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OLPC a Hit in Remote Peruvian Village
mrcgran writes "The Chicago Tribune is running a feel-good story about the effects of OLPC on a remote village in Peru. 'Doubts about whether poor, rural children really can benefit from quirky little computers evaporate as quickly as the morning dew in this hilltop Andean village, where 50 primary school children got machines from the One Laptop Per Child project six months ago. At breakfast, they're already powering up the combination library/videocam/audio recorder/music maker/drawing kits. At night, they're dozing off in front of them — if they've managed to keep older siblings from waylaying the coveted machines. Peru made the single biggest order to date — more than 272,000 machines — in its quest to turn around a primary education system that the World Economic Forum recently ranked last among 131 countries surveyed.'"
Which may worry some people in power when impressionable children have access to all kinds of corrupting influences. "Daddy, what is 'capitalism'?" or "Teacher, why don't I have freedom of the press like my friends in America?"
I predict some kind of censorship - under the cover of 'protecting' them, of course - within a year.
Education is extremely important. All those saying "well, what they really need is better medicine, food, etc." what I have to say is: Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for the rest of his life.
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Huh? I thought they'd concluded it was a meteorite?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I hate to be a buzzkill, but I think it's too early to start praising the success of the XOs just yet. Kids love new things, especially things that look like toys. It's no surprise that they're getting so much attention right now, especially since they just came in. Let's see a story in a few months or so about the Peruvian XOs and their educational benefits once the novelty wears off and the laptops start having problems that the kids will have to fix.
Some mean spirited folks have been praying the OLPC is a disaster. Yes the OLPC has competition now from Intel and ASUS, but those programs wouldn't have existed without the OLPC. I hope in years to come OLPC is a huge success. Negroponte deserves karma for trying something that can help many lives. The naysayers meanwhile can should back to their Plasma TVs watching American Idol.
Most of the talk on tech sites has focused on Microsoft trying to stuff their unwanted OS onto the laptop and getting the hardware specs increased to handle their OS, but there is a strange and sad reaction that I see to the laptop that mirrors the reaction to universal health care:
Poor people are supposed to be poor.
You can't have winners in life when there are no losers. Poor people are supposed to be sitting around in filth like Michael Palin in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And poor people are supposed to sit around in public hospitals for hours waiting for substandard care and dying early. That's their job in life.
How can a white middle to upper class American feel smug about themselves when poor people are getting the same care as they are and have access to information technology to better their lot in life?
- Read articles about fishing in Spanish Wikipedia.
- Explore the articles' references.
- Teach yourself to fish.
- Catch fish.
- Sell fish.
- PROFIT!
Am I missing a step???I'm from Perú. This guy DOES know what he's talking about.
Quoth the headline: "Peru made the single biggest order to date -- more than 272,000 machines -- in its quest to turn around a primary education system that the World Economic Forum recently ranked last among 131 countries surveyed."
I suspect there may be other issues at play here aside from lack of computing resources. Many nations have fewer technological resources than the USA, for example, but somehow manage to maintain reasonably well educated populaces.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
Impact on students and teachers in Arahuay
I took as complete notes as I could talking with each of the teachers in turn (unfortunately, I forgot to get their names); translation slowed things enough that I believe the notes are pretty complete, though it may have also introduced errors. They echo Carla's excellent report, but are now months later:
Two children have come to the Arahuay school specifically because of the laptops who would not have previously attended.
The children are sharing much more: they take pictures and videos and share them.
The children are teachers too.
The teachers see much improved conduct. One child (who often arrives hungry) who has been sad and aggressive now loves to work on the OLPC. He is working more with other children and his behavior has improved.
One of the children has vision problems; is cross eyed and has one damaged eye (Carla will remember the child, I'm sure). Using the laptop has improved the child's ability to focus her eyes and work.
Another teacher noted that small children, ages 6-7, are learning much faster. The web browser is the most popular/important activity, followed by the camera.
The activities they use most are the browser, paint, calculator, write.
The children use the internet to find information of interest.
One child, who is from Lima, has learned much in Arahuay and is very happy about the OLPC.
Another teacher said the children have changed: they have more concentration, mental ability.
