may cause other countries to rethink the true cost of building
>> and maintaining an ecosystem to support the devices.
>>
>> At the same time, more powerful (if less rugged) hardware using standard
>> software has come down in price and will challenge the XO in wealthier
>> markets. Perhaps more significant, as low-cost smartphones flood the
>> developing world, the XO will have to justify itself as more than a media
>> consumption device. It's highly unlikely that we'll see many more
>> large-scale installations.
>> Can OLPC Be Saved?
>>
>> To survive, OLPC needs to take a step back to consider the "why." Its
>> mission was based on a fuzzy notion that giving every child a laptop would
>> magically make things better. But if the organization can accept a more
>> involved role as an educational consultant (or find partners to do so), it
>> could conceivably still play a part in global educational reform.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>
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