Engineers Without Borders Presents:

1
Engineers Without Borders Presents

• One Laptop Per Child Appropriate Technology?

2
What is One Laptop Per Child?

• "Our goal To provide children around the world
  with new opportunities to explore, experiment and
  express themselves." Nicholas Negroponte, OLPC
  Chairman
• Produce 1 billion(!) laptops for children in
  developing countries
• Laptop will support learning by experience
• Price goal 100 per unit
• Governments will purchase and give one laptop to
  each child

3
OLPC Milestones

• Kofi Annan and the UNDP support the project
• Major laptop manufacturer Quanta is producing the
  laptops
• Peru and Uruguay have purchased laptops
• Mexico, Haiti, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Cambodia and
  Mongolia will test donated laptops

4
What Are The Stakes?

• Largest technology development project ever
• Intent to significantly change education systems
• 100 billion dollars in direct costs alone
• More expensive than the entire education budget
  in many countries
• This had better work...

5
The Smitcher

• The Smitcher is a new technology developed in
  California that prevents pothole formation, when
  used on car wheels before each trip.
• The Region of Waterloo is considering purchasing
  a Smitcher to install on each vehicle in the
  Region this year.
• What do you want to know about Smitchers?

6
What we want to know about Smitchers
7
What we want to know about Smitchers
8
What we want to know about Smitchers

• Engineering Considerations
• Do Smitchers really prevent potholes?
• Are Smitchers safe?
• Do Smitchers work in the winter?
• Are Smitchers bad for the environment?

• Logistical Considerations
• How much will this cost?
• Can we get enough Smitchers?
• Are people going to know how to use their
  Smitchers?
• Can Smitchers be repaired if they break?

9
What we want to know about Smitchers

• Cultural, Social and Economic Considerations
• Will people actually use their Smitchers?
• Will Smitchers disrupt the way we currently do
  things?
• Is the pothole problem the real problem or just a
  manifestation of it?

• Predetermination
• The Nortel Problem Past trends may not predict
  future behaviour
• The Ford Problem Scale causes problems
• The Hammer ProblemOne size doesn't fit all
• The Titanic Problem Pride can make us
  overconfident

10
OLPC Engineering Considerations

• Does the OLPC provide a laptop that children in
  developing countries can use for education?
• Test runs show increased engagement and problem
  solving
• Uncertain whether intended skill and knowledge
  outcomes are attained.
• Curriculum materials in local languages are not
  yet available

11
OLPC Engineering Considerations

• Does the OLPC work within the infrastructure
  available?
• Low power consumption, various charging methods
• Is power consumption low enough for local
  sources?
• What will it cost?
• Internet connectivity via mesh
• Geographic barriers, weather barriers
• Is an internet connection available at all?

12
OLPC Engineering Considerations

• Does the OLPC survive the environment in which it
  serves?
• Design decisions help deal with dust, heat and
  cold.
• More difficult Rain, physical impact

13
OLPC Logistical Considerations

• How much will it cost?
• Current price 208 per unit
• Should drop with economies of scale
• Given the resources that developing countries
  can reasonably allocate to educationsometimes
  less than 20 per year per pupil... Nicholas
  Negroponte
• Cost does not include electricity, repair,
  support, internet connectivity, distribution, etc.

14
OLPC Logistical Considerations

• Can the laptops be distributed to the students?
• OLPC just does one delivery, to the central
  government
• UNDP and governments are most able means of
  distribution, but still unreliable
• Many schools have incorrect attendance lists

15
OLPC Logistical Considerations

• Will people know how to use it?
• Reports are that the interface is intuitive for
  children
• Teachers are not trained in the use of the
  laptops in education
• Each laptop is assigned a "lease,"... The
  laptop connects to the internet... and checks...
  to see if it's been reported stolen. If not, the
  lease is extended another few weeks.If the lease
  expires, the XO's internet connectivity is turned
  off, and shortly thereafter the whole computer
  becomes a brick.

16
OLPC Logistical Considerations

• Are the laptops maintainable locally?
• "The kids really can do the maintenance"
  Nicholas Negroponte
• Spare parts are not available
• Trained repairers are not available
• Disassembly is easy, but reports suggest that
  reassembly is harder

17
OLPC Cultural, Social and Economic Considerations

• Will people want to use the OLPC?
• Why should kids use the laptop? Value? Fun?
• Who will be the champions? Teachers are
  explicitly outside of the OLPC learning model.

18
OLPC Cultural, Social and Economic Considerations

• Will the OLPC disrupt existing structures in a
  negative way?
• Who owns the laptops? Children are not legitimate
  owners in many developing world cultures.
• How much value do the laptops have? Is theft and
  a grey market likely?

19
OLPC Cultural, Social and Economic Considerations

• Is the specific problem that the OLPC seeks to
  solve really the right problem?
• Is it lack of laptops that is the biggest barrier
  to an educated population in the developing
  world?
• Availability of teachers, schools fees and other
  barriers are major problems

20
OLPC Predetermination

• Determining methods early in a project leads to
  several problems
• The Nortel Problem Past performance ? future
  results
• The Ford Problem Scale causes problems
• The Hammer Problem One size doesn't always fit
  all
• Libya's population is 86.9 urban, Nigeria's is
  51.7 rural
• The Titanic Problem Pride can make us
  overconfident
• "...OLPC is a non-profit effort, and to
  criticise it is a little bit stupid actually." --
  Nicholas Negroponte

21
Conclusion

• Lots of work and major changes to the plan will
  be required for the OLPC to be successful.