The One Laptop Per Child program makes a lot of sense globally.
I have stood in remote rural African villages, and I have talked with Herera and Masubya people about their educational opportunities. I think this project is a very positive step that can fit with their own current work to improve their lives.
To quote Chris Brogan on the tech-y benefits:
- The boxes are inexpensive. Under $200 a box.
- They feature FIVE full programming environments (for geeks, read here).
- They come built with a mesh network right out of the box.
- They have collaboration built into almost every app. So two kids sit down somewhere, open their XOs, and they can write on the same doc.
- They have webcams, so places with literacy issues can suddenly open the conversation to parents, who’ve been excluded from a child’s school experience, until now.
I also like the ability to hook to a solar panel (relatively common in villages I saw) or to use a hand powered recharger.
Phillip Z is combining donations to give away two of them. Perfect for me, who doesn’t want to chump off all $400 myself. I donated securely via PayPal.
Yes, you can still chip in. Phillip is eyeing an extra battery and solar panel to give, also.
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