The children's concept reception is much better than before. Despite the use of US keyboards (all we had at the time), the children have had little problem adapting, and have figured out all they keys.
A third teacher said the internet is the most interesting.
The children are showing more abilities, are more creative, their behavior is better.
The children were selfish about the computers at first, but now share and discover with them, showing the teachers and other students what they have discovered.
Children who had previously been interested in power (bully?) have forgotten power and are sharing.
The children are showing better attention and organization.
Students are learning about the world, and now feel part of it. They are now interested in learning other languages, which they had not wanted to do before. Creating a web site on Arahuay has made them feel part of the world. Impact on the teachers:
They have started to research topics on the internet and have practiced to use the computer.
The teachers have more ways to plan and improve the class.
Another teacher said the computer was wonderful for her. Information on the internet had improved both her and the children.
Their jobs are easier now.
One of the teachers asked for mind-mapper software, which they have used. We should install freemind on the servers and explore how feasible it is for packaging as an activity (it is Java based).
But the high point was the eight year old girl who came up to me shyly and gave me a kiss....
BTW, if anyone speaks Quechua or Aymara (or other languages), please help at: https://dev.laptop.org/translate/.
Please come help!
- Jim Gettys, OLPC
You know, it's almost enough to make an old geek cry, imagining these kids learning about computers and becoming proto-geeks, who otherwise might have lived their entire lives without ever seeing a laptop or using the internet.
So they'll be browsing Slashdot when they should be harvesting the crops. I welcome our new underage Peruvian overlords.
The reason is that our press really is worthless now. They are VERY afraid of taking on the corruption within our gov. In particular, Sibel Edmunds has offered up all the info about the American Govs. interaction with Turkey, Afghanastan, pakastan, etc. So far, it has been shown that a number of congressman, and white house folks have taken money from Turkey. It supposedly includes, Delay, Rove, Cheney, Bush, Reid, etc. The problem is that W. and the DOJ have tied up Edmunds and prevents her from talking about it, or she will go to jail. She has OFFERED a 1 time deal to any major press of talking live about the issues. Why? Because she knows that she will do time after that, until the next president comes in. Edmunds would disappear (most likely to one of our off shore spots, and not the nice one at gitmo that was built for the press).
So, yes, the press in Peru were willing to report even when it meant their death, while NONE of the current American media is willing to simply broadcast Edmunds. They would not even be killed for it. IOW, our current American press is like you; a total coward. Oh, and Faux news does not even count as news. It is more akin to Pravda, than it is to any of the major news channel.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
It makes me feel warm inside despite having no contact or influence with the OLPC project.
The XO screen has a 200dpi grayscale reflective mode that's a lot like e-ink. Comparing my XO to my friend's Kindle, the XO has lower contrast but much higher resolution. Both are quite easy on the eyes.
That just made my Christmas.
:)
And sorry, I don't speak Quechua or Aymara but I do know a few Elvish phrases.
While I'm a fan of the OLPC project (I'm writing this on my own XO laptop), and think it has the potential to improve education dramatically, the article didn't say much about how the laptop has affected learning. Sure, the kids love them, but aside from mentioning that many of them aspire to be something other than farmers, there wasn't much evidence presented that the laptop improved education.
Your post is redundant, and a standard argument used buy grumblers to slap around charities. It's not a matter of choosing one of the other. You can do both.
My kids would (did once) do this too, on an ordinary PC - doesn't need any particular special kit. They don't get to do it now because they run into time limits etc. I've set those limits because I happen to think this behaviour is _not_ healthy or desirable (and IME leads to really tired, foul-tempered kids).
These OLPCs are most likely going into homes where the parents are not computer literate and will probably never learn as much about them as their kids. They won't be as able to restrict their kids and prevent them spending all their time on the computer instead of, say, going outside and kicking a ball.
Maybe this social experiment will turn out to be good for the kids - but from that quote above and my experience with kids, I'm skeptical.
You want more, there are hundreds, and those are just some of the more fluffier low-rent surface level inconsistencies. In other words, you are being played for a fool, wake up man, you're a *tool*.
