OLPC and India
gnuNify '07
Pune
January 28th, 2007
Robert Adkins
CTO, Technetra Corp.
Saratoga, California
radkins@technetra.com
Copyright 2007 Technetra
CC Some Rights Reserved

What is OLPC?
One Laptop per Child project
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Launched in January 2005 by MIT Media Labs
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Build educational program based on learning­to­learn
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theories of Seymour Papert & Alan Kay
Provide rich content and dynamic interaction on grand scale
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embodied in a cheap, personal computing platform
Objectives
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Use technology in novel ways
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Spread education by short circuiting traditional bottlenecks
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Exploit effects of scale at both ends of spectrum
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Intimate experience of the personal computer
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Societal pressures of millions of peers
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Treat children as agents rather than as objects of change
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Copyright 2007 Technetra
CC Some Rights Reserved

OLPC Status
Promises technology and price breakthrough for knowledge delivery
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But, limited acceptance so far
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Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil
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But not China, Egypt, India... also, no longer Thailand
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Criticism Includes
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Impractical
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Gadget/Toy
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Cost (450 Crore Rs extra expenditure per purchase agreement)
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India & Media Labs
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Controversial history
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Long shadow of past failure
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Copyright 2007 Technetra
CC Some Rights Reserved

India & Education Delivery
Fundamental problem: too few teachers at all levels
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Radical technology innovations like OLPC can help
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Facilitate curriculum delivery in local language
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Facilitate both distance learning & local learning
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Complement or replace older kiosk models
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Copyright 2007 Technetra
CC Some Rights Reserved

Recommendations
Lower initial cost of entry of OLPC for developing countries
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Ensure greater local control
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Indianize the project in order to broaden
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spectrum of local stakeholders
eg: Port software & content to Indian developed hardware
Explore alternative funding models
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For profit versions
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Customized versions
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Copyright 2007 Technetra
CC Some Rights Reserved

Summary
OLPC is a bold experiment with huge payoff potential
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Most approaches fail to make dent in the
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«poverty of education» ­­ can OLPC make a dent?
Copyright 2007 Technetra
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BIG PICTURE:
Lack of access to education is not just an Indian problem
Technology has to be enlisted to help solve one of the
most critical problems facing the world today.
Copyright 2007 Technetra
CC Some Rights Reserved