http://www.khichdee.com/category-catid-11-paraid-0.htm

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The DailyTech article says: “The use of a laptop could hurt the creative and analytical abilities of a child said Banerjee. A student may become too dependent on electronic tools and applications and fail to use their own thinking abilities.”

This is a superficially updated form of an old and flawed argument. In fact, mathematical calculators faced the same misguided disparagement. While it does make some sense to limit the use of calculators in a few early classes, today automated computation with calculators and computers is a vital technique that students should master.

The rickety argument against “dependency” on tools could have been made against slide rules in previous decades, but I never heard it put forward seriously. Indeed, one might even condemn textbooks as new-fangled monstrosities and call for a return to the halcyon age of declamation and memorization.

OLPC program director for Middle East and Africa Khaled Hassounah confirmed to DesktopLinux.com July 31 that Nigeria has indeed committed to buy 1 million machines, and then revealed that Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand also have placed similar commitments.

Negroponte needs to decide. Will he be flexible? In India, one clash could be between the traditional British system of learning and the constructivism favored by Seymour Papert. OLPC ideally will be flexible about its software to allow a variety of pedagogical approaches. You could really be on to something.

Perhaps the struggle isn’t just over tech vs. nontech but over educational philosophies.

As for a pilot project Negroponte might argue, “Been there, done that in Thailand, etc.,” but the Indians may want a country-specific project with the hardware in use.

However, at the same time, from afar, I do hope the Indians will be open-minded–from the education secretary on down to the individual teachers, many of whom, of course, fear technology in terms of loss of control.

We can pretty well speculate that the kids will feel more comfortable with the laptops than will the teachers. It’s a matter of appropriate training even though this will not work with all teachers. I’d like to know more about the limited Thai experiences, pre-OLPC. There, Negroponte might have succeeded in sharing his enthusiasm with the people involved–I don’t know the details. Will the same be possible in India? Let’s hope that he can use a more appropriate form of persuasion for local consumption.

Thanks,
David

The proposed laptop is an intricate device and its successful construction and deployment depends on the proper implementation of several interlinked innovations, e.g., a novel LCD screen, new wireless components, a new power supply mechanism, etc. There are also open questions about integrating the device into schools and society both pedagogically and economically.

A pilot project would be very helpful and perhaps essential. Instead, OLPC wants to directly rollout five million devices. Why tempt fate? Even the gods feared the Moirae.