Thank you all for this interesting discussion. As someone embarking on a project similar to OLPC I'm interested in what advice you have on effective and ethical marketing and corporate relationships.
School Key is "One KeyFob per Child". Basically, we question that the best way for children to have ubiquitous access to computers is to have them carry laptops with them. Even if they did cost $100 in a city like Boston kids are not safe carrying home computers. Instead we propose to give each student a 1GB USB Key (currently $5 at Target, probably closer to $1 or $2 in bulk) and arrange for them to be able to boot every computer at school, the library, the ICT center and at home with it. When you buy one computer per student it will always be a compromise. Instead, afterschool programs can have big color screens for art, High use compuer labs can use low power computers, Science departments can have a cart of sturdy laptop with cameras and sensors, and low-cost referbished computers, that doen't even need a hard drives, could be supplied for home. Content can be automatically downloaded when connected to the internet at school letting students do homework offline if they don't have internet at home, then automatically save thier work back to the server when they reconnect at School. Currently this is a Grad school project, developed with open source software by me and Amy Bisiewicz, a Boston Public Schools IT professional, who attended Harvard Grad School of Education last year thanks to a scholarship program for Boston Public School employees. As an Internship for credit at HGSE, I am doing very intial pilot work this fall at two Boston schools. Right now we have no grants, no marketing, no corporate partners. Its seems clear to me that we need to change that, so I'm interested in what you think OLPC and others have done right and wrong in these arenas. Thanks! Caroline On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 3:41 PM, Sarah Blackmun-Eskow <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: > "Marketing" and "corporate success" can't be judged in isolation from the > values that power them. Legitimate questions are: What ends is marketing > being used for? How do it affect the well-being of the society? Is > marketing > responsible, truthful, positive? Same for corporate success: How does it > help or hinder the goals of a people? Who is enriched, and who, if anyone, > is made poorer? > > This sort of analysis is especially important in emerging economies where > many people live in poverty. > > > The narratives of the world are numberless. . . . there nowhere is nor has > been a people without narrative.--Roland Barthes > > Sarah Blackmun-Eskow > President, The Pangaea Network > 290 North Fairview Avenue > Goleta CA 93117 > 805-692-6998 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > www.pangaeanetwork.org > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Satish Jha > Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 11:38 PM > To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group > Subject: Re: [DDN] PhD research on OLPC > > I regret that I do not understand what is being argued here.. Are we for or > against corporate success or marketing or what have you?.. > > >From the point of view of "Development" and technology for it, I would > rather look at what gets achieved in terms of helping those who need help > to > get included in the "progress" that we achieve as a global society and > create possibilities to make it more inclusive. If marketing does that, > isn't that something we want? Marketing is but an instrument to extend the > frontiers of progress. And we can also see it as an instrument of mopping > profits. Much depends on how we see it. > > Any laptop will reside on top of an existing infrastructure and OLPC XO > does > not need anything more than what you and I need to access the world of > technology enabled communication. In fact, what it needs is less than > required for the world we seem to know a bit better as it has been > designed > to address and overcome those questions of infrastructure and other > deficiencies. > > How does "corporate success" enter this discussion? If the ideas of > technology for education and bridging the digital divide do converge, how > do > we want to achieve them? OLPC is a creative institution and having created > the product would ideally like the world to take the next step of embracing > and deploying it. However, how many of us can site a product, regardless of > how needed and responsive to people's dream it may have been, really went > beyond the its confines without a comprehensive marketing strategy? It will > be educative and illustrative in this context. > It has been successful in Uruguay and you may like to call it developed as > well as Peru where the infrastructure is spread out thinly. It has > succeeded > at the pilot level in the villages of India where electricity may be > available for a couple hours a day and it works where solar power is > usable. > > As regards employment, would you recruit a high school kid who began > learning on screen, using both the Windows and Linux from the first grade > or > someone who began touching the keyboards after passing out of school? > > Thanks much > Satish Jha > > On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 5:43 PM, Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > That it is more robust certainly is nice. However, the fact that > > infrastructure development is robbed by a well marketed feature filled > > (narrated below) *product* does not mean that it will solve anything. > > Odd that the iPhone was brought up - it has had such good marketing > > that people are buying it even in areas where the features don't work. > > > > If that's not corporate success, I don't know what is. But we're not > > talking about corporate success.... or are we? It seems to me that the > > mission of education and the closing of the digital divide have > > different goals when compared to corporate interests. > > > > The proof will be in the pudding. I'd like to hear success in any way, > > but I am fairly certain that the successes will mainly be seen in areas > that... > > already have the necessary infrastructure in place. And in the long > > term, I have sincere doubts as to whether the OLPC will create > > employment for people once they do become computer literate in the > > context of the OLPC - or outside of the context. > > > > Good technology, but I seriously question the use of it. > > Satish Jha wrote: > > > > > > -- > > Satish Jha > > President & CEO > > OLPC India > > One Cambridge Center > > Cambridge, MA 02142 > > T: 301 841 7422 > > F:301560 4909 > > www.laptop.org > > __________________ > > http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=tab_pro > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Jha > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net > http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the word UNSUBSCRIBE in > the body of the message. > _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@digitaldivide.net http://digitaldivide.net/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
