
With no $10 laptop in sight, India buys 250,000 OLPCs - chaostheory
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/04/india-embraces-olpc-buys-250000-xo-laptops.ars
======
nopinsight
_Why has such a noble project initiated and run by top-quality people and
institution fell far short of its original goal?_

Short answer: _Make something people want._ (Y Combinator's motto)

The greatest weakness in OLPC's implementation is perhaps its learning
software, which mostly emphasizes constructionist style of learning.
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructionist_learning>)

People in developing countries don't yet want or need predominantly
constructionist learning style (although I highly respect the method and agree
to its importance in the long run). They need to make sure their youths have
strong basic in math, science, and languages (English and their national
language(s)) first.

In the words of Global Competitiveness Report, most of the world are still in
the factor-driven or efficiency-driven stage of development. Current OLPC
software emphasizes learning style best suited to countries/communities in the
innovation-driven stage.

From my first-hand experience living and working in the education field in
such a country, if OLPC incorporates highly effective learning software &
contents on these essential subjects into its machines, it would make a much
easier sale to governments and people of these countries.

