Posted 11/14/08

Most Americans have amazing access to information via computers. What would happen if Minnesota schools and families decided to help foreign students and schools have something similar? A new, remarkable called “One Laptop per Child” offers this opportunity.

Starting November 17, individuals and organizations (such as a school’s student council or Honor Society) can donate a few hundred dollars to give a school in Africa or Asia a computer. Here’s a fascinating feature – when you give the money for a computer, you get one yourself! (See www.laptop.org)

The idea comes from Nicholas Negroponte, who founded MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab. Negroponte’s vision for the last several years has been to help create a laptop costing about $100 that could provide a huge leap for information and education in many parts of the world.
You can hear a brief talk by Negroponte about this idea at:
www.ted.com/index.php/talks/nicholas_negroponte_on_one_laptop_per_child.html

So far, Negroponte has been able to arrange for a simple laptop that costs about $400 (certainly more than the $100 goal, but well less than the cost of most other laptops now available). It’s a simple but functional computer that works via rechargeable batteries. He’s also been able to arrange for software developers to create free software that can be used on the laptops.

It’s non-commercial, free software something like “Foxfire” which many people use. According to Negroponte’s website, the software is being translated into more than thirty languages including: Arabic, Bengali, Catalan, Danish, German, Greek, English (US), Farsi (Persian), Finnish, French, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Igbo, Italian, Japanese, Lao, Nepali, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Telugu, Turkish, Thai, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Yoruba, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

Let’s be clear – any family or school should carefully review this option, as you would with any donation. Negroponte’s website says that “he's funded more than 40 startups, and served on the boards of companies such as Motorola and Ambient Devices.” You also can read more about efforts to raise money for this effort throughout the world. See wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC:News#OLPC_News

Last week I talked with Uttam Sharma, a University of Minnesota graduate student who is from Nepal. He was asked to examine a pilot project in Nepal that tried out these computers. You can read his report at
http://blog.olenepal.org/index.php/archives/321

Frankly, I am intrigued. Yes, many of us are facing severe financial challenges. That’s real, and needs to be acknowledged. The approximately $400 price tag for each computer is more than many families, by themselves can afford. But it might be possible for a few families to go together. And this might be a perfect project for a school.

As we move toward Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanza, despite our problems, there is so much to be grateful for. The One Laptop per Child may be a good way to share a bit of our good fortune with others.