An overview of the project
One Laptop Per Child is the international organization that has developed cheap laptops for children in developing countries (for example, the laptops are difficult to break, and the screens can be seen in sunlight if class is outdoors). The goal is to “provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration” to students whose schools are often lacking. In the long term, the idea is to provide developing countries with a population better able to innovate and compete in a global market. (As you might imagine, this can get controversial–the critics say it’s more about creating “One Consumer Per Child,” and that a laptop doesn’t necessarily help a six-year-old learn.) Uruguay has made a larger commitment to OLPC than any other country. Plan Ceibal, a government program, began buying OLPC laptops in 2007. By December 2009, almost 400,000 laptops had been distributed to every public primary school student and teacher in the country. Uruguay has only about 3.3 million people, so the density of distribution is pretty high. Projects for secondary and private schools are underway. The plan is farther-reaching than just free laptops, though. It also involves an educational TV channel and installing wifi in community centers, and to many people, it’s more about societal transformation than just education. The tasks of teaching students and teachers how to use the laptops, developing ways to integrate them into the classrooms, and troubleshooting largely fall to volunteers.
The main volunteer group is called Red de Apoyo de Plan Ceibal (Network of Support for Plan Ceibal). I’m going to be working with two offshoots of this organization. The first is Blogging Desde Infancia (Blogging Since Infancy), which runs blogging workshops across the country where volunteers show kids how to use blogs and other social media tools. The second group, Flor de Ceibo, is based at the Universidad de la República, Uruguay’s largest university. They provide more general support by helping out in classrooms, organizing events for parents, and providing tech support. The specific details of what I’ll be doing are a little unclear at this point, despite the fact that I’ve been planning for months, but I guess I’ll find out!
