One Laptop Per Child in Brazil

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is something I've heard a lot about, both positive and negative, but hadn't really look into very carefully. Now that I have, it's pretty interesting.

The video above was filmed in Porto Alegre, Brazil and talks a little about the reason for implementing this project in Brazil.

For quite a long time I argued against the "necessity" many seemed to see in having computers in schools, whether in the United States or elsewhere. It seemed to me that in schools the focus needed to be placed more heavily on the fundamentals, rather than on how to operate a computer. Though I still think more or less along these lines, I've come to moderate my position a little.

I see a definite risk that there is a move away from understanding how things work and towards keeping them working superficially. In other words, I suspect that there are a lot of "technicians" out there who are really no different from me: they can operate software and troubleshoot by the book, perhaps even doing some simple work with programming (still beyond me at this point, but I'll get there) but couldn't work a math problem following the order of operation if given a pop quiz. The danger is that fewer and fewer people will be able to do the nuts and bolts work beneath the hood, so to speak.

Okay, that's all a bit speculative.

Here's my real point: Both "the fundamentals" and computers are needed. We live in a technological age, and those without exposure will be left out. Right now there might be a kid playing soccer barefoot in the streets of Fortaleza or São Paulo, Brazil who would be a top-notch programmer in 10 years if he had an open-source laptop (these seem to use something Linux-based) to play around with. That could mean the difference between a well-paid tech job or a future of going from one factory job to the next.

The situation in many parts of Brazil isn't as desperate as you might imagine. When I first moved to Brazil in 2001 there was only one Internet cafe I knew of in the city of over 500,000 where I lived. By the time I left in 2003 there were more than I could count. Most people seem to have cell phones (prepaid in many cases, but the plans are arguably somewhat more advantageous there than here in the U.S.) and more and more households are acquiring desktop computers. The trouble isn't a lack of technology in Brazil, but rather the severe inequality in its distribution.

As I've mentioned, I think a simple laptop could change a kid's life for the better. One has to pay for time at an Internet cafe, and a lot of families in Brazil struggle hard just to keep food on the table. For poorer folks, computers are a luxury they can't consider.

Brazilian schools, in general, do fairly well with fundamental skills like math, science and literacy. They just need a means to round out their educational program with a strong technology component, and I think OLPC answers this need very well.

See Also:
Windows vs. Linux in Emerging Markets (this blog)
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) homepage