[Olpc-open] Introduction and question

[Edward Cherlin]

On Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 10:53 AM, dakalahar at netzero.com
<dakalahar at netzero.com> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I just wanted to introduce myself, I'm an education researcher in the
> private sector and I've been meaning to get involved with this project for
> some time.
>
> I am also looking for some data that I thought members of this list might be
> able to help me with. Specifically, I'm looking for data more recent that
> 2005 that can provide me with some aggregate measures by country related to
> education technology. Things like number of computers per student,
> percentage of computers with internet access etc.  I've scanned all  the
> usual web territory but thought there might be some data sources that you
> might be able to share with me.

What have you found so far? Would you be willing to add it to our Wiki?

The usual Web territory presumably includes UN and prominent
educational technology researchers such as Saul Rockman.

"The Partnership for Measuring ICT for Development
http://measuring-ict.unctad.org/ involves 11 organizations --
Eurostat, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), the United Nations ICT Task Force, the five United Nations
Regional Commissions and the World Bank."

Here is one result.

"There are 2 142 primary and 363 secondary schools in Rwanda, where 29
000 teachers
teach approximately 1 500 000 pupils giving an average student :
teacher ratio of 1:52. Very
few schools have electricity. Apart from one private school in Kigali
that has a computer lab
of approx twenty machines, there is hardly any deployment of computers
in Rwandan
schools. The vast majority of Rwanda schoolchildren have not been
exposed to computer
technology in any way and no schools use computers for teaching. No
public schools in
Rwanda have access to the Internet and there are no trained computer
teachers who could
be deployed to teach basic computers in the schools. There are,
however, plans to use
World Bank funding to establish one secondary school in each
prefecture as an ICT centre
with about six computers."

At one time Rwanda thought it could get financing for 1.5 million XO
laptops, and publicly announced its intention to do so, but nothing
has come of it so far. Something like 10,000 XOs donated in the
GiveOneGetOne program are intended for Rwanda. I don't know what
preparations are being made to receive them. Given the lack of
electricity and other possible blocking factors, a good deal of other
preparation is needed. Earth Treasury is recruiting partners for much
of this.

We are putting research data links on

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Academic_Papers
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/EducationTeam/Education_Bibliographies

Less formal accounts go in http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Experience

> Thanks for any help,
>
> Derek
>
>
> ==============================================
> "My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket.
> My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. "
>
> -Tom Waits
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> Click to lower your debt and consolidate your monthly expenses.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Olpc-open mailing list
> Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
>
>



-- 
Edward Cherlin
End Poverty at a Profit by teaching children business
http://www.EarthTreasury.org/
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."--Alan Kay