OLPC is pleased to welcome Donna Mackenzie as its new CFO. Donna has extensive experience as a senior level finance executive. Prior to her position with OLPC, Donna served as CFO of IZEA, a social media marketing organization. Donna’s experience and expertise will serve OLPC well as it launches important new machines, software and services.
OLPC’s latest version of the XO laptop, the XO- 4 Touch, is currently on its way to Uruguay and Australia. The Government of Rwanda recently placed an order for an additional 42,500 XO laptops. In the U.S., the XO Tablet is completed and OLPC is expecting its official launch at Walmart in the upcoming weeks through our strategic partnership with Vivitar, a Sakar company. The XO Tablet also will be available at other major retailer locations in the United States and Canada. Uruguay has already purchased 8,000 XO Tablets.
OLPC is also proud to announce that it has been working with Morphoss Ltd, a software development organization headed by Andrew McMillan in New Zealand. Morphoss will be working to port  Sugar into the XO Tablet through the Android based “Dreams†User Interface. This will provide children using the tablet with increased educational opportunities.
OLPC maintains an experienced team of educators and programmers who continue to support its pedagogical philosophy. Heading the learning team at OLPC as Chief Learning Officer is Dr. Antonio Battro, a neurologist and colleague of Jean Piaget and Seymour Papert. Dr. Battro is also a distinguished member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome. The learning team also includes Walter Bender, former head of the MIT Media Lab and creator of the Sugar educational software, and Dr. Michele Borba, Goodwill Ambassador to OLPC. Additional learning team members will be announced shortly.
In addition, OLPC has recently signed several agreements with major partners, including UNESCO, Oxford University Press, Common Sense Media, TED and Discovery. Applications and content from these partners will be available on the XO Tablet as part of the pre-loaded content and applications.
OLPC continues to be dedicated to its mission of providing every child around the world with connected, educational devices.
Rodrigo Arboleda
Chairman and CEO
One Laptop per Child Association.
One Laptop per Child is a foundation whose mission is to empower the world’s poorest children through education. They manufacture rugged, low cost laptops that connect children with the world and facilitate active learning, sharing and creating, thus providing an education needed for a prosperous future.
