OLPC ($100 "laptop") FAQ

[Randy Edwards]

   An interesting thread.  My background is in education and educational 
technology.  In general I'm supportive of educational technology but am 
experienced enough and enough of a realist to have seen too much EdTech hype 
and countless dollars wasted.

   In reading the posted FAQ I was amazed at this line:

 > In one Cambodian village where we have been working, there is no
 > electricity, thus the laptop is, among other things, the brightest light
 > source in the home. 

   Question: Does Cambodia really need to be spending its money on cheap but 
durable laptops imported from Taiwan?

   Or would the country's money be better spent buying the cheapest books 
possible (which could be produced in-country) and the difference invested in 
an electrical infrastructure?

 Regards,
 .
 Randy

-- 
Fast fact: If the U.S. had an infant mortality rate as good as Cuba's, we 
would save an additional 2,212 American babies a year. Cuba is one of 41 
countries that have better infant mortality rates than the U.S.