Re: [OS:N:] Re: OLPC

["M. Fioretti" <mfioretti nexaima net>]

On Sat, Jan 12, 2008 21:04:08 PM -0500, Charles MacDonald
(cmacd zeusprune ca) wrote:

> MY impression is that the MIT folks would like to see a generation
> of Kids in the third world have a jump to colaborative learning.
> The big technology in the OLPC unit is the mesh networking which
> allows an entire cloassroom to work on something together.

I may be cynic, but if OLPC is just or mainly an experiment, they
could have done it on a much smaller scale, maybe in the school behind
the corner. And if mesh networking's unique use is within the
classroom, maybe getting to each classroom a switch and a few meters
of Ethernet cable would have done the job anyway, with much less fuss.

> Yes, techning basic literacy, math and such can be done quite nicely
> with quill and ink, but the effort been to be to put the classroom into
> the 2020 era, and then the kids will be ready to compete when the get
> out of school.

assuming that collaborative learning is mandatory to be ready to
compete, yes. I just have difficulty to get interested into it when I
regularly read of high-school kids, and adults too, who still have
problems with the three R's, in spite of having access to much more
technology and resources than most OLPC recipients.

> As far as the e-waste issue, it is probaly less of a concern with
> the OLPC than with the more typical solution of providing "retired"
> business hardware.

I didn't think or mean that the OLPC pollutes more than standard
refurbished hardware. I meant that using the OLPC pollutes more than
not using any computer at all, so unless it's proven that its
advantages are really significant, it may not be a good idea.

	   Marco
-- 
Your own civil rights and the quality of your life heavily depend on how
software is used *around* you:            http://digifreedom.net/node/84