One-to-One Laptop Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean: Panorama and Perspectives

The introduction of technology in education is gaining momentum worldwide. One model of incorporating technology into education that has gained tremendous traction in Latin America and the Caribbean is One-to-One computing. The term "One-to-One" refers to the ratio of digital devices per child so that each child is provided with a digital device, most often a laptop, to facilitate learning. The objective of this document is to provide an overview of One-to-One implementations with a regional focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. It also proposes a systemic approach to improve the quality of education in contexts of mass laptop distributions to students and teachers.e-Learning, Teacher Education & Quality, Innovation

Scope and limitations in the evaluation of programs for digital literacy in Latin America: A paradigmatic case. The ''Plan CEIBAL''

Este artículo, en primer lugar revisa el estado actual de los instrumentos de monitoreo de los programas de alfabetización digital en la región, y en segundo término, propone, a partir de una mirada crítica sobre las limitaciones que imponen los indicadores cuantitativos para la comprensión del alcance socio cultural de dichos programas, estrategias de evaluación cualitativa que tengan como premisa la recuperación de la perspectiva del actor, y en consecuencia, permitan, elaborar indicadores más comprensivos de la experiencia de apropiación de las TICs entre sus beneficiarios.This article reviews in the fi rst place the state of monitoring instruments for digital education programs in the region and secondly, it evaluates, from a critical perspective, the limitations imposed by quantitative indicators for the comprehension of the socio cultural scope of these programs. Qualitative evaluation strategies that recover the subject’s viewpoint enable the development of more comprehensive indicators of the experience of ICT appropriation for the benefi ciaries of these programs.Fil: Winocur, Rosalía. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; MéxicoFil: Aguerre Regusci, Carolina Inés. Universidad de San Andres. Centro de Tecnología y Sociedad; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

An ethnography of the one laptop per child (OLPC) programme in Uruguay

This thesis is an ethnographic study of the Uruguayan programme CEIBAL, which aims to promote social inclusion by providing children and teachers with laptop computers. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that it illustrates empirically the complicated work of conceiving, implementing and sustaining policy in practice, both at the macro level and through local instantiations. This was achieved in three inter-related ways. First, by looking at how the national project of development was conceptualised around themes of techno-modernity and consolidated the promise of inclusiveness through claims on the universality of ‘technical needs’. Technology provided the conceptual space in which to resolve a presumed dichotomy between themes of equality, education and paternalistic state and those of economic development, modernisation and innovation. Second, it was analysed by exploring the way in which heterogeneous assemblages of people, values, laptops, and interests, were mobilized to stabilize the programme’s material and conceptual order across a wide range of sites and actors. This was based on the recognition of a ‘natural affinity’ between CEIBAL and Uruguay, which concealed differences, provided coherence and built a strong sense of ‘national consensus’. And finally, as a result of the other two, it was analysed by examining the relationship between ‘the technical’ and ‘the social’ as inscriptions and ‘fudged’ values objectified in the device faced users and their expectations. This implied looking at how CEIBAL officials attempted to make the laptop embody a political and moral project of inclusion, and its infinite promises, so that it could perform them. People in the three localities studied in this thesis (Montevideo, Paysandú and Queguayar) created very tangible strategies for dealing with notions of ‘social inclusion’, expressed different understandings of how technologies created possibilities for them and enacted these beliefs through a wide range of practices. This included the creation of new metaphors of ‘social inclusion’ through the notion of ‘connectivity,’ reconfiguring both social values and definitions of what constitute ‘connections’ as a result: the laptop’s ability to connect children with each ‘wired up the social fabric.’ These negotiations over the possibility of making connections are explored through a new concept that I refer to as ‘geographies of possibilities,’ which describes topographies of power that influence people’s ability to make technology perform. The key to this notion lies in the recognition of several forms of agency that are enacted in strategies to navigate through different geographies: people are not mere recipients of policy but active constituents of its various forms and instantiations in practice

TechNews digests: Jan - Mar 2010

TechNews is a technology, news and analysis service aimed at anyone in the education sector keen to stay informed about technology developments, trends and issues. TechNews focuses on emerging technologies and other technology news. TechNews service : digests september 2004 till May 2010 Analysis pieces and News combined publish every 2 to 3 month

The role of HCI in the construction of disability

As a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use, and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them, human computer interaction (HCI) is involved in the phenomenon of disability. For an interaction between humans and computers to take place, there should be an interface mediating between both parties. The design of such an interface may inadvertently impose access barriers to some people. HCI literature addresses the relationship between the theory and practice of HCI and disability from different angles, some of which are diametrically opposed. This thesis explores three modern conceptions, or models, of disability — the individualistic medical, the biopsychosocial and the social models —, investigates which model predominates in the HCI literature, and analyzes why choosing a particular model may determine and constrain the classes of problems that can be identified during a solution discovery process. Departing from HCI’s traditional discourse, which interprets the phenomenon of disability as a problem in the human body, the author, leading a team of engineers and psychologists, carried out a project in a school for children with cerebral palsy. The project was aimed to improve different areas of child development, using non conventional user interfaces — i.e. user interfaces that use other input/output devices than the keyboard, mouse or screen. After two years working directly within the field of operations”, the author had the opportunity to contrast the theory underpinning HCI’s methods with real practice and to expand his understandings about the relationships between HCI and disability. The research process involved an action research approach, which allowed the author and the team of experimenters to formulate new hypotheses as they learned more about the context, to review the process and, ultimately and most importantly,to readapt their actions to better serve the end beneficiaries. The experiences and learnings gathered throughout the process have been included in this thesis as a case study, for the purpose of helping HCI researchers embarking on projects relatable to the one described. Finally, the author urges the HCI community to update its discourse and to connect it with the vast literature related to modern conceptions of the phenomenon of disability

