After the post I wrote yesterday about the evolution of paper and the $400 laptops, this from the New York Times, “Former OLPC CTO aims to create $75 laptop.”
There have been several responses in the blogosphere.
Stephen Downes quotes Seb Schmoller‘s write up. (Seb is a new one to me.) Stephen says:
“This item captures what will be theme in the year to come, the Flash-memory based computer (and associated computing devices). I even say a card today on which you attach various components – video camera, touch screen, etc., and build our own Flash-based computer on the fly. As Seb Schmoller says, the OLPC was just the beginning.”
Yes, OLPC may never make a dime, but they have shown it can be done.
We must ask ourselves, when computing becomes ubiquitous, what will we do?
We must also understand that computing has become ubiquitous in the form of cell phones and we've done a pretty poor job of handling that.
I taught my students (who had unlimited texting) how to text Google for definitions and driving directions as well as translations. Why should they be using a dictionary or glossary when the answer is right there? Shouldn't we look at efficiency or must we forever tether them to the posts that we grew up with?
tag: OLPC, XO, Mary Lou Jepsen, Stephen Downes, Seb Schmoller, education, ubiquitous computing, cell phones, cellular telephones, news, $75 laptop
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6 comments
The difference between the XO and other computing devices was that it was meant to be educational (not necessarily ubiquitous or as generic as merely a flash card or cell phone) by its very design. This is key to understanding its concept. When distributed abroad, the whole community will be educated on how its potential can be used. The pedagogy is built in to the whole package. This is unlike the typical situation where teachers in a 1:1 environment are not always given the right professional development. This article states it better than me – http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/01/interview-negroponte.html?partner=rss-alert
where can I learn about texting google for definitions or directions?
It’s that educational model that I’m looking forward to experimenting with when I get my OLPC through the “Give one, get one” (still waiting, though for it to be sent to my friend in Canada).
The problem will arise in that no-one else that I know has one (yet!).
However, as speters has pointed out, it’s not just the hardware in the OLPC that’s novel; it’s the approach to Computer use & community that is of real interest (to me, at any rate).
Well!, good news for me, thanks!
When I try to start my laptop, the blue screen comes up and CTRL ALT DEL option does not come for me to enter?
It has to as well accept that accretion has become all-over in the anatomy of corpuscle phones and we’ve done a appealing poor job of administration that.
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