Dell And Microsoft – Can They Deliver One Laptop Per Child?
October 3, 2009 by Troy Farmdale
Filed under Internet
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project started by Nicholas Negroponte several years ago has had some amazing results and consequences, as well as amazing failures and shortcomings. This has clearly been a source of frustration for those connected with the project, as well as those who've hoped for a better outcome for all of this. OLPC was born nearly four years ago, when Negroponte approached "XO" a computer manufacturer to build an affordable computer. The idea of a laptop for every child in underdeveloped countries was hard for many to believe.
The basic mission statement says that its goals are - To create educational opportunities for the worlds 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 kids have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate.
Michael Dell told him it was impossible. Bill Gates said, Geez, get a real computer." Craig Barrett, then head of Intel, called the XO laptop a gadget. Fortunately for the many children who would later benefit from the program, Negroponte surged ahead anyway. A childhood of privilege and travel showed Negroponte the need for tools that help people in poorer countries get a start, and he was not to be dissuaded by the titans of tech.
The new laptop hit the market and all anyone could talk about was the low price, but that misses the obvious goal and work of the XO. Predicting the netbook explosion was hard to do and the XO certainly had something to do with the fact was out that computer could be very affordable. What it did more than anything, however, was to reach more than 900,000 children with the XO laptop in more than 31 countries. Some estimates say that over 200,000 are en route, and yet another 600,000 were ordered but not yet fulfilled. Peru is the country with the largest commitment so far to OPLC, with some 2.2 million orders and some 350,000 of the XO laptops in country already, mostly in remote rural areas.
Peru is the country with the largest commitment so far to OPLC, with some 2.2 million orders and some 350,000 of the XO laptops in country already, mostly in remote rural areas. When the XO laptop hit the market all anyone could talk about was the low price, but that misses the obvious mission and work of the XO. No one foresaw the netbook explosion that was about to occur, and the XO certainly had something to do with that, if in no other way than price.
Among some of the unexpected benefits (and most heartwarming stories) to come out of this is the fact that more than 50% of Peruvian children who have XO laptops use them to also teach their parents to read and write. Another unintended benefit is that "When a child opened the laptop at home, it could be the brightest light source," according to Negroponte. The OLPC program has foundered of late as economic conditions and the availability of low-price netbook computers have made inroads, but it's very hard to deny that the OLPC has made a far more significant impact than many had thought possible.
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