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Monday, 21 January 2008 |
The mission of One Laptop per Child
(OLPC) is to empower the children of
developing countries to learn, by providing
one connected laptop to every school-age
child. The laptops provide a technology that
could revolutionise how the world’s children
are educated. The goal is to provide children
around the world with new opportunities to
explore, experiment, and express
themselves. Laptops are both a window and
a tool: a window into the world and a tool
with which to think. They are a wonderful
way for all children to learn through independent interaction and exploration. After three years
in development, the first mass-produced computers are now being shipped – in December
Uruguay became the first-ever real, non-pilot deployment site of OLPC XO laptops, with
around 100,000 machines being distributed, and Peru has just signed up for 260,000 XOs.
Previously known as the ‘$100 laptop’ (although currently priced at $188), the laptop is now
called the XO, because if you turn the logo 90 degrees it looks like a child. The XO is quite a
feat of engineering – it runs on Linux, a free and open-source operating system – giving the
children, and their teachers, the freedom to reshape, reinvent, and reapply their software,
hardware, and content. The wireless connection allows children to connect, chat, share
information on the Web, gather by videoconference, make music together, edit texts, read ebooks,
and enjoy the use of collaborative games online. The laptop is extremely durable,
brilliantly functional, energy-efficient, responsive, and fun – and well worth supporting.
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