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One Laptop per ChildKatie S. WertWilkes UniversityOne Laptop per Child One Laptop per Child is a non-profit group who wishes to do just that, give a laptop to each child. They have a specific mission, are global, and use XO laptops. All of these categories make this non-profit group a life changer for many children and our world. Although their mission is almost self-explanatory due to its name, One Laptop per Child’s mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression (Education Letter, 2012). The special laptops children are given are pre-programmed with educational games. Through giving children laptops, their hope is that children will learn about digital citizenship. They will learn what it means to use technology appropriately and how to act when they’re online. Children will learn how to express themselves in an appropriate and safe manner. One Laptop per Child partnered up with Common Sense Media to create education games and media to produce good digital citizens. Collaboratively, they created Common Sense Media’s Digital PassportTM. It is a program on the One Laptop per Child’s computer that provides an interactive experience with learning how to appropriately share information and to teach children how to safely make their way through this technological world. It is a program that is student-centered and makes students feel confident when they use technology and the Internet. Even the CEO and president of one Laptop per Child, Rodrigo Arboleda, says that Common Sense Media’s Digital PassportTM is “the most comprehensive and well accepted curriculum on this subject (Education Letter, 2012).” This partnership has really helped One Laptop per Child reach their mission. One Laptop per Child has done a wonderful job at reaching its global mission. The non-profit has reached out to numerous countries to make sure that they close the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged children (Network Business Weekly editors, 2012). For example, in 2012, the Australian Prime Minister set aside 11.7 million dollars for One Laptop per Child in Australia. Through this funding they were able to develop software, train teachers, and deliver 50,000 laptops to the children of Australia. On top of giving children who are disadvantaged laptops to become more educated, they also became more engaged in education, therefore went to school more. Through this opportunity, One Laptop per Child not only provided children with laptops, but provided a social change for everyone its community (Network Business Weekly editors, 2012). The president of Peru has also brought the One Laptop per Child opportunity its people. Peru actually decided to manufacture the XO laptops that are used for the One Laptop per Child program. In 2011, Peru distributed at least 850,000 XO laptops. They covered 15 percent of children who are registered for schools and 100 percent of the public schools in its country. With that being said, not all the children have a laptop yet, however, all students in the public school system have laptops. Peru and Lego’s Education created WeDo toolkit software for the XO laptops where the Peruvian curriculum is embedded in each activity. In Peru, One Laptop Per Child has provided many jobs in manufacturing XO laptops but also has given a great deal of children laptops to learn their curriculum (Education Letter editors, 2011). The non-profit, One Laptop per Child has even made a difference in Afghanistan. As of 2010, they distributed more than 3,700 XO laptops in Afghanistan. Farooq Wardak, the Minister of Education of Afghanistan said, “The main goal of this project is to improve the teaching and learning environment in the school while giving students the opportunity to further their education experience at home using the XO laptops (Education Business Weekly, 2010).” This shows that the community is excited for the opportunity to use the laptops not only in school but at home. This experience is huge especially for girls. Now girls can learn while they are safe in their own homes. Children have the chance to use up to 150 educational games and self-studying exercises. Through One Laptop per Child, Afghanistan children have an opportunity to learn anywhere and everywhere (Education Business Weekly, 2010). It is truly amazing how One Laptop per Child has reached so many governments to be on their side. Uruguay distributed laptops to preschool and first grade children in their country. It is actually the first of this program to reach children that are six years old or younger. The Uruguayan government official said that these laptops “will enable us to connect students and broaden their cognitive opportunities at an even younger age (Journal of Engineering editor, 2013).” By giving younger children laptops that builds up their knowledge for the future and they can have these laptops for many years to come. These laptops will be pre-loaded with customized Uruguayan curriculum to teach children about their local culture and everything else in their curriculum (Journal of Engineering editor, 2013). There are so many countries around the world that have benefitted from One Laptop per Child. One Laptop per Child had all different types of cultures and lifestyles in mind when figuring out what specific laptop to use to distribute. They have used anywhere from XO 1.0 to XO 3.0. These laptops can run on both Linux and Windows operating systems (Health and Medicine Week editors, 2010). The XO laptops have an easy to follow troubleshooting program that is simple enough for children to follow the steps, if they have technical issues. These computers are not meant to be fancy, they are meant to be durable and have the standard needs to keep the price range from $299-$100. On top of having a great price, they also are very rugged to be able to handle whatever environment they are in. They have a great screen that allows children to be able to see when they are in the bright light. They also have a long battery life. The XOs use electricity but do have the capability to charge in different ways including a hand crank or solar and wind energy. This is perfect for countries that do not have electricity readily available. Another neat feature the XO laptop has is that they have a built-in Wi-Fi and automatically mesh network which decreases the need to external infrastructure. This feature is wonderful for children who do not have Wi-Fi or the Internet at home. It really broadens the children you can reach by using the XO laptops (Branzburg, 2008). On the XO laptop there are many different applications that children can use. They can use whatever is already downloaded onto the laptop. They also have the option of downloading other apps. However, they may take a long time to download. The XO laptop has almost everything a child could ever want on the laptop. They have an e-reader, calculator, electronic constructions program, and music just to name a few. They don’t have the same applications that we know of. For example, AbiWord is a word processor but does not edit or spell check. Although they don’t have a spell check, children still have the opportunity to research the word on the Internet to find exactly how to spell a word. AbiWord is just an example, but at least children are getting the opportunity to use laptops if used appropriately children can figure out whatever they need to know (Branzburg, 2008). One Laptop per Child also partnered with Little Pim to provide their foreign language learning program on the XO laptop. This is a program that is also downloaded already on the XO laptop for children to use all over the world. It provides videos that fully immerse the children into the new language they are learning. Little Pim the Panda is the character that helps children learn the language. The panda’s method on fully immersing them in the language helps children retain words easier and quicker. By using the Little Pim products that are downloaded on the XO laptop, children can learn 360 words. This is another way that One Laptop per Child is global; they are downloading programs on their XO laptop to give the children knowledge on how to communicate with others who speak a different language (Computers, Networks & Communications editor, 2012). So as you can see, One Laptop per Child has changed the lives of many young children who may have not had the opportunity before. Through the distribution of laptops, One Laptop per Child continues to meet their mission, reach people all across the globe, while using the rugged XO laptops. ReferencesBranzburg, J. (2008). The XO laptop. Technology & Learning, 28(7), 12. Retrieved from one laptop per child foundation; one laptop per child provides children of afghanistan access to a modern education. (2010). Education Business Weekly, 11. Retrieved from laptop per child; government of uruguay to distribute one laptop per child designed XO tablets to pre-school children. (2013). Journal of Engineering, 358. Retrieved from laptop per child; one laptop per child and common sense media partner to foster worldwide digital literacy. (2012). Education Letter, 155. Retrieved from laptop per child; one laptop per child drives breakthrough advances in revolutionary XO children's laptop. (2010). Health & Medicine Week, 1973. Retrieved from laptop per child; one laptop per child partners with little pim to provide language learning on XO laptop. (2012). Computers, Networks & Communications, 445. Retrieved from laptop per child; the government of peru expands the one laptop per child program with local manufacturing. (2011). Education Letter, 280. Retrieved from ................
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