Nicholas Negroponte is reporting that the XO computer from the One Laptop Per Child project is now being used by 600,000 children. "That's not promised machines, or machines that might be on their way, that is actual laptops in use by children in their schools and homes today," he is quoted as saying.
Users so far are spread across 31 countries, including Peru, Rwanda, and Cambodia. Palestine will be the next nation to receive a shipment.
"We have most traction in South America. The 'poster children' for the OLPC project are Uruguay and Peru - every single child in Uruguay will have a laptop by mid 2009," Negroponte says.
Those countries have taken strongly to the laptops, he said, with parents telling him they can't wait to get their hands on an XO once their children have gone to sleep.
Negroponte tells how one computer-illiterate Uruguayan teacher, worried about the prospect of laptops arriving, asked for early retirement. Once the laptops arrived, she changed her mind and asked for late retirement, instead.
"She had never had so much fun teaching. The newfound energy in the classroom, the sharp decline in discipline problems, and the engagement of the parents made her work so much more fulfilling," Negroponte says.
I've been following this story since it was in the dream stages, it's really great to see that it's actually taking off and that children are seeing a huge change in their lives thanks to this program.
No comments:
Post a Comment