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Story: Why every child deserves a laptop

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Part 3!!! $100 laptop: moving from a technical to a social debate

....chopped off again in my last post. It may be lengthy, but then this is possibly one of the most important projects in human evolution and the modern era. To continue from where I got chopped off by the limited posting system after part 2 of my reply.....

This event should be PUBLICISED AND OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC TO ATTEND. Ideally it should find a means of broadcast to as many locations as possible. One of the major advantages of the $100 laptop project is one of its major disadvantages: there is no sales, marketing or research team. That gets the cost down but it means Negroponte's most efficient means of making it happening is to keep discussions to heads of state. None of the people who would be affected by it know about it. The above event should happen whether they end up getting the laptops or not. The success of the project lies as much on implementation as it's technical accomplishment. Sucessful implementation depends to large extent on decent preparation. Preparation is lagging too far behind. I think this event would be the catalyst to start addressing that and move the debate from the technical to the social world.

I also think that documentaries should be being made concerning the imminent arrival of the laptops in all countries looking to buy them and be aired on TV to bring greater public awareness. The documentary producers should also be prepared to continue longitudinal studies on the impact of the laptops in order to assist the future adopters of one laptop per child.

I read a blog recently that mentioned that the departments of education would own the project. I just can't believe that to be the case. If you have a network of a million kids who own the laptops and the operating system then it is pretty clear to me who will own this project. Once they have it, you try taking it away from them.
I can’t think of any project which in its fulfilment is more likely to turn the wheels of global democracy.

I see the short term argument for shovels, but I think the long term argument for this project is much more compelling.

I do hope to hear as many replies as possible.

Joey Baxter

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