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OLPC’s $100 laptop was going to change the world

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235 points ChrisArchitect | 2 comments | 16 Apr 18 14:55 UTC | HN request time: 1.344s | source
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dingo_bat ◴[16 Apr 18 16:05 UTC] No.16849980[source]▶
The real reason why OLPC failed is that children in downtrodden countries don't need a laptop. They need food, a healthy environment, good old fashioned classroom education and plenty of pens and notebooks. A laptop is the worst tool you can use for studying.

I went through my entire school and undergraduate college without once bringing my laptop into the classroom. My mother and father learned to program in FORTRAN using nothing but pen, paper and the occasional slide rule.

Paper books, decent sized notebooks and ballpoint pens. Spend $100 on that. That will actually help. This whole project was solving a first world problem in the third world.

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jlebrech ◴[17 Apr 18 14:23 UTC] No.16858550[source]▶
If they need food, clothing or furniture. why not give them practical courses such as gardening/farming, sewing, woodwork.

Sure it sounds like labor, but does a child in a deprived country need to learn how to make text bold, write a formula or even code.

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1. bluGill ◴[17 Apr 18 19:43 UTC] No.16861640[source]▶
They already are learning that from the adults in their life. If they want to get beyond they need to do something different. There are two choices: experiment and see what works, or learn from others. The latter is much easier - IF you can find out what others have done. There are many modern farming methods that could apply well to the village garden, but there are subtle things that have to be got just right or it will be a failure just like the adults in the village warn you. The kids who can read have a much better chance trying the right experiment in the village garden and getting a good harvest, while those who seem to try the same thing without reading first are likely to make one of those small mistakes that ruin the harvest and fail the experiment.
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2. jlebrech ◴[18 Apr 18 10:45 UTC] No.16866205[source]▶
you're right, learning an basic arithmetic would obviously be something to teach then but also with some practical skills (how school used to be for the west)