BTW, you just lost your civilian gun ownership rights, welcome to the wonderful world of being a war veteran. Oh, you didn't hear about it? One single negative anything and they classify you as "mentally incompetent" and it is now illegal for you to purchase or possess, you and hundreds of thousands (probably millions, along with kids today who got prescribed meds for ADD and ADHD-whoops, mentally unstable for life flag) more going all the way back to the remaining WW2 vets.
Have a nice day
Elsewhere in this thread, you will find a comment by jg (Jim Gettys). It has many things that at first I believed to be exaggerations, or just a glowing review from an OLPC staffer.
But, I found that all of what he said is present in detail, and pictures, on Carla Gomez's OLPC in Arahuay.
Really eye opening. Keep up the good work all.
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I suspect you think those cripples take all the good parking spaces, too. They've got enough to deal with: let them have a bit of help getting a cheap, grade school suitable machine. You've got access to better hardware in the junk bin of businesses replacing hardware, or your nearest supermarket bulletin board: these people don't.
Which is more important long-term? How much food/medicine would $188 buy for one kid, vs. how much a laptop with internet access can change their life forever?
My kid wants a OLPC. But you can't just buy one. My kid isn't a good, African kid, she's a bad, American kid.
Your 'American kid' has far more resources to draw on that the target audience of these laptops. You, the dad, has the resources and ability to basically build her a laptop for cheap. You already have a 24/7 internet connection, ready for this laptop to connect to. She has PC's in school...all her friends (and their parent) have PC's at home. She can very easily go to the local library to use the computers there. If you work in any medium size company, you can probably scam an older laptop for free (I have 3 such laying around).
You popping for a brand new, dual core, multi gigbyte HD laptop for under $600 is far less of a financial impact than an OLPC would be for any of the target audience.
Or...you popping for a $399 OLPC (and a tax deduction of $200) is far less of a financial hit as well.
Should we also be bitching because the 'good African kids' also get free rice and 'bad American kids' don't? Or that 'good African kids' get a well dug in their town by the Peace Corps, and YOU, the downtrodden, poor American, has to actually pay taxes for clean, filtered, unlimited, water delivered to the multiple taps in your house at any temperature you desire.
Oh...and if you happen to come across a cheap/free laptop, you (Mr. computer wizard) can install the OLPC image on it and your daughter can have almost exactly the same thing. (unfortunately, that image is outdated. I hope they publish a current one soon)
Quit yer bitching.
Wow. Persecution complex much?
Yeah, poor kid of yours, who is discriminated against because her parents have the resources to buy her an OLPC themselves, or any of the competing ubercheap laptops. My heart weeps for the poor girl, it really does.
I suppose your child has earned herself an OLPC, by having the self-discipline and foresight to be born to comparatively rich parents.
If you think a kid-friendly laptop would benefit her, buy her one. The G1G1 program is still open. Oh, wait, you don't want any of your hard-earned money going to one of those undeserving kids. You'd rather wait until somebody mugs a Nigerian slum kid for you and puts it up on eBay.
Regarding the technical support thing: Nobody gets technical support from the OLPC. Not G1G1 donors, not nobody. Hell, even spare parts won't be available for another month or so. Purchasing government agencies bear the burden of handling repairs, which is why the designers worked so hard to make repairs easy.
P.S.: Peru is in South America, not Africa.
P.P.S: Yeah, I've been trolled. We've both proven that we have no lives, so I don't see how that makes you the winner here.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!
Just wondering if the Williams Gates Foundation ever help this OLPC ?
And if they dont, why not ?
$188 USD would buy a hell of a lot of food at their cost of living.
You cant think of it in terms of the same cost to run down to the local A&P.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
0. Roll out universal Internet connections to remote Andean villages.
Or did you think that internet connectivity was just a given. A bit of a "let them eat cake" moment there. Though yes you should be able to get a fair amount of information on the 800Mb of internal storage. I assume they come with a load of books pre installed.
Deleted
for them,
"give a man firewood and he'll be warm for a day.
Burn a man to death and he'll be warm for the rest of his life".
I think it's called winning "hearts and minds", and works about as well as one would expect.
