OLPC research

This page provides links to research reports related to the OLPC project. See also Experience, Constructionism and Class Acts (a FLOSS Manuals community publication) for articles and other anecdotal evidence.

Literature Review

Evaluation of OLPC programs globally: a literature review, V2, by Dita Nugroho and Michele Lonsdale. Australian Council for Educational Research, March 2009. PDF Country program summaries, with XO deployment data, funding, and impacts.

Papers

First Experiences with OLPC in European Classrooms

First Experiences with OLPC in European Classrooms describes early programs in Graz, Austria. 10/30/2009

Ethiopia Implementation Report, September - December 2007

Ethiopia Implementation Report, September - December 2007 SOM from text

Ethiopia Implementation Report, September - December 2007,

Bjorn Everts, Matthew Herren, David Hollow, Eduvision, February 2008

See the Discussion about this document.

Nepal

Tackling the Problems of Quality and Disparity in Nepal's School - Education: The OLPC Model SOM from text

Tackling the Problems of Quality and Disparity in Nepal's School - Education: The OLPC Model. File:SDBhatta.pdf.

Dr. Saurav Dev Bhatta, OLE Nepal, June 2008

... The paper argues that utilizing the full potential of the OLPC concept requires simultaneous work in four areas: digital content development, teacher preparation, network and power infrastructure development, and government capacity development. And it also emphasizes the need for a systematic approach to implementation where the implementers start by learning to solve implementation challenges in a test phase...

Evaluation of the Teaching Matters One Laptop Per Child (XO) Pilot at Kappa I V

Evaluation of the Teaching Matters One Laptop Per Child SOM from text

Evaluation of the Teaching Matters One Laptop Per Child (XO) Pilot at Kappa I V. The link that previously led to this PDF has gone dead. Please fix the entry if you find the document.

Dr. Susan Lowes, Director, Research and Evaluation; and Cyrus Luhr, Research Assistant. Institute for Learning Technologies, Teachers College/Columbia University, June 2008.

"Although the students saw the advantages of the XO in terms of its various specific functions or pieces of software, one theme that ties all these reported activities together is the several ways that the XOs allowed students to share: whether they were using the XOs for writing, taking photos, making videos, chatting, or whether they were rotating their screens or using the software to share them virtually, they were in every case sharing their thoughts or sharing their work.

"When asked if there were existing functions that they would like to use more frequently, [the students] listed the creative software (Etoys, TurtleArt, and TamTamEdit) that could have educational uses but are not currently integrated into the Teaching Matters curriculum."

1:1 Technologies/Computing (Ethiopia)

Technologies/Computing in the Developing World: Challenging the Digital Divide SOM from text

1:1 Technologies/Computing in the Developing World: Challenging the Digital Divide (.doc file), by Mary Hooker Education Specialist, Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative. Requires ACM Membership to view.

Very conventional, and not at all helpful in coming to grips with OLPC innovation and its consequences.--Mokurai 19:06, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

The shape of disruption

A study of the influence that the XO Laptop (the One Laptop Per Child Laptop) has on a middle school learning environment http://web.me.com/geraldar/The_Shape_of_Disruption/Documents.html

Data to be collected:

1) Surveys that will examine the students’ ability to work effectively on projects; their comfort and proficiency with technology; and their autonomy as learners.

2) Interviews with teachers and students in small groups.

3) Samples of student work.

4) Information about what programs are being used on the laptops and for how long.

5) Observational recordings of classroom activities, in the form of notes as well as audio and video recordings.

6) Samples of lesson plans.

7) Assessments of student work.

Conference materials

Designing Appropriate Collaborative Learning Technologies for the Developing World

Designing Appropriate Collaborative Learning Technologies for the Developing World SOM from text

Designing Appropriate Collaborative Learning Technologies for the Developing World

Christopher Hoadley, Sameer Honwad, Kenneth Tamminga. 205 ECC. September 26, 2007 10:00

In this presentation we report on two attempts to intervene in rural Himalayan villages with educational technology, one involving desktop computer technology, and one involving participatory video. We describe the unique constraints of designing appropriate educational technology for the developing world, and we propose a fourfold framework for design.
A criticism of OLPC appears in the last section of this presentation.

Laptop Power

Laptop Power SOM from text

Laptop Power

Richard Smith, OLPC, Cambridge Country Workshop, May 20 2008

Scholarly articles

Reflections on a Pilot OLPC Experience in Uruguay

Reflections on a Pilot OLPC Experience in Uruguay,

Juan Pablo Hourcade, Daiana Beitler, Fernando Cormenzana, and Pablo Flores, 2007, Uruguay

...A two-page position paper presenting opinions regarding a pilot in Uruguay. From empirical data and observations, a positive impact on the children and their school activities is claimed by this Uruguayan team...

one of the authors has indicated current challenges are different, see Pablo Flores' May 2009 comment here

Ongoing Research (not yet published)

Please add topics and links

• Pre and post test survey results from the Birmingham, Alabama USA XO laptop dissemination (Shelia Cotten, University of Alabama-Birmingham, PI of the project)

• Evaluation of the OLPC with Usability Engineering

• Results of portfolio methods for children with disabilities and for ESL learners

• Bryan Berry on a counting program that brought Nepalese children up several grade levels in arithmetic

• Increases in attendance

• Laptop hospital created by six-year-olds

• Programming for children

Other Resources

Education Bibliographies

Moved to Sugar Labs wiki page

The following selected bibliographical links have some connection with the Sugar enterprise and Constructionist education, including information on uses of a variety of technologies in education, research on child development (especially Constructivism), and evaluations of programs in use. Resources are also included bearing on other approaches to education, and resistance to Constructionism or to any other education reforms.