Impact of elearning on primary school children and teachers: a study of the one laptop per child pilot project in Fiji

The current trend of integrating technology in learning at all levels of education system has also impacted Fiji primary schools. The effort to integrate elearning in primary school began with the launch of ‘One Laptop per Child’ project in three primary schools whereby each school received fifty XO laptops. The impact of this intervention was investigated after 1.5 years of project implementation. The study reports learners’ and teachers’ generally positive perception of elearning and highlights some challenges. The impact on learners’ social, behavioural and cognitive skills holds promise. The need for continuous professional development and elearning policy to ensure support for teachers is one of the major implications of this study

Impact of one-to-one computing on middle school teaching and learning

The State of Maine was the first state in the U.S.A (and in the world) to implement One-to-One Computing in schools in 2001. Former Governor of Maine, King Angus believed that students needed to acquire 21st Century Skills to have a sustainable future in the working force. Many schools in the U.S.A. started taking on the initiative of One-to-One Computing after Maine. Also in third world countries, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) along with major computer corporations provided subsidized laptops for many students worldwide. In the wake of 21st Century Skills, attaining One-to-One Computing has been a goal for most educational institutions. A private American School in Egypt initiated a pilot program providing all students in 7th and 8th grade with a laptop. In a qualitative study, based on interviews with the following: teachers, students and parents, it determined the impact One-to-One Computing had on Language Arts teaching and learning. The research examined how the One-to-One Computing Program altered teachers\u27 pedagogical approach to teaching and how that impacted the way students learn. The research implied that teachers are more creative and has allowed for more student and peer collaboration amongst the students. Students also reported having acquired the skills needed for the 21St Century, which include: responsibility, creativity, technological literacy, and organization. One-to-One Computing has enabled students to access, review and summarize digital information quicker. 21st Century skills are required for success in the work force but should all countries and schools acquire One-to-One Computing programs? Is there a procedure that must be followed before the program is implemented in schools? The study concludes with suggestions and limitations to the study

Cookie Monsters: Seeing Young People’s Hacking as Creative Practice

This paper examines the benefits and obstacles to young people’s open-ended and unrestricted access to technological environments. While children and youth are frequently seen as threatened or threatening in this realm, their playful engagements suggest that they are self-possessed social actors, able to negotiate most of its challenges effectively. Whether it is proprietary software, the business practices of some technology providers, or the separation of play, work, and learning in most classrooms, the spatial-temporality of young people’s access to and use of technology is often configured to restrict their freedom of choice and behavior. We focus on these issues through the lens of technological interactions known as “hacking,” wherein people playfully engage computer technologies for the intrinsic pleasure of seeing what they can do. We argue for an approach to technology that welcomes rather than constrains young people’s explorations, suggesting that it will not only help them to better understand and manage their technological environments, but also foster their critical capacities and creativity

Evaluating ICT for education in Africa

This thesis is situated at the intersection between the three themes of education in Africa, impact assessment, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Specifically, it seeks to develop a critique of current practices regarding monitoring and evaluation of ICT for education within Africa, and explores plausible alternatives to such practices that would make the benefits of education and technology more available and structured towards the poor and marginalised. Two participatory case studies of ICT for education programmes in Malawi and Ethiopia were used as the main empirical focus for the research. These involved working in partnership with implementing organisations, whilst simultaneously abstracting myself so as to evaluate the evaluation process and assess the underlying reasons for what was occurring. These case studies were supplemented by three international participatory workshops and a pan-Africa survey of ICT for education practitioners. The findings from the empirical work are examined within four analytical contexts. The first of these analyses the different methodological approaches employed in the case studies and considers the limitations and opportunities encountered. The second focuses on the role of partnerships within ICT for education programmes, especially in regard to their impact in defining the nature of monitoring and evaluation processes. The third investigates the marginalising of pedagogy within many ICT for education programmes, especially in regard to educational outcomes. The fourth explores the significance of aspiration within technology related development initiatives, focussing on consequences for effective impact assessment. The applied nature of the research emphasises the need for both critical rigour and innovative alternatives in assessing ICT for education in Africa. This thesis concludes by demonstrating the ways in which monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment can be positively reframed in the light of the research findings to emphasise process, participation, capacity enhancement, and the centrality of education

A system dynamics approach to educational technology introduction in Developing countries

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008.Includes bibliographical references.Developing nations around the globe are focused on ways to use Information and Computing Technologies (ICTs) as springboards to advance their national development in all areas, including education. There are multiple ways in which various organizations are tackling the unique challenges these nations face in equipping their schools with modem educational technologies. This study evaluates two examples of computing technology intended for wide-scale deployment in developing nations. It aims to test the hypothesis that in order to be successful, ICT implementations require adequate funding, available electrical and telecommunication infrastructure, the presence of strong local champions and a local support ecosystem. Interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in two pilot implementations in Nigeria. A system dynamics model was used to investigate into the relative effects of relevant factors on the speed of ICT deployment. The results from the modeling show the need for a significant increase in financial investment, in order to cover all costs associated with ICT deployments. The results also revealed the daunting task nations face in equipping all students with individual laptops and it presents some alternatives to a wide-scale deployment of one-to-one computing. Finally, the results highlight the necessity of providing economical means of completely powering ICTs in order to rapidly deploy these technologies to the nation's schools. A number of recommendations were made for the consideration of any developing nation undertaking ICT implementations in education.by Trinidad Grange-Kyner.S.M