One Laptop Per Child

About five years ago I first heard of One Laptop Per Child while reading an article in Popular Science. I saw a product that was meeting third world students at an impressive place. OLPC was building cheap durable computers to be used by students in developing countries. They could be powered by a hand crank or a small solar panel. This is one step towards equipping students to learn material that can only be reached by a personal computer.

During my Highschool days OLPC was running a program called Give One Get One. A tax deductible contribution of $400 sponsored one computer to be sent to a school in a developing country and one computer would be sent to you. At the time I really wanted a personal computer so I did a lot of research to convince my parents with the fact that it would be contributing technology to a place of need and at the same time I could get my own computer.

In the end it made little to no sense for me to buy a computer created for elementary school children with many of the features focused for young children.

If you would like more information about this non-profit that is placing technology in the hands of school children all around the world. I can not wait to see how this influence of technology will change the communities that are impacted. If you would like to donate a machine simply go to http://one.laptop.org/.

OLPC in 2010 announced the development of the XO-3 concept for a durable tablet computer that could be produced for under $100. This advancement requires some serious reductions in the cost of screens, processors, and other basic computing components. Therefore after missed deadlines and failed product releases OLPC's director Nicholas Negroponte announced that a tablet was being developed for the developed world that would be used to refine the design before it was produced for developing countries. This is an exciting development because I would be interested in purchasing a durable, reasonably priced tablet for my mobile computing.

Below you can see some videos from the OLPC website.

All is Great in the Lord

Paul Shackelford

http://one.laptop.org/action/spread

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Letters from Lilongwe

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