Tech Public Policy stuff
Sweet toad hope'n jesus! Imagine what'll happen when they learn to sell on eBay! I think you just renewed my faith in the singularity. ;)
The Christian religion has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. -- Bertrand Russell
Yeah, dirt-poor African kids get all the breaks, don't they?
But these kids aren't starving or dying off due to some easily treatable disease. Really, giving them $188 in food and medicine wouldn't help them that much, and would be pretty limited in the length of time it did help.
Providing the OLPC is something like providing a basic infrastructure like roads or water, except in this case it is information. Money for these things could always be spent in other ways to meet short term needs, but they are far better off investing in infrastructure that will have long term positive impacts for many years to come.
Feeling a tad defensive? The person you're responding to never mentioned communism, or Peru.
I assumed he was speaking about some of the more restrictive countries on the OLPC list, like Libya and Tunisia, which do restrict freedom of speech and press. But they're not communist, either; I really have no idea where you got that.
Perhaps you should switch to decaf, senor.
That is speculation. As much as I like the OLPC, the foundation's iron-fisted attitude towards determining 'needy' is disturbing. If you're not some shit-hole's dictator, then your business isn't really wanted. We all "get" the $400 thing and we all "get" volume discounts. It would be nice if XOXO-fuckers learned to sell to people who may not fit their stereotypes. Nobody expects to get the best price buying 1 of an item versus 1000. However, the difference in markup between the two is often 30% not 100%. Hey, at least it is open source. I welcome the knockoffs.
Because of people like you, it's more just to base taxation on luxury expenditures rather than to income. I don't know if that's practical or not.
Not all the third world is starving pot-bellied children, you know. Many *do* have adequate food already.
Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
Too small for a kid's fingers? It's small, like ultra-portables, but I know adults who buy those and like them. The keyboard on the model I used wasn't much smaller than my notebook.
But mainly, I want to laugh at you. Have you noticed the US Dollar recently? You might not have, unless you've looked down. That's it in the couch cushions. Products that were $100 a few years ago are now $150, minimum.
You might want to blame your non-elected slack-witted president for that. Losing cubic meters of cash overseas, fighting multiple endless wars on borrowed funds. Hopefully the OLPC is manufactured in Europe or Japan soon, so that it doesn't end up costing $2800, or worse. The germans needed wheelbarrows to haul worthless money in, have you got your wheelbarrow yet? You won't be able to afford it when you need it!
"Poor people are supposed to be poor."
There's the implication behind that statement that being poor equals being unhappy. Poor can be a relative state. If all one's basic needs are met then one can be happy and be poor as compared to the wealth of say a first-world country.
You are failing to understand how the program works. Any government -- rich or poor -- can participate in the OLPC program. If your government participated in the program, you would not need to buy two laptops to get one; you would only have to pay for one to get one, but it would be mandatory, paid through taxes. The laptops would have technical support and your child's teacher would be trained to teach with it, again paid by taxes. If you think this is a good idea, you should lobby your government to participate in the program.
You should consider it a privilege to be able to get a laptop outside of the program, even unsupported and at a premium. The OLPC is not equipped for retail sales and didn't want to sell the laptop to consumers. But people begged and pleaded... "We'll pay three times as much, with no warranty or support -- just please let us have them." OLPC acceded, and now it is at least possible to get one. If you don't like the terms, tough. But don't go complaining about how other countries are getting preferential treatment. The Give-One-Get-One program is currently only helping in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, Mongolia and Rwanda; other countries like Peru or Uruguay are paying for theirs outright -- which is what American states could do if they wanted to.
Looks like none of the recipients so far are dictators. Planned recipients include Argentina (elected president), Brazil (elected president), Costa Rica (elected president), Cambodia (constitutional monarchy with elected legislature), Dominican Republic (elected president), Egypt (elected president, though it may be a bit of a joke to call it a democracy), Greece (president elected by parliament elected by the people), Libya (dictatorship claiming to be a democracy), Nigeria (elected president), Pakistan (bordering on dictatorship), Rwanda (elected president), Tunisia (elected president with essentially no opposing candidates), and the USA (elected president). Some of these elected presidents may be quite iffy, but it's certainly a far cry from your implication that OLPC only does business with dictators.