[OLPC-SF] Current OLPC Metrics

Wed Jul 14 22:44:39 EDT 2010

> To slightly expand on my previous e-mail:
>
> The "answer" you're looking for will inevitably also depend on the
> question being asked. What I've only come to realize more recently is
> that even within this confined "OLPC" space these questions vary
> significantly.
>
> Some might want to see education in a country transformed from being
> rote learning to something more constructionist. Hence their metrics
> will necessarily be different from efforts, like here in Uruguay, where
> implementing "one laptop per child" is as much about social equality and
> closing the digital divide as it is about transforming education. In a
> country such as Austria where neither the digital divide nor rote
> learning are as big an issue as in other places the requirements and
> expected results might are likely to be different yet again.
>
> So to cut a long story short: I'd argue that we will probably never see
> that unifying formula and set of results when it comes to (1-to-1)
> computing in education.
>
> Christoph

..but one would hope that eventually, there will be objective evidence of
the positive effects (different effects in the different places, but
positive nevertheless.)

Thanks for your input. It's much appreciated.

cheers,
alex

>
> Am 14.07.2010 22:57, schrieb Christoph Derndorfer:
>> Hi there,
>>
>> Grant was asking about *metrics*, so I replied with ideas what these
>> metrics could be.
>>
>> What you seem to be talking about and expecting to find are *results*
>> which isn't quite the same thing.
>>
>> The materials and reports that Edward and others have been collecting on
>> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_research definitely represent a
>> significant body of knowledge.
>>
>> Whether that's enough of an answer for you I can only speculate on. I
>> would however argue that it's quite a bit more than "absolutely none".
>>
>> Yet definitely not quite enough for me. Hence I in many ways still stand
>> by what I wrote almost three years ago:
>>
>> "The way I understand it using computers has the potential to bring
>> (many) benefits to students, teachers and education overall. This
>> however is a "can" and not a "will" type of situation. I believe that
>> just introducing computers to a school will have no real positive
>> effect. Only if all the aspects (one could actually go as far as calling
>> them requirements) such as implementation, teacher training, learning
>> materials, learning methods, etc. are sufficiently executed and
>> available will we see "statistically relevant" improvements on young
>> people's education (or "benefits outweighing costs" as others might put
>> it).
>> [http://christoph-d.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-thoughts-on-technology-and-education.html]
>>
>> Just my 2 eurocents,
>> Christoph
>>
>> Am 14.07.2010 13:45, schrieb akleider at sonic.net:
>>>
>>> I attempted a follow up with disappointing results.
>>>
>>> At the Australian site I found mention of 'pilot projects' but no
>>> results.
>>>
>>> The Texas site seems to be having a problem with its server.
>>>
>>> The chilling reality is that the honest answer to the question on the
>>> table seems to be "absolutely none!"
>>>
>>> Please, can someone prove me wrong?
>>>
>>> cheers
>>> ak
>>>
>>>> Hi Grant,
>>>>
>>>> I just spent my morning looking at that very same question in
>>>> preparation for some afternoon meetings I have with people here in
>>>> Montevideo who run the OLPC project in Uruguay.
>>>>
>>>> In general there's two dimensions in terms of the impact of a project
>>>> such as OLPC: educational and social.
>>>>
>>>> In terms of education some of the more popular metrics and aspects to
>>>> look at apart from attendance rates are
>>>>
>>>> * comparisons of school performance/achievements compared to control
>>>> groups (though not everyone believes that;-)
>>>> * grade repetition rates
>>>> * student engagement in school
>>>> * time spent on school / education related tasks at home / outside
>>>> class
>>>> * knowledge about computers
>>>> * feelings towards technology in general
>>>> * collaboration between students
>>>> * self-confidence of students
>>>> * feelings about school by students
>>>>
>>>> I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty more but if you look at some of the
>>>> research done by folks like TCER (Texas Center for Educational
>>>> Research)
>>>> or ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) you'll quickly
>>>> be
>>>> able to come up with them.
>>>>
>>>> With regard to social impact people are mostly looking at things such
>>>> as
>>>> rates of access to the Internet, perceptions of technology, changing
>>>> roles of children in families and communities, etc.
>>>>
>>>> Hope that helps:-)
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Christoph
>>>>
>>>> Am 14.07.2010 03:56, schrieb Grant Bowman:
>>>>> I gave a "lightning talk" today on the OLPC project at www.nblug.org
>>>>> <http://www.nblug.org> and was asked about current metrics. Besides
>>>>> increased student attendance, what are good ways to respond?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Grant
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> OLPC-SF mailing list
>>>>> OLPC-SF at lists.laptop.org
>>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-sf
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Christoph Derndorfer
>>>> co-editor, www.olpcnews.com
>>>> e-mail: christoph at olpcnews.com
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> OLPC-SF mailing list
>>>> OLPC-SF at lists.laptop.org
>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-sf
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
> --
> Christoph Derndorfer
> co-editor, www.olpcnews.com
> e-mail: christoph at olpcnews.com
>
>