juliannrosizky

Current Mood: calm

What first attracted me to this article was simply the name “Can the "$100 Laptop" Change the World?  For someone who is not familiar with what One Laptop per Child is, may very well be intrigued to read more about this $100 Laptop.  Don’t you think?  For myself, I was personally more interested to see how they could see this Laptop and see their reasoning for changing the world with it.

        This article first talks about how these computers are going to be launched in schools world wide (starting somewhere in the very near future).  I believe it is very beneficial for parents and teachers to be very well educated on OLPC, as it “is not just any laptop, but one designed to challenge our pre-conceptions of what a personal computer can be, and of how it might be used to teach our children how to learn”. 

            I find it amazing to read the special features and what OLPC consists of.  It is very child friendly, especially with the bright colours, and the rounded edges.  Being able to see one in person, really made me interested to research articles on this topic.  Before this class, I was not aware of this computer, and probably would not have been aware of this if it hadn’t been for this course.

            Throughout the article, it amazes me more and more.  The thoughts and ideas that went into making One Laptop per Child astound me.  This is completely child friendly, and I do believe and agree with the article in the way that children will be able to experiment with this laptop, be creative, and complete creative projects on it.

            This article also talks and mentions faults in which this laptop may have.  In order to sell this laptop and not have any complaints in the long run, I do believe that it is very smart of them to list some of the difficulties or errors they have run into when producing this item.   

            Growing up, I believe that such Laptops would have been very beneficial in our classrooms.  Becoming an educator, I am very happy to have learned about this now, so that I can familiarize myself with it before it reaches the schools.  However some schools already have some problems with it.  The article states that "Educational systems that teach to standardized national tests mean that the emphasis is on making sure a percentage of students learn enough information to pass the national exams, and less on learning through self-guided exploration, which is what the OLPC project is designed to enable."  Such schools that follow the educational system should be more open minded, in my own opinion.  I believe that introducing this program will not harm the children, but will only open a new window of learning for them.

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