Waiting for the 100$ laptop

shashank.aggarwal

Overlander, everything seems to be fine. However kinds in our households see computers from day one. They see English novels, newspapers, magazines on a daily basis. They have a more interactive and privileged life. And parents and other family members are there to control their activities and guide them.

However when you talk about children in rural India, they don't have these privileges. Even is a 3 year old learns to operate a computer, do you feel that he will be able to do something productive with it. However interactive you make it, however to get the real use of a computer you need to know how to read and right. even if a person however old is able to browse internet however if he is not able to make sense of information infront of him, what use will it be ?

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Aishah

And this is what I have been trying to say, Shashank. Thank you for your meaningful post.

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navinkurian2002

Productivity on the computer is different for different people. Writing a report, writing a blog,making money online, running a forum. Lots of different possibilities .And I have seen one mans food is another mans poison.Some people relate to the things we do on the computer and some do not.
Before people learn to read and write they learn to speak.This is where multimedia comes in audio,video.This also in turn help the kid comprehend and type learn words all are related.

The only difference between kids in rural areas and urban areas is the lack of information and tools to get that information. I remember there is a school in bihar or up (not sure) where they tutor kids to pass the IIT exams.And so many poor kids were passing these exams..

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shashank.aggarwal

So again the point comes what is the need for a a computer per person. You mean to say a Teacher per person ?

You imagine computer to be a toy, in which a kid speaks a random word or it speaks a random word to the kid and they interact..it is no more than an interactive toy..such toys are already available in the market..

navinkurian2002

More like an interactive learning tool .Which gives the kids unlimited access to information.And reduces the need of teachers who have failed the system in a lot of rural areas.

In the future one computer for 10 kids also will do for a start.

That is interesting. Can you post the links to these toys . Thanks

shashank.aggarwal

Now you have come to the point !!.. Just see my earlier posts..this is what I have been trying to say..a computer in a class and all the kids in some class...

This is what will be beneficial, access to a computer for all the kids, rather than a computer per kid..

Check this one..its going for Rs.399 (USD 10) on the website...and I am sure it will less than Rs.150 (USD 4) in Lajpat Rai Market, Delhi..

http://shopping.rediff.com/shop/prod...-laptop_rdhmpg

navinkurian2002

Yep I agree with you totally. It should benefit all kids and if the IIT can make it less then 50 $ then it could one day be available to all kids.Just a hope right now...

Advance Kids Laptop Computer on the link is good. The different between the laptops like the Xo is that the option on the XO are unlimited while on the toy .It has a preprogrammed rom(not sure) with all the programs on it. Which will i don't think can be upgraded. While with the XO the possibilities just are stopped with the imagination .For example with asterisk there can be free telephony in the villages http://www.asterisk.org/ .

shashank.aggarwal

Good Navin, now that you agree with me..you also understand that there is a difference between a 4 dollar toy and a 100 dollar one...

And imagination is as good as the person who is imagining !!

Aishah

Now starting to make some sense! Although when I looked at the telephony link, it didn't mean a thing to me.. so best left to the experts at this point...

navinkurian2002

Sorry about that Aishah. Yes it is even a bit too technical for me and non linux users. Just wanted to point out that with the basic hardware the possibilities are infinite.

Real life applications
This technology would help people communicate easier over voice and video .preventing them from traveling long distances especially in mountainous regions.

More about Asterisk
Asterisk is an open source/free software implementation of a telephone private branch exchange (PBX) originally created by Mark Spencer of Digium. Like any PBX, it allows a number of attached telephones to make calls to one another, and to connect to other telephone services including the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterisk_PBX

http://drupal.airjaldi.com/node/9 (technical)
http://drupal.airjaldi.com/blog/
http://tibtec.org/?q=blog/1(technical)

Aishah

Thanks for explanation - it certainly sounds a great thing if can be implemented.

Scot_in_Nayyardam

The issue is not literacy levels it is affordability. If your father earns IR200 per day (that being far from the minimum wage in this area) where does the money come from for a laptop. Don't knock the project, hwever, every Indian who is educated out of poverty is one less on the breadline. Just remember that there are a few other pressing problems; no clean drinking water and 70% of the population without a toilet.

Diana

Not to cause trouble here but I've been following the $100 laptop (the original mentioned in this thread) and think the folks have dome some amazing work but that the press and media have, as usual, done a horrid job conveying the goals and what was to be accomplished. The focus of news reports and discussion, of course, has been on price rather than on the science or boon to education of some kids in some places. As the project originator said, this was not a "laptop project" but an "education project." Speaking as an educator, the folks on this project have made some real advances in the delivery of educational services to kids in remote and impoverished parts of the world...and they've not yet even finished their project.

So, a few thoughts, as noted, this was not to be a "laptop" in the sense of the group making a full power computer but more they sought to make something that gives students access to books. Books are expensive to ship to countries like Africa (and India, ) and difficult to maintain (like paper in monsoon season--I've had whole boxes arrive in pieces due to rain, even when packed as best as can be) and come printed in one language. E-books and e-curriculum for teacher (and am a teach) avoid those real hurdles. So the focus was on reading, literacy, not inter-connectivity first and foremost. I.e. a learning tool, one that can be crank-powered, read like a book, programed with assignments that fit the given culture, study enough to withstand sun, rain, etc...

Given the billions spent making faster and "better" gaming technology, I find this a refreshing bit of research that has far greater chance to help education than ever faster ways to shot "bad guys" in video games. (Not that it have to be one or the other...just that it's nice to see someone addressing the non-profit goals of this project rather than just trying to make ever more $$ while numbing the brains of kids...but I digress.)

Second, the project generated some huge advances in technology that would never have been attempted otherwise, as alluded to above. Things like screens with less glare so kids whose "school" is a field in the sun, can see the screens. Also durability (kids drop things), waterproofing, and even colors for the communities (cool to the touch when used in sun and heat) to be served were approached. Not to mention, that while they didn't reach the $100 mark...they have a laptop now developed that works (!) and is far far less than the standard of $1200 which is a huge advance that should not be ignored. The average U.S. family is more likely, for example, to donate a $200 notebook than a $1200 one...same idea as with the video cams project (only the latter is more of a PR campaign for one company.)

Finally, this was designed as a project to make durable, kid powered & kid appropriate, technology available for school use at a low cost. The project folks are getting there without either hitching their future to a for-profit business (many have asked) OR without being a charity. This last is important in getting the word out to business and tech types that one does not have to lose money to do good. They have, in fact, come under fire for not partnering with for-profit companies but with the U.N and the Depts of Education of the target developing countries.

The funds are for this project are not diverted from funds for more and better teachers (do such funds exist?) or other school improvements and so I'm having a hard time seeing why these scientists and engineers, working to make something good for literacy that can go where books can't, are reaping so much international scorn for not reaching (yet) their $100 price goal.

As a teacher and person trying to improve education in a developing nation, I applaud the efforts of Nicholas Negroponte and his team.

Just my 2 cent.

Here's a cnet update (though a dated update I think.) :

http://www.news.com/The-100-laptop-m...3-5884683.html

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Diana

Exactly. And that is what this project seeks to do. Help teachers teach kids to read while closing the culture gap on familiarity with technology.

BTW, someone suggested that the computers are to be paid for by parents but my understanding is that the projects in this area are focusing on making low cost tech for schools/governments to be able to afford.

Apologies for the double post.

shashank.aggarwal

Thanks for th explanation Diana, I was not aware about the projects details and was just trying to bring home the point that it has to be used as a tool ..as I said earlier "A laptop per class", I mean the same thing, a tool to facilitate education...a laptop for every child will not serve any purpose..