DigitalKids.info

Nicholas Negroponte - Update on the One Laptop per Child Project

2008-07-27T21:13:48-08:00

I’ve recently become a fan of TED Talks which is a repository of “inspired talks by the world’s greatest thinkers and doers.” Today, I found a 16.5 minute talk by Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the MIT Media Lab, in which he discussed the progress of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. The talk took place in December of 2007 (but was just posted in June of this year), two years into the life of the project.

Here is the video of his talk:

A few points of his talk which especially interested me:

One of his hopes is that the One Laptop Per Child project will become an avenue through which kids can stop just using software but begin to program their own applications. I remember distinctly visiting the Livermore Hall of Science when I was young and taking a class in BASIC programming. I never became a programmer but I think I remember that class so vividly because, even though I am not a full-blown programmer, I still enjoy “programming tasks” (html, css, writing Excel macros, etc.) so much.
He is very happy that he chose the nonprofit route for One Laptop Per Child (against the advice of just about everyone) because:
- OLPC has access to powerful influencers (since he is not selling anything)
- OLPC can recruit partners effectively (appealing to people’s desire to do something bigger than themselves)
- OLPC has the opportunity to team up with large organizations such as the United Nations
- OLPC sees children as a mission rather than as a market
The laptops have a “built-in” network — the computers talk to each other (up to 2 kilometers apart in the desert, and up to 500 meters apart in the jungle). From the 2+ years I lived in a third-world country (Côte d’Ivoire), I find this very intriguing because community and collaboration is very important in the cultures of West Africa.
OLPC changed their strategy from wanting to launch the program initially in six larger, wealthier third-world countries (Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Thailand) which expressed initial interest but did not follow through to launching in seven smaller, poorer third-world countries (Uruguay, Peru, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and Cambodia) which stepped up to the plate and enthusiastically worked with OLPC to implement the program. This interests me because I have a friend who runs an elementary school in Timbuktu, Mali. My friend would very much like to provide computers for his students, and I have wanted to help him obtain those computers. I have made some effort in the past to accomplish this, but without success. I think OLPC (and perhaps their Give A Laptop program) may turn out to be a good avenue.
Sometime in 2008, Negroponte hopes to reach a ship rate of 1 million laptops per month (which would represent five percent of worldwide laptop production).

August 14 Link Roundup

2007-08-14T19:36:00-08:00

Here are a few links I’ve found today which might be of interest to the readers of this blog:

Children’s Reviews of OLPC XO Technology
What selected children are saying about the One Laptop Per Child project.
Source: One Laptop Per Child News blog.

Best Back-to-School Gadgets
A wrap-up of the perfect tech package for the classroom from Yahoo! Shopping.
Source: Yahoo! Shopping

Taking Gadgets To School Could Increase Bullying Risk
Internet safety co-ordinator and usage policies needed to improve ‘e-safety’.
Source: Silicon.com

SIM-Sponsored Summer Camp Teaches Kids about Technology
Teen Tech Camp is one of a number of programs sponsored by professional technology organizations whose goal is to teach K-12 students about technology and careers in IT.
Source: CIO.com

Happy Surfing!

IMSafer

2007-01-28T18:16:16-08:00

I was reading the BetaChurch blog a couple of days ago and came across this article about IMSafer, a new service which helps keep our children safe when they are using instant messaging applications in their computer.

The service will notify parents of IM conversations which our children are having with potentially dangerous people. Here is part of what IMSafer says about their solution:

IMSafer monitors the instant messenger conversations of your children to help you balance protecting your children and respecting their privacy. The IMSafer service will only notify you when your child is engaged in a potentially dangerous conversation on IM.

At IMSafer, we have worked with law enforcement officials to learn how potential predators initiate, develop and maintain inappropriate online relationships with children. We are always working to fine tune and update our analysis engine.

My 11-year-old-daughter doesn’t yet use an instant messaging app (we’re a bit behind the times, I know), but I know that she will want to soon. So seeing this service was timely for our family. We’ve signed up and I’ll be talking to our daughter about it and how it can help keep her safe in the online world.

Disney Mix Sticks

2007-01-15T03:21:55-08:00

A few weeks ago, my daughter came home with a Disney Mix Stick, a small MP3 player for tweens.

At first, I wanted to tell her that she should have asked me before she spent her Christmas money on an MP3 player (thinking she would have done better if she had saved enough money for an iPod shuffle or an iPod nano). But the more I’ve thought about it, I’m not quite as disdainful of the product as I was originally.

She paid about $50 for the Disney Mix Stick and another $18 dollars for a mix clip (a sort of music cartridge that fits in the Mix Stick). It plays either from a mix clip or you can download music in either WMA or MP3 format. Beyond the mix clip, it will hold up to 60 songs in WMA format or up to 30 songs in MP3 format in its 128MB onboard memory (expandable up to 1GB). The Mix Stick comes in a variety of models (although the specifications are the same for each - the different models simply represent different “skins” for the unit): Little Mermaid, Tink, High School Musical, Mickey, Princess, Cars, Jack Skellington, and Pirates. Each model comes with stereo earbuds, a lanyard, and a Windows Media software CD. One of the cooler features is that the bottom of the unit slips off to reveal a USB connector that can be plugged directly into the USB port of a computer (either for recharging the unit or to download music files to the unit).

While it’s not the most sophisticated MP3 player on the market, it serves as a nice introduction to digital music for my daughter and since it carries the Disney brand, it has some amount of familiarity for her.

Creating Rooms Of Magic

2007-01-14T04:25:57-08:00

My family gets our hair cut together by the same stylist. Today, after my hair had been cut, I was waiting for the stylist to finish with my wife’s hair, and while I was waiting, I picked up the latest issue of Sound & Vision Magazine. As I was flipping through the pages, I came across an advertisement for the Elf Foundation, a unique and intriguing non-profit organization which marries technology with the needs of some special kids.

From the Elf Foundation’s website:

The Elf Foundation is a 501 C3 non-profit charity that brings the enchantment of uplifting music and film to sick children around the country. We create Rooms of Magic — private entertainment theaters — for children’s hospitals so that countless special kids can look forward to a delightful evening of laughter and intrigue.

From the Elf Foundation’s founder:

To see a child’s face light up and a parent lay down their burden for a few hours — to witness a kid in a wheelchair kick back and enjoy an exciting cinematic experience — it really is magic!

I can think of no better subject for the first post of this blog. Take a look at the wonder on the faces below, then visit the Elf Foundation’s website, and I’m sure your heart will be touched.

Once you’ve reviewed their website, check out the myriad of ways you can be involved.