Comments for One Laptop per Child

Comment on The Reading Project in Ethiopia explained by the OLPC team involved in the experiment by johan beckmann

johan beckmann — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:42:01 +0000

Hi,

It is with great interest I have read about the Reading Project in Ethiopia!

“Dropping” tablets and see what happens, such a great thing to study! But when I read that you had to travel there in advance, install solar systems and teach the people how to use solar for charging I thought that this ruined some of the good intentions with the project and made it much more complicated than needed. At the same time it made me happy because my company has developed and is selling a solar-powered charger that is so easy to use that if you use it in your next reading project, you can “drop” the solar chargers together with the tablets.

When we started Powerfy (to give power to people) we learned about the sad research that shows that 1 year after installation less than 50% of solar installations in rural parts of Kenya work as anticipated, and we felt we had to do something about it. The main reasons for this failure is that solar systems require proper technical design, procurement according to the design, a technician to install the system, a technician to teach the owner how to use and maintain the system which has many components that can and will fail and finally the battery that has to be stored and maintained appropriately before being re-placed with a new one every so often.

We have therefore designed our charger, which charges multiple USB-devices at the same time, so that anyone should be able to start to use it without any instructions or installation. It is also fool proof in the sense that there is almost no way of causing any severe damage to the charger by accident. We have also designed it so that it is portable, durable and maintenance free with barely no components that will break or can fail, and at the same time the charger is powerful and can charge many devices at the same time. The idea is basically that we (or any one else) should be able to “drop” it at any potential customer in any remote place, and they would figure out how it would work and it will work for many years without any need for interaction with us or any one else.

We would be happy to tell you more about our charger if you are interested.

/Johan

Comment on XO-3 concept design is here! by ohiz

ohiz — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:32:41 +0000

hi i work for an NGO in Nigeria and we provide free digital (I.C.T) learning opportunities to school aged children in Underserved community secondary schools. we want to get these laptop for the kids how can we purchase them. u can send me an email @ ohimaio@mindafrica.org..

Comment on Elsevier ClinicalKey To Help Donate Laptops To Children Around The World by kevix

kevix — Sat, 04 May 2013 08:15:06 +0000

at first glance, I see something odd. A company that locks-downs knowledge published in journals is helping people who free-up knowledge for people in the developing world. They could do more by making content open access and allowing the kids access.

Comment on A visit to Wonchi: OLPC’s Ethiopian Literacy Project by George Murage

George Murage — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:15:31 +0000

Hello. I have been reading up on this project for a while now. Who can I get in touch with in case I need to visit this place? I am currently in Kenya and our new president, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta promises to give all class one pupils laptops in the coming year. Many people do not believe but I do and it would be nice if I came there to see and document on my tech blog, http://www.juuchini.com

Kindly do let me know.

Comment on The XO-3 tablet is on display at CES by @ CES: One Laptop Per Child Group Launching $100 Android Tablet — paidContent

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:50:05 +0000

[...] One Laptop Per Child group has talked about launching such a device for a while, but has finally created a prototype that will grace the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center this week. Tablets are a natural [...]

Comment on African Union and OLPC commit to educational transformation work throughout Africa by Sven AERTS

Sven AERTS — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:46:49 +0000

African Union. Imho, an organization with really powerful people and then NOTHING, ZERO, NADA result. Not a single laptop or test project implemented. Even when the top of the OLPC people go over, explain, figures, investment numbers, time frames, etc. On the http://wiki.laptop.org/ nothing nothing nothing. Can anybody explain this? I’m just trying to understand.

Comment on The Reading Project in Ethiopia explained by the OLPC team involved in the experiment by Gina Welker

Gina Welker — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:58:42 +0000

This is awesome. Are there any updates on the literacy of the children? Have they begun to learn how to read?

Comment on African Union and OLPC commit to educational transformation work throughout Africa by Badhaga Issa,Musene

Badhaga Issa,Musene — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:30:26 +0000

Thanks to the project,However,this will work better if political entities like the AU are not involved. Usually politicians therein hijack such projects as the case with HIV/Aids projects.I think beneficiary schools should directly be involved.
On the other hand,this project could work better for orphaned schools first then others last.

Comment on One Laptop per Child Confirms Upcoming Launch of Groundbreaking Dual Function XO-4 Touch by cameron barnett

cameron barnett — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:47:59 +0000

Hello,

I have been reading about olpc for years, was going to get my son a G1G1 but got distracted. Bought books from Seymore Papert and
Nicolas N, My son is now 10 and I live in France(therefore am not in the target for this device) how can I buy him an XO4 touch before he is no longer a child! People are taking about android tablets, but I what a learning device that he can explore, on his own, my daughter is now coming to the age for one aswell. Keep up the great work

Comment on OLPC Brings 1-to-1 Laptop Program to 7 North Carolina Schools by Arslan Shoukat

Arslan Shoukat — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:27:03 +0000

Wow. Your organization is doing great work. Distributed 2000 laptops in 7 school, thats great. In Pakistan, our PM Shehbaz Sharif has also started a laptop program in which he distributes more than 200K laptops each year to students on merit. You guys are also doing good work.

Comment on Rwanda ranks among top IT countries on the continent by Arslan Shoukat

Arslan Shoukat — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:19:08 +0000

Well that is a good news for Rwanda. Congratulations to peope of Rwanda. Indeed, IT plays important role in development of a country and surely, people of Rwanda are going to get good benefits from this development. They will be reaping its benefit soon.
And what about asian countries?
Can you tell me which countries are among top 3?
I guess india would be in top 3 as it is progressing really fast in IT industry.

Comment on The Technology Behind OLPC – John Watlington at TEDxTaipei 2011 by John Gilmore

John Gilmore — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:15:00 +0000

This is two years old – why post it now?

Comment on The Technology Behind OLPC – John Watlington at TEDxTaipei 2011 by Dave (ultrabook terbaru)

Dave (ultrabook terbaru) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:58:33 +0000

The concept is brilliant.
It could provide access to the children to vast knowledge.

The next thing to think about is providing the network connection. So they can access the internet easily.

Comment on OLPC about Aakash by Satish Jha not affiliated with us since July 2012, clarifies OLPC, praises GOI for Aakash tablet | all.toughclicks.com

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 05:20:30 +0000

[...] One Laptop Per Child Association, Inc released a statement distancing itself from Jha and his views on the Aakash tablet. OLPC said that Satish Jha had not [...]

Comment on OLPC about Aakash by OLPC shuns Indian founder after anti-tablet screed | Extra ICT Ltd

OLPC shuns Indian founder after anti-tablet screed | Extra ICT Ltd — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:19:42 +0000

[...] One Laptop Per Child Association has posted a statement distancing itself from Satish Jha, an entrepreneur who founded the Association in [...]

Comment on OLPC about Aakash by OLPC shuns Indian founder after anti-tablet screed | Laptop Service in Moscow

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:19:24 +0000

[...] One Laptop Per Child Association has posted a statement distancing itself from Satish Jha, an entrepreneur who founded the Association in [...]

Comment on One Laptop per Child Confirms Upcoming Launch of Groundbreaking Dual Function XO-4 Touch by Jeannie

Jeannie — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:17:24 +0000

I have been researching tablets lately and found that they are very good to help children learn.

Combining a laptop function and tablet mode together should be quite good. Your goal of one laptop per child should boost childrens learning and computer skills forward quite a bit.

“will combine the XO’s existing laptop functionality and sunlight-usable display with a full-fledged tablet mode”.