Follow the leader.....

[dieselguy]

Uruguay has handed out laptops to children!! Part of their One laptop per child program. Free internet access, they want to bridge the gap in the tech. field. We all know the L.Fernandez is interested in this, as call centers open up.
I'm sure that the current powers are not going to let T. Vazquez(pres) of Uruguay have all the cheers.
I applaud. The $100 us laptop ended up costing less than 275us.
Could you imagine going to a barrio and all the kids are in the house using laptops...
Ten year old's helping adults w/youtube, skype etc...

BBC

 

[DR_DEFENDER]

Uruguay has handed out laptops to children!! Part of their One laptop per child program. Free internet access, they want to bridge the gap in the tech. field. We all know the L.Fernandez is interested in this, as call centers open up.
I'm sure that the current powers are not going to let T. Vazquez(pres) of Uruguay have all the cheers.
I applaud. The $100 us laptop ended up costing less than 275us.
Could you imagine going to a barrio and all the kids are in the house using laptops...
Ten year old's helping adults w/youtube, skype etc...

BBC

Well, I see a few reasons why this wouldn't work. First, I definitely see some parents or relatives taking these laptops and selling them for a few thousand pesos. There is a lot that goes with having anything that's electronic and they will need tech support. They would need to set-up centers where people can help them when the laptops stop working or a virus shuts them down. I see all kinds of nightmares but then again that's how they do things in dr...first they build the car and then and only then they realize that they also need roads....but by then the car is already in ruins so they figure it's not worth building the roads anymore and on an on it goes.

 

[suarezn]

Well it could work. There's a part of me that would love to see that happen, because of the technological know how that would be acquired over time, but there's another part that wishes it didn't as what I can see is a lot of kids just sitting around on their fat behinds playing video games, chatting, etc...(like their American counterparts) instead of being outside playing and socializing with others.

 

[mountainannie]

not ordinary laptops

Well, I see a few reasons why this wouldn't work. First, I definitely see some parents or relatives taking these laptops and selling them for a few thousand pesos. There is a lot that goes with having anything that's electronic and they will need tech support. They would need to set-up centers where people can help them when the laptops stop working or a virus shuts them down. I see all kinds of nightmares but then again that's how they do things in dr...first they build the car and then and only then they realize that they also need roads....but by then the car is already in ruins so they figure it's not worth building the roads anymore and on an on it goes.

these are not ordinary laptops... they are actually a product that is designed for working in very remote areas. They have been field tested in Africa for years. They are very low tech, use open source soft wear, are coded to the owner who is the only one who can operate them, and they are not, really, the sort of product that is going to tempt a population which has already seen the iphone... BUT they would, indeed make a GREAT learning tool for the barrios... One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education

 

[frank recktenwald]

Without education there's no progress however and I hate to say it that I do agree with DR defender. I've lived in one of the worst barrios in this country and I've seen the way they live there up from up close. How can a parent look at his children being hungry while they're playing with their laptop? I can assure you that it will be sold very quick. Furthermore having laptops will increase the consumption of electricity therefore causing more problems for the energy supply to the whole country.
In addition the tigrues will love it, something more to steal.
For now it's still Utopia

Well, I see a few reasons why this wouldn't work. First, I definitely see some parents or relatives taking these laptops and selling them for a few thousand pesos. There is a lot that goes with having anything that's electronic and they will need tech support. They would need to set-up centers where people can help them when the laptops stop working or a virus shuts them down. I see all kinds of nightmares but then again that's how they do things in dr...first they build the car and then and only then they realize that they also need roads....but by then the car is already in ruins so they figure it's not worth building the roads anymore and on an on it goes.

 

[suarezn]

The laptops can be charged via hand cranking so they would work when there's no power. Anyhow I don't really have a huge issue with this raising power consumption as it would be minimal and that is definitely not an excuse we should use to not allow a potential useful tool. I even wouldn't have an issue with people selling these laptops, as another child would still get the benefit of using it.

 

[ctrob]

I think it would be a waste of money. Computers should be introduced thru the schools.

But first address the bigger problem of kids dropping out of school.

No incentive to stay in school because their is no job to go to once they graduate.

No corporations moving to the DR cause there is no large HS educated middle class to work the factories, phones, PC's, etc.

This is the kind of problem that a gov't can address, but I don't see it happening. Meanwhile, what's a computer going to do for them?

 

[suarezn]

I think it would be a waste of money. Computers should be introduced thru the schools.

But first address the bigger problem of kids dropping out of school.

No incentive to stay in school because their is no job to go to once they graduate.

No corporations moving to the DR cause there is no large HS educated middle class to work the factories, phones, PC's, etc.

This is the kind of problem that a gov't can address, but I don't see it happening. Meanwhile, what's a computer going to do for them?

I disagree with some of your points. Agree the government can and should fix some of the basic issues, but in addition to this If every child or at least most kids had a laptop and access to the internet you'd see the level of literacy increase tremendously. Remember the Internet is the great equalizer. The first thing is that students could "attend" classes anywhere they wanted to, research about any subject they were interested in, etc...imagine that. I know it is just utopia at this point...but you can always dream.

 

[las2137]

I disagree with some of your points. Agree the government can and should fix some of the basic issues, but in addition to this If every child or at least most kids had a laptop and access to the internet you'd see the level of literacy increase tremendously. Remember the Internet is the great equalizer. The first thing is that students could "attend" classes anywhere they wanted to, research about any subject they were interested in, etc...imagine that. I know it is just utopia at this point...but you can always dream.

I agree that the internet is the great equalizer, but only if one is equipped with the tools to use it. This is why I am wary of these types of projects, although I embrace the overall concept.

