Hey all, we didn't get to talk about the OLPC computer as much as we could have in class. So let's talk on the blog! Luckily, one of the students from my other sections had already made a fairly substantial critique several weeks ago. It's pasted below. Please comment on this post with some new information about the OLPC program.
What does that mean for your responses? You'll have to read the post and your classmates' comments to make sure you're not repeating anything! We want to know as much as we can so we can make informed decisions about how this laptop relates to the issues we've been discussing in class.
In relation, try to also provide some commentary about how your OLPC information relates to some portion of the class content.
This will be fun!
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One of the most striking digital divides that I have come across, though unrelated to American libraries, is the vast difference between the technology available to children here, and that available to those in Africa. The One Laptop per Child organization strives to bridge that gap by donating inexpensive, interactive laptops to children in Africa. The article that I read described the program and stated how it lacks funding not only because we, technologically advanced nations, aren't giving enough but also because the governments of these countries are not willing to spend the money to test these unproven products that could take away from the standard teaching environment. The African governments are concerned about buying "an odd looking box with unfamiliar software" which is a valid concern. Relating this article to our class though, I think that this initiative is one that needs to be explored more. If we can provide children in Africa with internet access and computers, we will be able to further break down cultural and physical barriers between countries and people. This program will help promote business practices that can occur across any distance and can link up children in different countries to help with learning and understanding the size of the world. Further, children will get involved with technology at an early age and will have an advantage, or at least an even playing field in the business world in the futures. This is something that libraries in the US provide as well. While one laptop per child here too would be a stretch, every family having access to a computer and the internet is not. That is achievable thanks to libraries which, much like the One Laptop Per Child organization, serve to bridge the digital divide and bring those underprivileged individuals to the level that the rest of the world is at.
Video Reflection
14 years ago
8 comments:
There is a great article in the "Wisconsin Engineer" Feb. 2009 edition. It talks about how this concept should be utilized moreso in the U>S>. In fact, there is a program in Madison that works quite well.
One of the things I’ve come across in my personal study of poverty is that people get stuck in the poverty cycle because they don’t know how to get out of it. The children of professors, for example, know how to be successful because in addition to their parents being able to provide (financially) educational opportunities, they see the link between education and success. This connection is hard to make if you’ve never seen anyone use an education to obtain a high paying job. OLPC is trying to help children in developing countries make the connection between education and betterment. At first it does seem ridiculous to be giving laptops away when the same people may lack basic necessities such as drinkable water, but OLPC is more than a let-them-eat-cake idea. Children from developing countries can’t catch up if they don’t know what they’re behind in. OLPC breaks down the material access barrier for kids, who haven’t yet developed mental access barriers, and helps them learn a new language while it is still easy to learn. According to the OLPC website, “By giving children their very own connected XO laptop, we are giving them a window to the outside world, access to vast amounts of information, a way to connect with each other, and a springboard into their future. And we’re also helping these countries develop an essential resource—educated, empowered children.” This is a good point and goal, but children need more than a laptop to be educated. Computers are an educational tool, not the whole education.
I think that one of the big problems that we thought of in our very snarky discussion section (of which I was a large naysayer) was that the four C's might not be in place to give these children the access that they want. I've come to realize however that this is just one way of working towards fulfilling all of them.
Presumably the kids would have the context to want to improve their society's injustices and use the internet as a means for information to do so. This program also provides a huge part of the connectivity, a laptop, but a question would come from having internet access (specifically Wi-Fi) in order to make use of said laptops.
The two factors that aren't directly approached by this program are capability and content. My hope would be that there are activists who travel alongside the shipments of computers to help teach the children how to use them. As far as content goes, that depends on each Country they go to, but there is probably at least some information in each language. As far as information for how to break their bonds of poverty or on approaching their political leaders with their problems, that could be another story. If a government isn't stable, sending an e-mail seems like a very ineffective way to have your voice heard.
If you all have 20 minutes of free time one of the most interesting sites on the Web, ted.com (the website of the TED conferences) has a talk given by Nick Negroponte, the man behind the project. I haven't watched it at the time of this post.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/nicholas_negroponte_on_one_laptop_per_child.html
I'm sorry that you can't just click on it, there isn't an option to mess with that in the comment posting box...
I only heard of the OLPC briefly, I never personally looked into it. So I was surprised when I checked it out on wikipedia. We, as Americans, are very much focused on helping prop up struggling nations. This project is another example of that. What really surprised me was that Africa wasn't the first place to adopt the OLPC. According to Wikipedia, Uruguay was the first country to place orders. What even surprised me more, more orders for the laptops have come from the Americans then Africa. I think bringing the laptop to the extremly poor places in Africa is a bad idea. The countries in middle and South America already have sound government and low hositility. These are countries that could use it right now. Where as countries in Africa are still lagging behind in bare essentials. Lets get them caught up first in that area, then move on to technology. Just like our laptop vs drinking water debate we made. Side note...over spring break, the well at my parents house broke, so we didn't have running water for 4 days. Let me tell you, I would trade all my electronics to have water.
