Constructionism

This is a philosophy of education in which children learn by doing and experiencing. They explore and discover instead of being force fed information.

Much more on this topic can be found by exploring Google using keywords such as "constructionism", "education", "philosophy". One small start is here: http://mia.openworldlearning.org/constructivism.htm

More info can be found on Seymour Papert's website: http://www.papert.org

Also this wikipedia article on constructionist learning

Education should start with End Goals

OLPC is a means, but what is the goal? Educated and empowered citizens. What I learn as a child needs to make sense in my culture and for my future. A southern Nigerian Christian farm girl will not have the same language learning goals as a Muslim boy in an urban setting. One might choose to learn French, the other Arabic. The vision that they have for adult life will determine what learning steps they take. The girl could aspire to serving as a translator at the UN, but the boy might want to teach at a mosque.

A laptop computer is a tool, and a very powerful one. Constructionism is a methodology and a viewpoint. What OLPC is missing is a philosophy of development that incorporates education. Otherwise the power of the tool and the methodology will be wasted and the girl will work in the fields to feed her children and the boy will drive a taxi to feed his family.

Politics will determine the success of OLPC since government education ministries will implement the program.

Most of this criticsm is answered in the OLPC FAQ.