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‘Saying no to School Laptops’: Lessons for OLPC?
September 1, 2006 | 3:01 am
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By David Rothman
“…some parents and educators are having second thoughts over higher-than-anticipated costs and the potential for inappropriate use by kids. At the same time, there is a sense that the vaunted benefits of constant computer access remain unproven.” – Wall Street Journal via Slashdot.
The TeleRead take: Lessons for OLPC? I do see hope for the OLPC‘s 2B1 machine in the Use Department—since the sharp screen and the tablet mode should make it a tantalizing possibility for e-book reading. But will appropriate content be available? Public domain classics and Wiki-created content are hardly a full solution. What’s more, how about the inappropriate use issue? It’s not limited to the States. I’ll also be curious to see how OLPC approaches the matter of teacher training, an issue I’ve long raised in pushing the TeleRead plan.
Also in Slashdot: Firefox 2.0 Beta 2 Arrives.
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Comments:
There is apparently a trade-off for school laptops: constant access vs. price. But that is a trade-off in the US; the price for the OLPC laptop is paid by the participating countries, not by the parents.
That’s not to say the OLPC won’t have to juggle many other trade-offs, but it probably won’t be this one.