Follow the leader.....

dieselguy · #1 10-16-2009, 05:19 PM

Uruguay has handed out laptops to children!! Part of their One laptop per child program. Free internet access, they want to bridge the gap in the tech. field. We all know the L.Fernandez is interested in this, as call centers open up.
I'm sure that the current powers are not going to let T. Vazquez(pres) of Uruguay have all the cheers.
I applaud. The $100 us laptop ended up costing less than 275us.
Could you imagine going to a barrio and all the kids are in the house using laptops...
Ten year old's helping adults w/youtube, skype etc...

BBC

DR_DEFENDER · #2 10-28-2009, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselguy

Uruguay has handed out laptops to children!! Part of their One laptop per child program. Free internet access, they want to bridge the gap in the tech. field. We all know the L.Fernandez is interested in this, as call centers open up.
I'm sure that the current powers are not going to let T. Vazquez(pres) of Uruguay have all the cheers.
I applaud. The $100 us laptop ended up costing less than 275us.
Could you imagine going to a barrio and all the kids are in the house using laptops...
Ten year old's helping adults w/youtube, skype etc...

BBC

Well, I see a few reasons why this wouldn't work. First, I definitely see some parents or relatives taking these laptops and selling them for a few thousand pesos. There is a lot that goes with having anything that's electronic and they will need tech support. They would need to set-up centers where people can help them when the laptops stop working or a virus shuts them down. I see all kinds of nightmares but then again that's how they do things in dr...first they build the car and then and only then they realize that they also need roads....but by then the car is already in ruins so they figure it's not worth building the roads anymore and on an on it goes.

suarezn · #3 10-28-2009, 11:12 AM

Well it could work. There's a part of me that would love to see that happen, because of the technological know how that would be acquired over time, but there's another part that wishes it didn't as what I can see is a lot of kids just sitting around on their fat behinds playing video games, chatting, etc...(like their American counterparts) instead of being outside playing and socializing with others.

mountainannie · #4 10-28-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DR_DEFENDER

Well, I see a few reasons why this wouldn't work. First, I definitely see some parents or relatives taking these laptops and selling them for a few thousand pesos. There is a lot that goes with having anything that's electronic and they will need tech support. They would need to set-up centers where people can help them when the laptops stop working or a virus shuts them down. I see all kinds of nightmares but then again that's how they do things in dr...first they build the car and then and only then they realize that they also need roads....but by then the car is already in ruins so they figure it's not worth building the roads anymore and on an on it goes.

these are not ordinary laptops... they are actually a product that is designed for working in very remote areas. They have been field tested in Africa for years. They are very low tech, use open source soft wear, are coded to the owner who is the only one who can operate them, and they are not, really, the sort of product that is going to tempt a population which has already seen the iphone... BUT they would, indeed make a GREAT learning tool for the barrios... One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education

frank recktenwald · #5 10-28-2009, 11:25 AM

Without education there's no progress however and I hate to say it that I do agree with DR defender. I've lived in one of the worst barrios in this country and I've seen the way they live there up from up close. How can a parent look at his children being hungry while they're playing with their laptop? I can assure you that it will be sold very quick. Furthermore having laptops will increase the consumption of electricity therefore causing more problems for the energy supply to the whole country.
In addition the tigrues will love it, something more to steal.
For now it's still Utopia

Quote:

Originally Posted by DR_DEFENDER

Well, I see a few reasons why this wouldn't work. First, I definitely see some parents or relatives taking these laptops and selling them for a few thousand pesos. There is a lot that goes with having anything that's electronic and they will need tech support. They would need to set-up centers where people can help them when the laptops stop working or a virus shuts them down. I see all kinds of nightmares but then again that's how they do things in dr...first they build the car and then and only then they realize that they also need roads....but by then the car is already in ruins so they figure it's not worth building the roads anymore and on an on it goes.

suarezn · #6 10-28-2009, 12:42 PM

The laptops can be charged via hand cranking so they would work when there's no power. Anyhow I don't really have a huge issue with this raising power consumption as it would be minimal and that is definitely not an excuse we should use to not allow a potential useful tool. I even wouldn't have an issue with people selling these laptops, as another child would still get the benefit of using it.

ctrob · #7 10-29-2009, 01:25 PM

I think it would be a waste of money. Computers should be introduced thru the schools.

But first address the bigger problem of kids dropping out of school.

No incentive to stay in school because their is no job to go to once they graduate.

No corporations moving to the DR cause there is no large HS educated middle class to work the factories, phones, PC's, etc.

This is the kind of problem that a gov't can address, but I don't see it happening. Meanwhile, what's a computer going to do for them?

suarezn · #8 10-29-2009, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctrob

I think it would be a waste of money. Computers should be introduced thru the schools.

But first address the bigger problem of kids dropping out of school.

No incentive to stay in school because their is no job to go to once they graduate.

No corporations moving to the DR cause there is no large HS educated middle class to work the factories, phones, PC's, etc.

This is the kind of problem that a gov't can address, but I don't see it happening. Meanwhile, what's a computer going to do for them?

I disagree with some of your points. Agree the government can and should fix some of the basic issues, but in addition to this If every child or at least most kids had a laptop and access to the internet you'd see the level of literacy increase tremendously. Remember the Internet is the great equalizer. The first thing is that students could "attend" classes anywhere they wanted to, research about any subject they were interested in, etc...imagine that. I know it is just utopia at this point...but you can always dream.

las2137 · #9 10-29-2009, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suarezn

I disagree with some of your points. Agree the government can and should fix some of the basic issues, but in addition to this If every child or at least most kids had a laptop and access to the internet you'd see the level of literacy increase tremendously. Remember the Internet is the great equalizer. The first thing is that students could "attend" classes anywhere they wanted to, research about any subject they were interested in, etc...imagine that. I know it is just utopia at this point...but you can always dream.

I agree that the internet is the great equalizer, but only if one is equipped with the tools to use it. This is why I am wary of these types of projects, although I embrace the overall concept.

I managed a project that gave inner-city youth in a developing country (not the DR) access to a computer-based literacy and basic math program. The youth who had been in school continually for 8 years were functionally illiterate. They loved the computer program and did well on it, improving an average of 2 grade levels per student.

However, the teachers felt "insulted" by the introduction of the program because they saw it was a sign of their ineffectiveness, so they did not give the classroom portion the attention it needed. As a result the children did not get the classroom reinforcement they needed. At the beginning of the next school year, we found that the children had regressed because they had no practice over the summer.

Perhaps giving the youth a laptop to take home would have helped sustain the modest results.

So yes, giving a child a laptop is an effective ancillary tool to every-day learning. But if the school system is broken- as it is in the DR- the laptops will do little to achieve lasting results. The project would need to be larger than just giving the laptop, but getting the entire school system in order, getting the teachers/principals in agreement and parents as well. A large task!

London_Calling · #10 11-03-2009, 11:59 AM

"I agree that the internet is the great equalizer, but only if one is equipped with the tools to use it. This is why I am wary of these types of projects, although I embrace the overall concept. "

Agree - without the support and integration into a proper education system this is money down the drain. They still need to be taught how to interpret and analyse the info they find on the web or to differentiate between say a Cambridge University site and a conspiracy web site. Just giving some somwone a lap top could just result in them improving their typing skills for those Call Centres.