I managed a project that gave inner-city youth in a developing country (not the DR) access to a computer-based literacy and basic math program. The youth who had been in school continually for 8 years were functionally illiterate. They loved the computer program and did well on it, improving an average of 2 grade levels per student.

However, the teachers felt "insulted" by the introduction of the program because they saw it was a sign of their ineffectiveness, so they did not give the classroom portion the attention it needed. As a result the children did not get the classroom reinforcement they needed. At the beginning of the next school year, we found that the children had regressed because they had no practice over the summer.

Perhaps giving the youth a laptop to take home would have helped sustain the modest results.

So yes, giving a child a laptop is an effective ancillary tool to every-day learning. But if the school system is broken- as it is in the DR- the laptops will do little to achieve lasting results. The project would need to be larger than just giving the laptop, but getting the entire school system in order, getting the teachers/principals in agreement and parents as well. A large task!

 

[London_Calling]

"I agree that the internet is the great equalizer, but only if one is equipped with the tools to use it. This is why I am wary of these types of projects, although I embrace the overall concept. "

Agree - without the support and integration into a proper education system this is money down the drain. They still need to be taught how to interpret and analyse the info they find on the web or to differentiate between say a Cambridge University site and a conspiracy web site. Just giving some somwone a lap top could just result in them improving their typing skills for those Call Centres.

 

[catcherintherye]

With the literacy rate at such an abysmal level, how could the distribution of laptops be seen as anything but the PR scam that it is.

It doesn't matter how many computers are in circulation. If the majority of the population can't read or write then what good is access to the internet?

Technology alone is not going to solve the basic problem of illiteracy.

 

[London_Calling]

You are right #11 - even before we worry if they can interpret and use the information - you need to be able to read it first.

 

[pedrochemical]

Using the internet is a great way of learning to read, it seems.
As long as people have a grasp of the basics, the rest flows quickly.
(Especially if you want to read words like "Rhianna" and "Timberlake")

Seriously, I know somebody who just about got by with reading, used the internet for a couple of years - took no reading lessons - and now reads trashy novels for fun.
Progress indeed.

And they can also get round a PC these days as well.
I think that if you have enough electricity and internet access, laptops are great for kids.

 

[mountainannie]

Olpc

I guess that no one actually took the time to read the link that I provided

This particular laptop project is not a computer project, it is an EDUCATION project, geared specifically to educating those in the developing world who have neither access to secure electricity nor a great many teachers. It was developed by a guy at MIT and has garnered the support of many top thinkers and educators around the world.

The idea is to leverage and assist the teachers that a nation has, by writing programs in open source software in many languages and making it easier for teachers to reach a great many students.... the fact that it is called a laptop is probably a hinderance to its development... it should have perhaps been called something else.. like an edesk..

One thing that is it NOT .. is a PR scam

why not take another look?

Planet OLPC

 

[pedrochemical]

I guess that no one actually took the time to read the link that I provided

This particular laptop project is not a computer project, it is an EDUCATION project, geared specifically to educating those in the developing world who have neither access to secure electricity nor a great many teachers. It was developed by a guy at MIT and has garnered the support of many top thinkers and educators around the world.

The idea is to leverage and assist the teachers that a nation has, by writing programs in open source software in many languages and making it easier for teachers to reach a great many students.... the fact that it is called a laptop is probably a hinderance to its development... it should have perhaps been called something else.. like an edesk..

One thing that is it NOT .. is a PR scam

why not take another look?

Planet OLPC

I read most of it.I liked this bit best -

"Mission Statement: To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future."

The great thing about a connected "edesk" is that people can find their own way. Bumbling around online one finds some fascinating things to enrich one's life - like DR1, for example.

 

[catcherintherye]

I agree with much of what Pedro and Annie are saying, and the mission statement. My point remains, if someone cannot even write their own name, and the basics are not in place, then I doubt that by simply handing out laptops is going to change much.

In my opinion, there has to be a coordinated effort to eliminate illiteracy, not just providing the technology. Without that other pieces in place, many people will become frustrated and simply give up. They need some support, at least in the initial stages,

The initial support is what I see as the weak link in this project.

 

[frank recktenwald]

Do agree with you there as well with Pedro and Annie. My 4 year old received a kids laptop from a friend and my stepchildren are also using it and I must say they're improving. However to achieve progress they also have to change the culture here and encourage education which has to come from the home. Here you see kids in the barrios being encouraged to learn all the lyrics of the popular songs and do their "dirty" dancing to go along with it but the parents are not encouraging the kids to study.
Unless this changes the laptops won't do any good

I agree with much of what Pedro and Annie are saying, and the mission statement. My point remains, if someone cannot even write their own name, and the basics are not in place, then I doubt that by simply handing out laptops is going to change much.

In my opinion, there has to be a coordinated effort to eliminate illiteracy, not just providing the technology. Without that other pieces in place, many people will become frustrated and simply give up. They need some support, at least in the initial stages,

The initial support is what I see as the weak link in this project.

 

[catcherintherye]

Thank you, Frank for providing that example. I do think with the right support the project has great potential, but without some change in cultural attitudes, AND some basic support, especially for those with extremely low literacy skills, I'm afraid it will end up as just one more good idea that failed.

I think the initial support piece is crucial, particularly for those who learn differently. People with learning issues are especially prone to frustration and failure.

 

[andy_089]

It would not make sense as 50% of these laptops would be destroid after a few months.

 

[pedrochemical]

It would not make sense as 50% of these laptops would be destroid after a few months.

Do you mean here in D.R. or generally?