One laptop per child

I have heard of the OLPC program. But I was not aware that Parikrma is part of the pilot program in India. So today, I sat in the Venus class (7 yr olds) where these laptops were being used.

When I walked in the XO machines had just been distributed to them and they were being asked not to start on their exercises yet. But they were so excited about it, that not even a single child looked up to notice a stranger in their class. The teachers had typed out a few math problems for them on a word-like application. The children were required to work out the solutions and type them in.

At first glance, the children seemed to love it and the teachers seem eager to use it as a teaching aid. On further observation and conversation with volunteers and teachers involved in this program, here are the insights I gathered:

• These laptops cannot replace a lab. The lab is being used to teach the children use of what the teachers consider "real world" applications - i.e. MS Office Applications. These laptops cannot run on Windows.


• The laptops cannot be sent home. These laptops do not retain power for more than an hour and if not closed properly, they run out of power sooner. The children do not have power at home to charge the laptops.


• The teachers are not informed enough to use these machines to full potential. There is not enough support from the linux developer community to build applications on these laptops. More importantly there is not enough training for teachers and there is not enough knowledge sharing among participants in this program.


• Affordability is an issue. These laptops are still too expensive, at close to $200 a piece. The Indian government is exploring other cheaper options.


• The laptop is very useful in the youngest of classes. It exposes children to some basic concepts like resizing, opening and closing a window, scrolling, typing etc.


• It also generates a lot of enthusiasm in class. According to the teachers, the students are a log more eager to learn

When was the last you heard a child look forward to a math class? Sometimes, perhaps, the end goal is just making learning fun. To get the children to enjoy the process of learning and thus make them good students for life. I am no educator, so I don't know technicality. But I look at how engrossed the children were in their math class and how eager they were to help each other, I do wish my school was as much fun.