I think the laptop needs to be a helpful tool in education. Not being the only tool for education. By providing just this laptop, the children may rely on this too much to do stuff. Example is the calculator. When we were younger, thats all we used. We have become so dependent on them to do math. Now in schools, it seems that teachers are favoring away from calculators so kids learn to actually use the math, and not just push buttons. But with this laptop program, the access barrier can be bridged. Just knowing playing around with it, a person can achieve the skills and usage access. They will be able to turn on the computer and be able to use it. And just having the laptop makes one succed in the material access. The one problem would be mental access. A newcomer is also shy and timid the first time. I believe after a few tries on the laptop, a less fortunate person will sit in a world of wonder and endless possibilities on what the laptop can and will provide.
I haven't really done much research into this but I did catch a small blurp about it on tv over spring break. In class I was under the impression that the organization was literally giving a laptop to a child. but aren't they really giving it to a school to use as an education aid? I realize that Africa has huge problems and giving their schools computers may seem very ineffective with the whole "lacking water" bit, but I think they could use any advantage they can get their hands on. It really couldn't do any harm.
When I first heard about the OLPC program I thought they were just distributing laptops to random kids which I thought was a little pointless when those random kids probably had much bigger things to worry about. However, upon learning that they were being distributed through the schools, I decided that it was probably a much more feasible program, assuming the teachers know how to use them and can teach the kids how to use them as well.
However, I still have some contentions. I understand that knowledge is power and all that. But, and if you've heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, you know where I'm coming from, there are more important things than information, as much as it kills me to say that. Running, clean water, food, heat, shelter, electricity, things like this are much more important. If we're talking about some ho-dunk town in rural Africa, I really don't think the kids are going to be too excited about a new laptop unless they can eat it.
Perhaps if all these kids organize themselves so that they can effect change in their government the OLPC program will be a little more worth while. If they can get their voices heard and hurtle there societies into a revolution that allows them access to neccessities, than great. The OLPC program will be awesome. But perhaps, then, technology should be given to (along with training) to everyone, everywhere. The fact that the digital divide is an economic divide sucks, but if you're expecting children to be able to send mass e-mails to the government and actually effect a change, it's not going to happen. The best these computers can really do is help these kids get out of their situations rather than changing their situations. That's really not very productive on a larger scale. For the individual, that's great, maybe, but for the community, it's just going to result in them losing educated children. Maybe in the future, these kids can become activists, get involved in the government and change things. But I think if you give technology to adults as well, who are already decently well-educated and know that they're not completely liberated, they can effect a change much faster.
I think it's a fine idea. I just think people can do better.
As far as the concern of whether this is what these kids need when they do not have basic necessities I thought of the old saying "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he'll eat for life." I think that's the basic idea here. We are trying to give access to poor children so that they can improve their situation in a more permanent way. We want to help these people help themselves. If we just give the resources we haven't solved the problem in a way that will allow us to eventually stop assisting.
The issue of content is a large concern. The video we watched in class on Tuesday also commented on this. Africa needs to produce things with and for the new technology just as much as it needs to be able to use new technology. I do think that started with kids in schools has some advantage though because they can learn the skills when they are still young enough to have the time to learn things instead of working all the time. They can learn skills to help them as they become adults and maybe never spend any of their adult life in poverty. When they are still in school their is a system in place to teach them things and that can include computer skills.
I have very mixed feelings about the OLPC program. It seems to be a good idea as far as trying to bridge the digital divide, but the issue with a lot of these children is simply staying alive. If these children don't have running water or decent food, what is a laptop really going to do for them. From my volunteer work with a program called Feed my Starving Children, I learned that these children and their families are dying at an alarming rate and that only ten dollars can feed one child for a year! Maybe we should focus more on Maslows Heirarchy of Needs, rather than trying to jump right to the digital divide. The first level on the heirarcy is basic needs, such as food and water. If these children don't have these, how can they be expected to strive for anything higher? Since most of their days are spent searching for food, they aren't even going to have the time or interest to use the laptops.
However, I suppose the program could work in places that aren't in extreme poverty. If people aren't too busy simply trying to stay alive, then perhaps they can begin to learn to use the computers and communicate via e-mail and have access to information they otherwise would not. If a stable school system is in place, and they can learn the skills necessay to use the computers then the program could be highly sucessful. Basically, I believe the program could really only be successful in places in milder poverty. The people in extreme poverty need food, water, clothes and shelter before they will be able to use the computers to learn and communicate to help themselves get out of poverty.
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