Ask OLPC a Question/1

OLPC & UNPO Members

N.B. UNPO => Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

Many regions are not represented by an official government. Kosovo, Somaliland, Iraqi Kurdistan and many refugee camp as Dafur/Mali, Myanmar/Thailand border,... have no chance to get support from any government. (see UNPO) Normally the United Nations gives some support, but the people have no work and the people are bored.

Especially for these people, education is very important. It is also important to give them a voice with which to tell about their lives. The 100$ laptop and a internet link could improve the situation of this people very much.

These regions are too small to order one million laptops but all this regions together have more then 1 million children. Is there a special program for these children? There is no government to talk with, but the UN together with NGOs could do a lot.

Many people ask if it's possible to give some money for the OLPC project. If there is some money, this regions should be the first that receive sponsored laptops. One million children with the ability to send text and videos from daily life as a refugee could change the world. --Bz 09:28, 27 January 2007 (EST)

There are plans to extend invitations to NGOs after the first phase—OLPC currently targets only national governments.

Community sponsoring (ie: Buy 2 Get 1) is not being contemplated as an option in the near future—maybe later.--Xavi 10:21, 27 January 2007 (EST)

OLPC & United Nations

Will the new leadership at the United Nations affect the laptop.org program in general? --216.194.7.160 18:08, 26 December 2006 (EST)

Probably not, given that neither dependends on the other. AFAIK, agreements have been signed with the U.N.'s Development Program.--Xavi 11:44, 27 December 2006 (EST)

What are the Pros and Cons of OLPC?

One could be that many children want to have a computer, now that many places are going solar for energy so many more will want a lap top like the OLPC laptop! --Hunter 08:50, 8 January 2007 (EST)

This is also discussed on various question pages, including OLPC FAQ and Ask OLPC a Question. --Mokurai 17:45, 9 November 2006 (EST)

There are a number of naysayers claiming that the OLPC project will never work for various alleged reasons. Most prominent among them are Bill Gates and John C. Dvorak. Dvorak's recent attack, posted on MSN Marketwatch is a misch-masch of straw men, ad hominem attacks, and ignorance, in my opinion. More than 400 comments have appeared on Slashdot. The Linux community is of the opinion that Gates is opposed to the laptop purely because it runs Linux and other Free Software, and that Dvorak, once a respected voice in the industry, is shilling for Gates. --Mokurai 06:59, 21 November 2006 (EST)

Public traded company?

I am wondering if olpc is a public traded company and if not are there any plans of this happining in the near future?

US non-profit corporation, so no. You could start your own company to buy from or sell to the families of the children. (But not to sell the laptop.)--Mokurai 02:23, 13 October 2006 (EDT)

Background in pedagogy?

Do any of the OLPC designers have experience with teaching young children, especially ones in the third world?

It is best to read through some of the site or use the Search button at the left before asking questions. Or are you questioning the management's competence in making the decision to assign technical design experts to do the design instead of pedagogues? Read the constructivist page to begin with and then check the backgrounds of the people who are running the OLPC project. You couldn't ask for more solid educational credentials.

Also those that may not know what pedagogy is it is:the activities of educating or instructing or teaching; activities that impart knowledge or skill; "he received no formal education"; "our instruction was carefully programmed"; "good teaching is seldom rewarded"Not every one is that smart a first glance that asks questions. --Hunter 09:48, 8 January 2007 (EST)

The question was to try to find out to what extent unusual aspects of the system (sugar, social chat-oriented software) were validated by experience teaching young children. From what I have seen of the OLPC staff backgrounds, they're generally university people, surely a very different demographic.

Seymour Papert has been involved in elementary school classroom software for decades. See his book Mindstorms. Alan Kay managed the design of computers suitable for children at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. His Alto computer and Smalltalk software were the original GUI system that became the model for the Apple Macintosh, the X windowing system for UNIX, and Microsoft Windows. There are other educational software developers and classroom teachers in OLPC.

In addition, the concept of One Laptop Per Child has reportedly been validated in classrooms in Maine and Cambodia, using conventional commercial laptops. Some of us are eagerly awaiting the research reports on these deployments. --Mokurai 05:55, 7 November 2006 (EST)

That reported validation indeed sounds exciting, but where are the reports?

Statistics

I would like more information about the Nations that are involved with the OLPC program as far as statistics and population information!

You can find out information about statistics here. Also, some countries have an infobox with an abstract.

About the Colors

What is the difference (apart from the color) between the Orange and Green machines? .--Ahmad 11:36, 27 October 2006 (GMT+1)

There are no Orange or Green machines. There are only prototype boards and components in various stages. Pictures with Orange and Green machines used plastic models or case prototypes. They are just there as pretty pictures to give a rough idea of what a finished unit MIGHT be.

Green ones now exist: B1 Pictures. --66.30.117.127 16:53, 9 January 2007 (EST)

What does XO stand for ?

Nothing really. It is simply a shorthand reference to the shape of the icon which is used to represent a user of the mesh network. The icon represents a person with arms outstretched, jumping for joy. It looks like an O stacked above an X. Some people don't like it.

History

I am curious about the history of this project: when was it started, by whom, how it has evolved, etc.

Some of this information is being collected on the History of OLPC page. You may also find some information on Wikipedia however the best way is to Google for information on Nicholas Negroponte and Seymour Papert.

Rwanda

I would like more infromation about Rwanda.

Rwanda has recently joined the OLPC program. You can find out more infromation about them at this link [1]