One Laptop Per Child India Foundation

Transforming “Learning”

Satish JhaChairman, OLPC India Foundationsatish@olpci.orgwww.olpcindia.net+91 99100 22922

India currently has the largest illiterate population of any nation on earth 

 

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Poor have aspirations beyond survival

They recognize that only 

education can help 

achieve aspirations. 

And they are willing to invest in the future.

Can our current educational eco-system alone deliver on these aspirations?

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Significant progress in reducing out of school children

But challenges of 

quality and adequacy of 

current education 

format remain.

Can doing more of the same really make our children compete for opportunities in 2020?

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The solution needs to be …

• Future ready – ‘the cell-phone of education’

• Transformational – generational leaps

• Doable – practical, implementable and accepted by the stakeholders

• Financially viable – entrepreneurial thinking to make it available at $1 per week

An idea originated in villages like India’s, Africa and wherever we saw deprivation and lack of access to what we thought was a human right–

spreading across the globe

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What is OLPC [one laptop per child]

A project  designed to help 

underprivileged children access 

sustainable education that is in 

sync with today’s needs.

A rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for 

collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning.  It is a tool for education that creates skill 

sets that can transform lives.

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Our laptops are capable of transforming the way a child “learns” by combining technology & pedagogy• OLPC produces a unique laptop:

– pioneered a new generation of solid state hard disk, zero maintenance, village friendly computing 

– primary school market currently being addressed

• Some of the features unique to OLPC laptop:– low power consumption of 2 watts – networking without internet– water proof keyboard – stringent ROHS norms – dual mode operation – sunlight friendly– WIFI mesh networking – electric power can be produced manually and through solar– new “sugar” interface designed – open Source

• First Green laptop • Proven and market tested in 40 countries 

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XO Laptops have a unique mechanical design

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• No moving parts – No hard drive, no fans

• Droppable– Extra rigid shell– Bumper (replaceable)– Shock mounted LCD

• Moisture/dust/dirt resistant– Keyboard– USB, microphone etc - protected

• Connector reinforcement• Transformer hinge

OLPC has major partners in both private & public sectors

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OLPC’s presence has rapidly spread to 41 countries worldwide since 2007….

“With the laptop we can say that our school is really elevated because the children are really learning more... They see

themselves discovering things that they have never been doing before.” — Mrs. M., Galadima School, Abuja, Nigeria10

….and it has proved to be successful!

* numbers as of March 2010

Largest deployments since 2007

• Peru – 594,000• Uruguay – 430,000• Rwanda – 110,000• Argentina – 60,000

Key Milestones

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OLPC has gained a lot of recognition across the globe • IDSA - Business Week, Gold Awards, (Product) (Strategy) 2008 • Red Dot Design Award, 2008 • London Design Museum's Brit Insurance Design of the Year, 2008 • INDEX "Community" Award, 2007 • ID Magazine "Concept Design", 2007 • Spark Award - Product Award, 2007 • IF Product Design Award, 2006 • Chicago Athenaeum – Good Design Award, 2006

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In the words of Mr. Kofi Annan:

"When they start reaching the hands of the world's children, these robust and versatile machines will enable kids to become more active in their own learning. Children will be able to learn by doing, not just through instruction or rote memorization. And they will be able to open a new front in their education: peer-to-peer learning."

OLPC Schools in India todayCurrent Deployments

• Govt of Manipur, Imphal, Manipur• Katha Khazana School, Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi• Kusgaon Village School, Distt Pune, Maharashtra• Udaan Schools, Uttarakhand (Dr Veena Sethi)• Keekerwale Primary School, Shriganganagar, Rajasthan• Chiragh Grammar School, Uttar Pradesh• Khairat school, Khairat-Dhangarwada Village, Maharashtra• Parikrma Center for Learning, Bangalore, Karnataka• Aradhna Convent School, Bangalore, Karnataka• Holy Mother School, Nashik, Maharasthra• Saint-Anthony School, Dugawar • Auroville, Tamil Nadu •Mandal Parishad Primary School, Aziznagar AP• Venu Udayar Middle School, Palayanur village, Tamil Nadu.• Poorva Maadhyamik Vidyalaya, Bhagmalpur, Distt Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh• Chiragh Grammar School, Meerut (U.P.) and Project Writeup• Belgaum District, Karnataka• Ahmedabad, Gujarat funded by MangoTree Group

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Some of the states that have approved or are currently considering OLPC’s revolutionary educational strategy

Our aim is to establish OLPC’s presence in all 28 states and 7 union territories

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XO laptops benefit children AND teachers, parents and the society as a whole

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Let us make this happen – A Laptop for Every Child

Adopt a village for Total Cost of only Rs. 16,500 per child!

OLPC Generation 2: E-book Mode

Questions? 17