Here are some of the ads promoting the OLPC (One Laptop per Children) initiative.


Considering I live in one of the countries targeted by the OLPC Foundation (Brazil), I must say I’m thankful for it.

A Message from John Lennon

But after watching some of these ads, though I still think it’s a great idea, several questions raises on how effective this really is.

Mission part 1

As most of us who use a computer on a daily basis know, a laptop is nothing but a tool.
Yes, it can be used to learn, can give access to education and information, and can be used to open a whole new world to kids living in poor comunities.

Mission part 2

But a laptop only won’t do much, and if used in a wrong way, can even become an issue rather than helping.
Now, our current government is making an effort to give the basic (food, living conditions) to every brazillian.
Education however, has always been neglected in Brazil.

So the OLPC idea can have a good impact in Brazil, if handled the right way.
Which is to have professionals teaching the kids who are receiving the laptops to use it for educational purposes.
And I must say the current teachers, professionals and schools are mostly unprepared for that.
Computers in schools are overall in bad shapes, most students won’t use it for educational purposes, most teachers in public schools are not prepared to teach kids how to handle computers.

So my question is: Will OLPCs really reach it’s purpose? I don’t think the laptops alone can do something to help, really… they might end up stolen, sold, used for other purposes other than education, or just put aside like most computers on most publics school nowadays.

I’ll leave it here for further discussion.

More unsubbed OLPC videos on the official OLPCFoundation YouTube Channel.

Source: Gizmodo and Gizmodo
Portuguese subtitles by Nicholas Gimenes