Costa Rica

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) - Innovative Learning Project 4 La Escuela Hacienda Jaco

By teletico ⋅ May 23, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

E4 Initiatives will be working to bring the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program to students at La Escuela Hacienda in Jaco, Costa Rica. E4 is committed to the development of a grassroots learning innovation, as described by the OLPC. The OLPC organization is interested in providing grants and loans for the development of, "open educational resources and grassroots learning innovations that enhance the effectiveness of the XO [laptop] in lesser developed communities around the world for children, their families and communities."

Many students from La Escuela Hacienda are of lower socio-economic status and live below the poverty line. The school has recently suffered from underdevelopment as a result of over-development in the region where it is located. The rapid shift in commerce and technology, with respect to growth and development, has essentially left this small school in the dust. While high-rise luxury condo projects advertise new WiFi technology, the children at La Hacienda are looking forward to their first computer in the classroom.

This puts the students at a huge disadvantage with respect to their opportunities and options for the future as they leave school and enter a world that they are ill-prepared to effectively live and work in. In addition to classroom resource, students also need a curriculum that highlights the importance of conservation and sustainable living.

For these reasons E4 Initiatives is working towards a proposal to develop software as well as an impact study, to enhance the effectiveness of the OX laptop's use in Costa Rica. The software will highlight math, science, and English as a second language, three subject areas needing a boost in Costa Rica's public school system, in order to ensure student preparedness for the future. It will also feature a hands-on approach to science, highlighting the XO's use for field trips and off-campus science projects.

Our hope is that students draw their own conclusions on the future of their environment, economy, and society with respect to sustainability, based on projects completed using the XO software. If the project is successful we should start to see a change in the way future generations approach and respond to this issue of sustainability. Students will have an opportunity to shape their environment, economy, and society based on the problem solving skills the developed through interaction with the XO software.

Our vision is for children in Costa Rica to gain a recognition and awareness for the impact they have individually and collectively with respect to sustainable development and sustainable living, through their educational experience. As the OLPC initiative expands, students in Costa Rica will be able to share their results and findings with students across the globe. Collectively students across the world will be able to discuss and think through global issues as they apply to their specific locations and curriculum in the classroom.

If you are interested in working with E4 Initiatives to bring this grassroots innovation project to La Escuela Hacienda please contact us today. We are currently seeking computer programmers as well as students and professionals in education, sociology, or environmental development to work with us on project design and methodology, to study the impact of this unique XO software for the students as well as the community. Stay tuned for updates to this project. Deadline for proposal submissions is May 31st, 2007. In the event that E4 misses the deadline for the first round of applications due to our late start, we are committed to preparing for the next round of proposals. 

More information on One Laptop per Child…

The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) non-profit association was formed with vision and goal of "providing children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves." OLPC was founded by Nicholas Negroponte who now heads the non-profit organization. Negroponte identifies project as "an education project, not a laptop project"

The One Laptop per Child program originates from a concern for the status of global education, recognizing that nearly 2 billion children in the developing world have inadequate or no education at all. OLPC believes that education is a means to help children rise above class struggle and poverty, providing tools for self-sufficiency, progress, and eventual success based on each child's personal goals. In response to this need for a new approach to global education, OLPC developed the XO laptop computer.

OLPC describes its XO innovations as a potent learning tool created expressly for the world's poorest children, living in its most remote environments. "The result is a unique harmony of form and function; a flexible, ultra-low-cost, power-efficient, responsive, and durable machine with which nations of the emerging world can leapfrog decades of development—immediately transforming the content and quality of their children's learning."  The laptop is designed to withstand some of mother nature's inconvenient conditions including environments where water, sand or temperature may not be ideal for operating a normal laptop.

The software and interface is designed with the learning process in mind. OLPC describes the fundamental learning experience with the XO laptop as "learning, learning" allowing children to "think about thinking", effectively reshaping the way children view their world with respect to creativity and problem-solving.

 Photos courtesy of FuseProject (XO prototype)